The 'Cartographer' Title

[tilt]

*lol*... badge-bonanza ... I thought perhaps that the qualification was only achieved on mastering several styles

[Lailokken]

*lol*... badge-bonanza ... I thought perhaps that the qualification was only achieved on mastering several styles

How 'bout something along the lines of a 'Cartographer' coat-of-arms type award then? Just a shield though, instead of the full Achievement. Or maybe use a fancy map case and add emblems to it (like someone mentioned before) as you progress to a new level or master different styles.

[Master TMO]

I like the idea of giving out ranks or badges based on style, but we'd need to be careful not to have too many styles. 4-6, no more than 10-12 absolutely.

I'm unlikely to ever really branch out much from the realism category, as that's my art style of choice, so having any ranks or badges I earn reflect that and differentiate me from someone with a different style (or styles).

One concept, off the top of my head:
- Have badge ranks be based off a simple point system
- To earn points, the person creates a new WIP thread and builds a map from scratch in there.
- The person nominates the map for 2 ranks: Scale and Type. So my world maps of Batai and Gryphii would qualify for World + Realism. This way people could specialise in Star, World, Continent, Country, Local, City, Dungeon (etc).
- When the map is finished, they post a link to it in a specific forum thread. A board of (say) 12 people semi-monitor the thread. Each of them would give it a yay or nay vote. 6 Yes votes would give the person 1 pt in each of the categories.
- A simple rank structure from there with breakpoints based on points would suffice. 1 pt is a Novice. 4 is a Journeyman, etc.

Like I said, this is just off the top of my head, so I'm sure there are better ways of doing it. I tried to make it simple enough to be usable, but complex enough to be personalized. And the Review Board could have a rotating membership, and all 12 might not even have to be active at the same time, since only 6 yes votes are needed. There are a few weak points though - what are the qualifications for the Yes/No vote by the board? How much better would a map by someone with 12 pts in a style have to be over that by someone with only 2 in order to get the votes?

Some advantages: by needing 6 votes, it naturally makes nepotism or cronyism harder (not that I expect it to be rampant, but it's only natural to view works by friends in a better light, and work by someone you dislike as worse). Also, just needing 6 out of 12 means the Board isn't going to be continuously swamped in maps. If some are busy, they don't have to respond. Odds are there will be enough Board members active to cover for them. Of course, being offline for too long will result in you rotating off the Board so someone else can step in, but this won't be a demotion or anything. You'll be able to rotate in to someone else's spot in a few months.

[7thDirection]

As a professional "real-world" cartographer, I find this topic really interesting.

I went to college and obtained my Bachelor's of Science in Geography and Environmental Systems with a concentration in Cartography. It's my career. I create navigational charts for mariners. My "maps" are regarded as legal documents in International Courts of Law.

I've studied many different fields to succeed in my career: Geography (Physical and Social), Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Mathematics, Statistical Analysis, Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Cartography, Color Theory, Iconography, Typography, Publishing, Graphic Design, even Meteorology.

So, in a way, I'm a little incensed by those who say that no formal knowledge or training is necessary because of what I do. However, they are right. One doesn't need a lot of knowledge other than the basic computer and software skills and creativity to create maps. The education behind cartography would be a value added asset.

I have to admit, I do envy those of you who have created your own worlds. That seems like a fantastically fun and challenging pursuit. It would be something I would like to do one day (however I fear my family would never see me again).

*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ 7thDirection

.

[7thDirection]

No, I don't think you need formal training to make maps. It is purely a creative process when you are building your own worlds. There are no right and wrong answers. However, as a professional cartographer, I feel the title "Cartographer" DOES require an education.

I've earned my Bachelor's of Science in Geography and Environmental Systems with a concentration in Cartography. I'm a cartographer by trade. I don't make beautiful works of art as I've seen on this site, in fact, my maps are rather boring to look at. However boring they are, they are functional, necessary and accuracy is critical.

