Between this lovely discussion and chele's fantabulous blog entry I wanted to see A)who makes maps here on the 'D and B ) for those persons to show them of and talk about their techniques. I personally have only ever made one map. Here it is: I am so not a mapmaker. However, the world had so much detail I felt it needed a visual. Plus, it has a kind of rough/sketchy feel to it, so I could make the map match and it didn't have to be perfect. Pretty much all the images you see are stamps of some sort. The only thing I actually drew was the color blocks for the faction areas. To have them more see-through and work with the folds and crinkles I set the layer mode to multiply and lowered the opacity a tad. The hardest part was probably placement. I actually wrote out all the areas on mini sticky notes and shuffled them about to give me a better idea of what I was doing before I took it to he computer. I looked like a nutter, but it paid off really well. Let's see those maps (and yes, you can show off your floor plans, too)!
I love to show off my .. one... map. I keep putting it off to make a new map. But it really isnt that much work. I do use a base, generated by a simple map generator, then I just pick and choose which bits I really like. I drew this one by tablet, I think. The paper map was some folded up paper scanned in, which I then 'aged'. I do like my map. I really want to make more. Maybe that will be my task today. I also like your map, which just looks cool
I did this for someone yesterday after they didn't not completely tell me anything about not doing it. For simpletons, they didn't ask me to do it, I was bored.
I use Photoshop. I forget if I used CS3, or CS5, but honestly, it's irrelevant since I could probably do it in most modern iterations of Photoshop. I like making maps like this, but I rarely have any need or use to anyway. But I'm glad at least it's enjoyed by a few people.
Wow, Node, that is seriously impressive. And kind! Actually your map inspired me to scrap the one I was working on originally (with its horrendous-looking mountain chains), and create this: which I'm not 100% happy with, but that's perfectionism for you I would love to see more, if there's any other mapmakers out there? I love maps.
Hmm, quite nice. From the looks of it, you were using the same techniques as me to create your land forms, and varying levels of land. But you're mountains overpower your flat lands, and create a sort of discord. Because you have strong detail in the mountains, it actually makes the fact that there are no varying levels anywhere else even more apparent. If I may, I would suggest perhaps a low opacity, large, textured brush, and tap in various areas. Try different brushes, since they are likely to give you different land features. The ocean is also a little stagnant. Throw some greens and deep blues in there, as well as some rock textures if you want to give it some bamff. That's to make it look more akin to my map though. Also under my map, you'll notice that there are land formations under the water as well. Regardless, I am glad to have inspired you with something silly that I did.
She Can fly, what'd you use to make your map? I mean at this point I feel like I should jsut learn to do all that stuff... all I have GIMP (the poor ,free Open GL) sort of like Photoshop... and I can't actually draw (no tablet).
@Node - thanks for all your advice. You clearly know what you're doing! @spiritsongtress - I use Paintshop Pro, and a quite outdated version of it as well, that I've had for... 7+ years To make the landforms I used NBOS RPG's Fractal Mapper which you should be able to find with a quick google search, and I use textures from Spiral Graphics
i used this to make a map before. i think it's pretty much the best thing ever. http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/717-celiannas-world-map-maker/
My friend drew up a simple map in paint, and I used it as my inspiration - basically, I just redid it and embellished it in photoshop. I mostly used the pin tool because it's basically the only thing I know how to use in photoshop.
