Reply With Quote
Layers are your friend.
Backup frequently and often.
Keep several backup versions going after each major session.
Gimp
I've got Gimp on my computer ready to use for my first map. Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom to kick start me off?
Layers are your friend.
Backup frequently and often.
Keep several backup versions going after each major session.
and check out the Tutorials section
Art Critic = Someone with the Eye of an Artist, Words of a Bard, and the Talent of a Rock.
Please take my critiques as someone who Wishes he had the Talent
Save often. Nothing is more frustrating than having your software crash and loosing all your hours of work. Save often, use incremental names if you are worried about loosing something.
As mentioned understand layers.
Look up the tutorials for Gimp. Off the top of my head look up Torstan, RobA and Arsheesh as they all have great tutorials. They aren't the only ones but I'm not steering you wrong.
One of the best things in my opinion is to learn how to use layer masks. See jfrazierjr's tutorial on masks as understanding how to do this will save you pain in the long run. It took me a while to see the value but it's so worth it.
Have fun and don't give up. I had never done anything digitally when I started using Gimp and it was maddening not being able to craft what I knew I could do on paper but I just kept at it. It may take a while but eventually you will be able to make the software sing under your hands.
“When it’s over and you look in the mirror, did you do the best that you were capable of? If so, the score does not matter. But if you find that you did your best you were capable of, you will find it to your liking.” -John Wooden
* Rivengard * My Finished Maps * My Challenge Maps * My deviantArt
You could also start with a hand drawn map, scan it, and start working with it in gimp. You need not start with a blank canvas :-)Originally Posted by Jaxilon
That's pretty much what I had to do at the start but my skillset/ability was really lopsided.
“When it’s over and you look in the mirror, did you do the best that you were capable of? If so, the score does not matter. But if you find that you did your best you were capable of, you will find it to your liking.” -John Wooden
Right there with you all. I can draw by hand, but not with a mouse yet, and the tablet isnt cutting it yet either, all though I think its a pretty cheap tablet anyways I believe.
I hear you. I created a plan in CC*/DD* and I am trying to learn how to use GIMP right now. Boy, is there a learning curve! Oh, for an hour of specific instruction!! Good luck and keep with it!
Sorpaw
hmm.. normally, I would not want to puff up the ego of the lout that wrote that tutorial, BUT... I have to agree with Jax's assessment above. In my opinion, layer masks are the most critical feature in GIMP to learn and put into use as soon as possible. With that said, it may take several read-throughs and lots(for some it may be days and for others it may be weeks or even months) of playing with layer masks to really "get it", but once you DO, it's (in my opinion) like that moment when you were told you just won the lottery(or win a part in a movie with your favorite actor/director/franchise, or get to be onstage with your favorite band during a concert, or whatever really gets you going.... Of course, I am quite a bit of a geek and more than a bit odd.. so perhaps others will just think I am overstating the importance...)
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
----------------------------------------------------------
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Could you point me toward online information about the GIMP, particularly for beginners? I could especially use some sort of crib notes for accomplishing various tasks so I wouldn't have to look the information up in the middle of something else.
Posting Permissions
