<![CDATA[Cartographers' Guild]]>

<![CDATA[Cartographers' Guild]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/ A website and forum for enthusiasts of fantasy maps mapmaking and cartography of all types. We are a thriving community of fantasy map makers that provide tutorials, references, and resources for fellow mapmakers. en Fri, 24 May 2013 06:16:09 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.cartographersguild.com/images/cartographer/misc/rss.png <![CDATA[Cartographers' Guild]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/ <![CDATA[Quick & Dirty Map Tutorial #4: Creating Water Effects with Depth]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23470&goto=newpost Fri, 24 May 2013 02:11:41 GMT Quick & Dirty Map Tutorial #4: Creating water effects with depth

As with all Q&D tutorials, no screen captures, nor detailed tool explanations - just quick and dirty!

Quick & Dirty Map Tutorial #4: Creating Water Effects with Depth-water-effect-tutorial.jpg

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]]> Tutorials/How-To Gamerprinter http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23470 May/June 2013 Lite Challenge Entry: Dying Sea http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23469&goto=newpost Fri, 24 May 2013 01:40:45 GMT In the 1960s the Soviet Union undertook a very ambitious project to turn the deserts of the Uzbek SSR into a breadbasket. They diverted the Amu Darya... In the 1960s the Soviet Union undertook a very ambitious project to turn the deserts of the Uzbek SSR into a breadbasket. They diverted the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, the two major rivers feeding the Aral Sea, to provide irrigation for these new farmlands.

Inasmuch as watering the desert, the USSR was somewhat successful, and Uzbekistan now is a major cotton producer, but the cost was to destroy the inland sea and destroy a thriving fishing industry.

The map I'm working on for the challenge is the sea itself, but I want to show in one map how it has shrunk. So far, I have drawn the outlines, but I need to decide how to depict them without making the map unreadable. I also want to provide inset thumbnail maps showing each step.

### LATEST WIP ###

May/June 2013 Lite Challenge Entry: Dying Sea-aral-sea.jpg

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]]> Current Lite Mapping Challenge WillP http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23469 Ancient Greece http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23468&goto=newpost Fri, 24 May 2013 00:45:14 GMT I feel a bit silly posting all these WIP threads at the same time but I can't help myself. Getting inspiration from this board I got the wonderful idea of mapping Ancient Greece. Just like with the european map, I'm not at all sure where this 'project' is going, but it looks kind of cool so far.

Here's the current map. I just started with the main river branches.

And here's some concept/testing maps. The first one is a test of country labels/borders and the other two are the two different timeframes I've been thinking about. Both look really good, so I can't decide wich one I prefer, however, I'm leaning towards the Peloponnesian War one since having more Greek cities on the anatolian coast might look quite interesting, on the flip side it makes the Persian borders look kind of weird. I'd love to know your thoughts on this!

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]]> Regional/World Mapping thamupp http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23468 Help me save my map! (in Photoshop) http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23467&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 22:05:16 GMT I am making a map using the Ascension Atlas style tutorial video I found here and I've run into a bit of an issue: when zoomed in, placing rivers I realized that I hadn't feathered the coast early on an have random pixelated noise. I tried created an inverted selection from the Base layer, modifying, and deleting, but this seems to have no effect. Anyone got an idea? Otherwise I'm starting from scratch.

I'm using PS 5.1, and am a photoshop novice. ]]> Software Discussion melhaic http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23467 Just landed here... http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23466&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 21:20:45 GMT Hey all! I am a writer and digital artist! I have been working on everything from film projects to table top gaming systems for most of my life. I... Hey all! I am a writer and digital artist! I have been working on everything from film projects to table top gaming systems for most of my life. I came across Cartographers Guild, while doing a quick Google search to see different ways people have presented towns, cities, and the such on their fantasy maps.

I have two major personal projects I am working on currently. The first is a film project set in a post apocalyptic world, and I am sure I will share more on that as time goes on. The next is really sort of two mini-projects. Towards the end of college I began to write a science fiction novel, containing a known universe style concept. In that Science Fiction world, exists the planet that I run my homebrew Pathfinder (Dungeons and Dragons) game on.

It was work on this homebrew map that brought me to the Guild! I look forward to showing some of my work, getting feedback, and learning how to push my existing skills even further!

-Grav ]]> Member Introductions TheGrav http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23466 <![CDATA[Quick & Dirty Tutorial: How to deal with ugly repeating tile graphics, hide them]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23465&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 20:35:00 GMT Quick and Dirty Map Tutorial #2: How to deal with ugly repeating tiled graphics - hide them! No screen shots, nor detailed explanation of tools -... Quick and Dirty Map Tutorial #2: How to deal with ugly repeating tiled graphics - hide them!

No screen shots, nor detailed explanation of tools - just quick and dirty!

Enjoy!

Quick & Dirty Tutorial: How to deal with ugly repeating tile graphics, hide them-quick-dirty-tutorial2.jpg

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]]> Tutorials/How-To Gamerprinter http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23465 Stair Overlay in Photoshop http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23464&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 20:01:36 GMT Hey all - Was trying to figure out how to make stair shadows in photoshop recently and couldn't find a tutorial on it. So, I eventually figured it out and thought i'd put together a little tutorial on how I did it. I also posted it on my blog if this attachment doesn't work

Enjoy

Stair Overlay in Photoshop-creating-stair-shadows-photoshop-tutorial.pdf

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]]> Tutorials/How-To anomiecoalition http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23464 Game Dev, World Building http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23463&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 18:59:12 GMT Hey guys, So my new project is to make a survival-style 2d rpg, where you explore the wilderness and hunt things... but at the very start i would... Hey guys,

So my new project is to make a survival-style 2d rpg, where you explore the wilderness and hunt things... but at the very start i would like to create a decent, believable world.