To succeed in my career, I've had to study: Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Geodesy, Oceanography, Hydrology, Remote Sensing, Mathematics, Analytical Statistics, Cartography, Graphic Arts, Iconography, Typography and even Meteorology. I believe understanding all of these studies make my job possible.

*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ 7thDirection

.

[Master TMO]

A valid point. I would imagine there are several folks here with real-world cartography experience (I did 10 years of GIS for various companies), and real life maps are quite different from the artwork we produce here. Maybe change the title somewhat so as to indicate the difference between the real-world profession and the 'maps as hobbies/entertainment/art' group? We're mostly discussing this as a vanity/amusement issue anyways, to provide a way of marking our achievements among fellow enthusiasts here on this site. We're not trying to market ourselves to companies (well, except maybe the occasional gaming and publishing companies ) based on what we do here.

[7thDirection]

I would love to dabble in fantasy cartography, however I don't have the necessary software to do so at home. I love my job, but it is restricted to reality only.

Perhaps some day I'll get the software, but I would probably be overwhelmed by the possibilities.

*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ 7thDirection

.

[Hai-Etlik]

I would love to dabble in fantasy cartography, however I don't have the necessary software to do so at home. I love my job, but it is restricted to reality only.

The necessary software is freely available. I use Inkscape for most of my maps, with support from The GIMP, QuantumGIS, GDAL/OGR, and a few custom programs written in Ruby and Java. Inkscape and/or The GIMP are all you really need.

There's a bit of work to transfer your knowledge from your ESRI and Adobe software, and you may have a bit of cognitive lock in to overcome. But in the long run I see it the same as with programming languages, knowing how to work with different programs makes you better with the underlying theory.

[tilt]

When we discuss this "title" I definitly think of being a "Fantasy Cartographer", not that I would not be able to make a real-world map I believe any graphic artist could - but it would be through "copying" a map from somewhere else. I once made a map of how to find a great restaurant - the map was just a straight line with 3 points drawn on it, so even though it looked nothing like the real world geography it was indeed simple and conveyed the information needed. So 7th direction, have no worries about your education - I guess people who would hire real world cartograhpers would require a real world exam *lol* .. but throw you legs up - download gimp and/or inkscape and try your hand at fantasy cartography too

[Gamerprinter]

I would love to dabble in fantasy cartography, however I don't have the necessary software to do so at home. I love my job, but it is restricted to reality only.

Perhaps some day I'll get the software, but I would probably be overwhelmed by the possibilities.

*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ 7thDirection

.

I have a friend who is also a GIS mapper with a Bachelor's degree in Cartography and Meteorology. While there is a need for 'design' to best represent a map graphically - GIS mapping and fantasy cartography are 'apples and oranges'. While GIS cartography is a needed skill to accurately represent mathematical and geological datum with many real world applications and uses, while I can appreciate it - it does not interest me whatsoever, and is not a kind of cartography I ever intend to pursue.

That said, I too require an understanding of geology, geography, meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, graphic design, iconography, but WITHOUT the requirement of extreme accuracy, as of course a fictional map is 'fiction'. I only require an understanding of those sciences, but not at the detail nor extent required by a real world cartographer. I don't require an education so much as a skill at 'Google-fu' and the ability to understand what I read online or other sources.

As an aside, I have been approached, yet not have done yet, the idea of creating fairly accurate maps for real world parks and similar projects for use as 'tourist' or promotional depictions for advertising hand-outs and the like using the same techniques I use now (ie: hand-drawn works). I would use an accurate GIS or other respresented map and/or aerial photograph for reference for proper scale, boundries, etc. These would be more like architectural renderings rather than analytically correct maps, however.

In the end, I am an artist, not a mathematician.

In this discussion for the 'Cartographer' title, as far as the Cartographers' Guild is concerned, Cartographer is defined as a Cartographic Artist, and not a true Cartographer.

GP