JUNE 2007 ENTRY: Niagara

[RobA]

This is just a WIP.

I contour traced the Niagara peninsula, and drew in all the rivers and water. Wow. Something I would have never tried without my tablet This now gives me a "clean" basemap to work with as the areal photo was too cluttered.

I oriented the map so E is up. Still haven't decided on the style. I think I will play a bit now that the tracing is done....

Haven't decided anything else yet. I'm still not sure is I should leave in the Welland Canal, or not, but we shall see....

I think I also will want to grossly distort the scales of various terrain features that I want to make "important"...

-Rob A>

[ravells]

The rivers look fantastic!

[RobA]

The rivers look fantastic!

Thanks! You never appreciate the detail of real rivers and streams until you trace them

Here is the same map with a bit of antiquing, a fer more rivers, and a light bump map to highlight the terrain and the escarpment.

Next step is adding features and (some) colorizing...

-Rob A>

[ravells]

This is beginning to look truly amazing! I love the textures and the colours. It's hanging together really well. I'm very jealous!

The map has a really nice early 19th century feel to it. I hope you're going to do it as some sort of Daniel Boone type map!

Re the rivers: one always assumes that they are just wiggly lines that get larger as you go downstream; looking at yours there's a lot more to them than that. It just shows how important it is to learn how to draw from good references before you embark on the imaginative stuff.

marvelous work - can't wait to see the rest.

Ravs

[heruca]

I may just have to get me one of those new digitizing tablets. I have a really old Wacom one that I can't use with my current computer (it's got one of those old Apple ADB connectors).

[RobA]

Just to show how dependent the rivers are on the terrain... Here is a quick markup of the general features...

[Hoseman]

I may just have to get me one of those new digitizing tablets. I have a really old Wacom one that I can't use with my current computer (it's got one of those old Apple ADB connectors).

I'm not a mac guy, but I knew there had to be an ADB to USB adapter. And there is!

Check out http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imate/

I don't know if you're using a PC now, or a Mac with USB ports...read the product description carefully, cause support varies. But hey..it's only $39.00. Hope this helps.

[heruca]

Thanks for the tip. I'm using a Mac with USB ports now, so that may be just the ticket.

[RobA]

Latest Update. This represents an early era of Niagara that never was...

I realized the challenge was the "hometown" but figured I'd keep going with a region as the map is getting fun (even if it doesn't count...there still might be a last minute detail of one of the cities...)

I jumped over to Inkscape with a jpg of the map and started drawing trail and cities. Imported them back into the Gimp as paths, stroked them and started colouring. As the map is slightly more realistic than symbolic, I haven't decided if I will add tree/grassland/forest/scrub type symbols.

P.S. I really like the woodcut effect I managed for the water. Let me know if anyone is interested in the technique.

As always, looking for comments....

-Rob A>

[pyrandon]

Looking great, Rob! Very, very cool. I love your color choices, especially.

How did you achieve the pattern effect from the stroke for the roads?