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World’s Cities Transformed into Vibrant, Flowing Maps of Eroded Terrain

By Jenny Zhang on January 1, 2015

New York City

Bustling cities are transformed into vibrantly colored maps depicting eroding terrains in the gorgeous series Flowing City Map by Geneva-based illustrator Chaotic Atmospheres. “I wanted to represent the influence of cities on their environment as a kind of invisible fluid that overflows from the city to its surrounding,” the artist explains. Erosion and natural features take the form of streaks of color that flow throughout the densely packed metropolis like water, turning the landscape into a dreamy plane of ripples and currents.

Chaotic Atmospheres began by rendering city maps in the program World Machine, a 3D terrain software. The illustrator then combined the maps with procedural terrains in order to achieve the right amount of “erosion flow.” Finally, the images were processed in Photoshop in order to give a unique visual identity to each city, ranging from the sprawling New York City in shades of green and yellow to the fiery, organism-like mass of Rio de Janeiro.

This striking series was created for the It’s LIQUID International Art Show in Venice. Printed on acrylic glass squares measuring 70 cm, the final images are currently on display at the Palazzo Flangini through January 12, 2015.