*** December 10 Mapping Challenge - Map a planet ***

[VincentAlliath]

@RecklessEnthusiasm: That's a good idea, I'll check it out.

@Gamerprinter: You've got a point there, but I wanted it to be big enough that stretching it out onto Google Earth wouldn't completely destroy the quality.

I'm unemployed at the moment, and I'm not in school anymore, so I have plenty of time to actually work on and finish the map. It'll be done by the 16th or 17th and the rest will be touching up. It's not like I need to be in a rush because of other commitments or anything.

I'll try a few different things, though. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Ascension]

Most of my maps here are 4000 x 4000, a handful are 3000, but in PS we have jpg quality sliders to make sure that we can get the megabytes down...not sure if you have this in Gimp. But the bottom line is make your map at your size, save 2 copies of it in jpg format (one actual size and one forum size) and just shrink the forum size one down to the size and megabyte limits here. So as not to get confused make sure you name them something like Mapbig and Mapsmall or MapA and MapB, etc. The one thing you have to remember when doing big maps is to make your fonts (on the original) double size so that when you shrink it down they don't get lost. Also, if you plan to have roads that are 1 pixel wide then make them 2 pixels instead so they don't get lost either when shrinking down.

[jtougas]

Most of my maps here are 4000 x 4000, a handful are 3000, but in PS we have jpg quality sliders to make sure that we can get the megabytes down...not sure if you have this in Gimp. But the bottom line is make your map at your size, save 2 copies of it in jpg format (one actual size and one forum size) and just shrink the forum size one down to the size and megabyte limits here. So as not to get confused make sure you name them something like Mapbig and Mapsmall or MapA and MapB, etc. The one thing you have to remember when doing big maps is to make your fonts (on the original) double size so that when you shrink it down they don't get lost. Also, if you plan to have roads that are 1 pixel wide then make them 2 pixels instead so they don't get lost either when shrinking down.

Gimp does in fact have the ability to adjust jpg quality..

[VincentAlliath]

But I don't think that adjusting the quality will actually do anything for me, considering the size.

Edit: Oh, and thanks for those tips, Ascension. I don't think I would have thought of that.

[tilt]

Hi everybody - just popping in to remind you that the deadline is almost upon you - december 31st will the challenge be closed - just about before the guests arrive at my house - or if you're lucky, you'll have to sometimes january 1st ... Central European Time - so don't count on those extra hours, you'll probably be sleeping anyway

[Jaxilon]

There are a lot of killer entries this month as usual. When the contest was started I felt it was beyond my reach. I was working on a commission and hadn't really done a big world map yet. So there I was barely looking at what was going on only to find myself, out of the blue, attempting a world map. It took me a bit to realize where the seed that sparked my creation came from and as soon as I realized it I felt I owed it to everyone who had inspired me, so I entered.

Whenever I enter one of these contests that have the likes of....well you all know there are some seriously talented contenders here....I always start out thinking, "Man, I hope I don't embarrass myself". ROFL! I know it is really not like that and everyone around here loves it when more people join in but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to feeling a tad intimidated when I see that certain of you folks are entering. Some of you have whipped me along when I needed to make something better and shared ideas on how you have done things. What is bizarre is that I know I can pick up a pencil and really draw well. It surprises me sometimes. All that makes me wonder if we scare off very many folks. I certainly hope not and anyone who's stuck around here for any time knows this is a great community.

So for any who want to join in but are feeling afraid they might look silly, why not go for it next month? Push yourself outside your comfort zone and put in an entry, at least enter the lite-challenge. You will learn so much by trying. You may not do great but if you are serious and keep at it, you are going to improve by leaps and bounds. I have entered several of these and even won a light compass once and yet I still go in every time thinking, "Man, I hope I don't embarrass myself." LOL, heck with that, just do it!

PS. Other than any small tweaks at this point, my file debacle has totally finished my entry for me so I just want to be the first to say (or at least one of the first), 'Great work everyone, thanks for entering!'.

[Ascension]

The main thing I get out of the challenges is discipline...there's a deadline out there and I've got to hit it. Except for this month. I'm still doing rivers so I'm still in the terrain stages.

[Jaxilon]

I was wondering if it is worthwhile to have a lower sized image included with your entry for those with slow machines or poor Internet connections? I know the thumbnail gives some idea of what you have but it's really really small.

How many people actually come on here but can't download 4MB files these days?

[jtougas]

There are a lot of killer entries this month as usual. When the contest was started I felt it was beyond my reach. I was working on a commission and hadn't really done a big world map yet. So there I was barely looking at what was going on only to find myself, out of the blue, attempting a world map. It took me a bit to realize where the seed that sparked my creation came from and as soon as I realized it I felt I owed it to everyone who had inspired me, so I entered.

Whenever I enter one of these contests that have the likes of....well you all know there are some seriously talented contenders here....I always start out thinking, "Man, I hope I don't embarrass myself". ROFL! I know it is really not like that and everyone around here loves it when more people join in but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to feeling a tad intimidated when I see that certain of you folks are entering. Some of you have whipped me along when I needed to make something better and shared ideas on how you have done things. What is bizarre is that I know I can pick up a pencil and really draw well. It surprises me sometimes. All that makes me wonder if we scare off very many folks. I certainly hope not and anyone who's stuck around here for any time knows this is a great community.

So for any who want to join in but are feeling afraid they might look silly, why not go for it next month? Push yourself outside your comfort zone and put in an entry, at least enter the lite-challenge. You will learn so much by trying. You may not do great but if you are serious and keep at it, you are going to improve by leaps and bounds. I have entered several of these and even won a light compass once and yet I still go in every time thinking, "Man, I hope I don't embarrass myself." LOL, heck with that, just do it!

PS. Other than any small tweaks at this point, my file debacle has totally finished my entry for me so I just want to be the first to say (or at least one of the first), 'Great work everyone, thanks for entering!'.

Absolutely Jax!! (Every time I post anything I say "I hope I don't embarrass my self..) but your right the challenges make us better and they are fun as well..

[Immolate]

I am a colorblind map hacker with no significant artistic ability who bulls his way through maps by brute force and determination. I have picked up considerable skill in Photoshop by repetition and study in the little-over eighteen months since I started mapping with it, but there are millions who are better with it than I am by simple virtue of having accurate color vision. Anyone can be as capable as me with Photoshop with time and effort. I say this because I've won some contests in that time, not by virtue of my awesome talent, but by something else.

Every project is a product of inspiration. You come up with an idea in your head which is a amalgamation of maps you have seen and were impressed by and things you've seen or done or read about that made an impact on you. These things gel and you take that often-ethereal concept from your mind and try to transfer it to electronic media. Two things, both the quality of the original idea and the million choices that you make along the way, translate into the finished product.

But inspiration is a fickle mistress, and though every idea comes from the same mind and experiences, they are not equal. The really good ones, the winners, look just like the others when you first see them. You have to commit to them to see whether they are among the better ones. But even then, you rarely know which ones others will like until after the vote.

My advise is to enter early and often. Be absolutely ego-free when offered advise and always act on it if you can at least feel neutral or better about the results. This is key if you are not a genuinely gifted artist. Genius resides in the strangest of places and the ability to make a pretty map is no indication of whether someone harbors a bit of it and whether they are offering it to you in the form of advise. When someone says "maybe it would work better if you did this..." what they are really saying is that the thing they are suggesting you change doesn't look quite right to them. That's a big deal and should not be ignored, even if the commenter is not an accomplished amateur cartographer. You don't have to be chef to appreciate a good meal.