I think i've mentioned it before, but when i was a kid i came across a program that built a world.. not just using perlin noise or such, but it actually went through several stages... continent creation, drift, erosions, running waters and lakes, etc... it did climates, biomes, regions, etc.. and would even place civs, plants, and animals in realistic locations.. i'm looking to try my hand at a similar system.. i think it'd have good results, while also giving something cool to show the players as it's being built.

I'd like to invite people to suggest things, ways to go about such building.. any examples you may have seen that look interesting... that type of thing...

I'll also try to keep you guys posted as i go, to hear your thoughts and suggestions. ]]> General Discussion loogie http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23463 I am new here... http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23462&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 17:17:31 GMT I am new to this forum. I am finding and collecting info about different stuff. So i have join this forum because i have seen here lot of interesting... I am new to this forum. I am finding and collecting info about different stuff. So i have join this forum because i have seen here lot of interesting and informative threads, so help me and guide me where i put mistake.Hope we will enjoy to this community and have fun.have a nice day.... ]]> Member Introductions taro222 http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23462 City of Bhimra - Fantasy map http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23461&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 15:44:20 GMT Hi everyone, A commissioned map for Pyrodactyl Games, hand drawn and digital work. Original size is 5100x3300px. © 2013 - Pyrodactyl Games - All... Hi everyone,

A commissioned map for Pyrodactyl Games, hand drawn and digital work. Original size is 5100x3300px.
© 2013 - Pyrodactyl Games - All rights reserved

If you want to take a look, Pyrodactyl games is currently launching a kickstarter here for its game Unrest, where the map is featured.

I hope you'll like it,

Feel free to rate, rep or run away :)

- Max -

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]]> Finished Maps - Max - http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23461 Hello! http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23460&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 14:47:38 GMT Hello,

I'm Melvin The artistically challenged DM. I've been doing pen and paper rpgs for some years, and I've always wanted to make maps. So now is as good a time as any to start, and being a part of this community can only make me better!

So hello everyone!

Melvin ]]> Member Introductions Melvin http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23460 Lorhin http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23459&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 14:26:31 GMT Hello, this is Lorhin, a small village built around an old Inn on a trade route between two larger cities. Attachment 54815... Hello,

this is Lorhin, a small village built around an old Inn on a trade route between two larger cities.

I'm Melvin, I've been lurking a bit, before I decided to make an account, and now I've finally made something I want to share. It's heavily inspired by Larb, as I really like his style. (It's almost too similar to feel like my own, but monkey see, monkey copy?)

As for map making, drawing, and colouring I'm totally new. I've never done anything like it before in my life, but I've always been fascinated by water colouring. And I've been a GM/DM in pen and paper games for some years, I've always wanted to make maps. I've just never done it. So what better way to learn than share my work, and get feedback from other people who knows what they are doing!

I've used Photoshop and Illustrator.

Regards,
Melvin

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]]> Finished Maps Melvin http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23459 Equator Line - Does it have to define my world climate? http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23458&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 10:26:16 GMT Hi All,

I've drawn a map of my game world and chosen an interesting place on that map that I would like to develop further. However, I suddenly realise that this area of interest sits very close to the equator. That would mean Tropical Rains and Drier Climates further out. Unfortunately I want this area to be more Temperate. Other than resorting to 'magic' is there anyway I can accomplish this? Or is it back to the drawing board with my map?

Boy, I wish I'd that about this earlier.

Thanks

Dal ]]> Regional/World Mapping Dalakmar http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23458 <![CDATA[[WIP] Dungeon maps - seeking advice]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23457&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 09:43:53 GMT So, we started playing dungeon crawls in '81 Basic D&D using roll20. For this i needed some dungeon maps. I picked up some one-page dungeons and converted them using RobA's dungeon script in GIMP. I attached an example from Dyson's delve, level 1.

But now i would need some advice, as i am not really experienced in GIMP, or in mapping in general.

Is there some tutorial how to add objects/elements to dungeons fast? Or is the only method manually adding them from my gathered objects?

Also, as you can see on this attached map, i actually create several "maps" for the different parts (on different layers), but the transitions are not very smooth, so if someone could give me an advice how to make that nicer, that would be nice.

And in general, i welcome any suggestion, opinion about this.

-sc

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[WIP] Dungeon maps - seeking advice-delve1.png

]]> Dungeon/Subterranean Mapping scarcow http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23457 Placement and Biomes http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23456&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 06:53:27 GMT All right, hopefully this is the right section. This is one of my first maps (not counting rough doodles from years ago). It's the northern half of a continent, in the northern hemisphere. For simplicity the planet's size, gravity, orbit, physics, etc is all comparable to Earth. The dark brown lines and squiggles are roughly where mountains are planned to be.

Anyway, I have two questions:

1) Is the placement of the mountains, rivers, and lakes geographically accurate thus far? Is there anything else that looks out of place in that regard?
2) If the answer to the first question is "yes" (or won't require any significant changes) then advice on the biomes would be greatly appreciated. The southwestern area, ringed by mountains as it is, I imagine to be primarily a hot desert. I see the northern islands and mountains as being cold.

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]]> How Do I ??? Hikki-Jin http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=23456