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Thread: Players Map Handout - The Known Area

  1. #1
    Guild Member Chgowiz's Avatar
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    Map Players Map Handout - The Known Area

    Map (click to enlarge)

    Artists Notes:

    This map was created as a player handout for the kickoff of my "old school" OSRIC/1st Edition D&D game - The Dark Ages. The final product will be printed on cotton paper, then treated to a simple aging process and the edges torn to make it look realistic. I'm very pleased with the results.

    The map was created using GIMP 2.6 - the initial document size was 3000x2250 at 300ppi. I work in Ubuntu and I use an old-school Wacom Intuos serial tablet. The map image shown above had the canvas resized so that it was square to be uploaded to the Obsidian Portal map manager. The actual document will fit on a 8.5x11 landscape page.

    The hardest part was the trees. I've struggled with the ZombieNirvana method of making trees and I was never truly satisfied with the end results. After seeing this post about old Russian maps on the Making Maps DIY blog, I had found my answer and stole the concept.

    I created two layers of tree pattern fills and tinkered with the layer masks. I had to go around each edge of the pine tree areas to properly masking the trees right so they looked natural. I then filled in the background color with a waterpaint brush.

    The clip art was unashamedly used from openclipart.org. I downloaded the SVG outline files, imported them into GIMP then traced over them to make them look more "rough" and hand drawn.

    So that's about it. Thank you to those of you who've put up with my patient questions over the past 9 months or so. This map wouldn't be without your input and suggestions.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
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    Chgowiz, nice map. It looks simple (only a few colors/symbols), but it's elegant and a great handout. Repped!
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  3. #3
    Guild Journeyer Bohunk's Avatar
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    Agree with Gandwarf, nice map. Repped as well.

  4. #4

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    I say...good thoo!
    http://www.cartographersguild.com/signaturepics/sigpic3377_5.gif

  5. #5
    Guild Member Chgowiz's Avatar
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    A quick followup - I printed this map and made a player prop with it. I have some photos at this blog post: http://oldguyrpg.blogspot.com/2009/0...prop-prep.html

  6. #6
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    Nice process for aging the map.

    I imagine, though, that I'd tear the edges first before doing some of the other steps to make sure that the torn edges don't look freshly torn, but worn with age as well.
    I think, therefore I am a nerd.
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    Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...

  7. #7
    Guild Member Chgowiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karro View Post
    Nice process for aging the map.

    I imagine, though, that I'd tear the edges first before doing some of the other steps to make sure that the torn edges don't look freshly torn, but worn with age as well.
    On this particular map, I didn't have enough space to tear it, and it ended up working out - as the players were buying this as a "fresh copy" straight from the man who had created it.

    That's good advice about aging the tears. That part of the treasure map that's missing...

  8. #8
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    That's what I'm talking about!

    Glad it worked for your players!
    I think, therefore I am a nerd.
    Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.

    Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
    It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.

    Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...

  9. #9
    Community Leader jfrazierjr's Avatar
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    Now... anyone have any ideas about how you would do this with a map that was to large for a standard oven and sheet pan? Say, for example, one wanted to have GP print out a poster size map and then distress it after the mail drops it on our front door.
    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
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    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

  10. #10
    Guild Member Chgowiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jfrazierjr View Post
    Now... anyone have any ideas about how you would do this with a map that was to large for a standard oven and sheet pan? Say, for example, one wanted to have GP print out a poster size map and then distress it after the mail drops it on our front door.
    Get a bigger pan/oven?

    How I would do it would be to lay out tin foil (ohgods, I just said "tin" foil.. jeez, how old am I? Aluminum foil!) and create a "drying pan" from it. I'd still do the hot coffee technique that I listed above (and possibly rip it prior to the coffee if you wanted that look).

    Instead of the oven, I'd try a hair dryer on low (at first, until I got bored, impatient or figured out that high would not burn or ruin the paper) and try to dry it that way. If you're really patient, and your significant other doesn't mind, you could let it dry naturally, after mopping up the excess coffee. The trick is to have the aluminum foil "pan" be sealed at the edges/bottom so that you don't drip coffee through it. I'm not responsible for ruined carpets or tables.

    I would probably experiment with this first before doing this on a real life poster sized map. Any chance you could get a blank sheet or two for practice?

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