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Thread: First map, try not to laugh

  1. #1
    Guild Novice
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    Default First map, try not to laugh

    ok, so I've just been playing around with gimp (just got it, no idea how to use it) have a partial map, kinda want to add a few things but, since i've never really done this using a program and never really shown anyone outside my circle of friends my maps i'm kinda shy about it, even though it's just a map. i'm just so.... confused on what to do next. any idea's and helpful criticism?




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    *CaspieBadKid buries her head like an ostrich*

  2. #2
    Guild Member Facebook Connected Elothan's Avatar
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    I like it!

  3. #3
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    Hi CaspleBadKid and welcome here!

    It's a good start. Maybe you could first think a pen in hand and do some sketches about what you want to put on your map: other mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, different kind of forests, think about the scale too, etc. You can also make this sketch directly with the app you use...

    After this first and I think quite important step - because you'll have to answer practical questions that will rapidly make the map - you can go and work out your map with a program like gimp. You'll find in the forum many tips and advices for this particular program that will be usefull for you. I put some basic link for you:

    http://www.cartographersguild.com/fo...torials-How-To

    and

    http://www.cartographersguild.com/fo...hp?77-How-Do-I

    Then you'll just need practicing and patience... Good luck!
    Last edited by Depassage; 06-21-2012 at 04:28 AM. Reason: typos

  4. #4
    Guild Adept
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    That's a fine first map for playing around with an unfamiliar program! Sadly I am not overly familiar with Gimp as I've been playing around in Photoshop but as mentioned above, tutorials abound!
    Upon the Creation of the World the First Dragons cast their seed in the light of a Sun and a Thousand Suns, beneath the Moon and a Thousand Moons, on a World and a Thousand Worlds.

    www.sistercontinents.com

  5. #5

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    Well the compass rose doesn't really match the overall style of the map. Also, I think the rough edges of the map could use a little TLC. I'd recommend browsing through the tutorials section and having a look at some of the old-map style tutorials. Might give you some ideas for how to improve on the style you are working with.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh

  6. #6
    Guild Expert jbgibson's Avatar
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    There was a thread recently (in the last month or 6 weeks?) that had some hints on making hand-drawn mountains like this look more 'rooted'. The gist was to *not* saw off your symbols flatbottomed, but include some ridgelines stretching toward the viewer, meaning they'll extend below the left and/or right edges. Does that make sense?

    The ragged edge could be sharper, somehow. The way you have the shadow works if it's being cast on a layer of clouds, but not on a table. Or on a sheep - that's it; are you saying the world rides on the back of a giant sheep? That's genius! The parchment texture isn't working for me - looks a bit more like veins on a slab of marble. Which would be a very interesting substrate for a map, but again, the ragged edge would kinda clash. On the other hand that would make the compass rose work better - kind of 'shiny' it is...

    Go ahead and try some rivers 'n vegetation 'n human-features 'n labels 'n stuff.


    Uhhh, you do realize that ostriching one's head constitutes waving another part of one's anatomy high, right? :-) Which would be a far more tempting "kick me" target, IF we of the Guild rolled that way. But no, we are a classy bunch, never taking cheap shots, always trying to be supportive. I'm with the others - fine start, just keep going. Tackle some of the Gimp tutorials - even if they don't lead to styles exactly like you want, the techniques they show you are multipurpose.

    <goes off mumbling to self: the world is a slab of marble on a universe-sheep, why didn't I think of that??? >

  7. #7
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    thanks guys, i appreciate the help, basically i've just been trying to do things on my own so i remember them. i mean, of course i'm going to have to have help to figure out more complex things, but for now i'm just working on learning how to manage simple things without having to have everything spelled out for me so it'll be easier to do it from memory. idk, i'm kinda independent that way. and stubborn :/ but i appreciate the comments.

    @jbgibson i cried while reading your comments. next time i laugh that hard i'll have to remember to breathe.

  8. #8
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    Oh and for the record, i like my mountains!!!!! LOL basically this map isn't suppose to be top of the line realistic. as i've been playing around with the story behind the map. it was given to the character by his father, who was an adventurer(of some sort, havent nailed done the deets on the dad yet) and the father created the map himself. this is going to be a secret, magical map, which i intend on making 2 versions, the second being more detailed and alot less shabby. it is one of 5 magical items in my story. a pair of boots, a cloak, a sword, a wand. and this map. the map is going to be similar to the marauders map from harry potter, except that the only foot prints shone on the map, come from the boots. basically this is going to be in place in order to tell your EXACT location. the map is also going to have a zooming option and searching option to the character once unlocked. it's basically going to be like GPS on an ipad .... except more precise, less technological, and definitely less annoying.

  9. #9
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    Any better?

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    i'm thinking i may take out the color but i kinda like it.. idk, it was just a test thing... idk, tell me what ya think

  10. #10
    Community Leader jfrazierjr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CaspieBadKid View Post
    thanks guys, i appreciate the help, basically i've just been trying to do things on my own so i remember them. i mean, of course i'm going to have to have help to figure out more complex things, but for now i'm just working on learning how to manage simple things without having to have everything spelled out for me so it'll be easier to do it from memory. idk, i'm kinda independent that way. and stubborn :/ but i appreciate the comments.
    Best advice I can give to pretty much any mapmaker: learn to use and love both layers and layer masks. There are very, very, very, very, very few times when an eraser should ever come into play as your building a map(IMHO.. but then again, I am a layer mask snob), especially on a layer with some type of texture(not that you have that specific issue here, but just a general note to all.). I lover layer masks so much that I created a short (crappy) tutorial for them(link in sig.) On a side note, most of the tutorials on here will use layer masks, so the sooner to become comfortable with them, the easier most of the tutorials will be.
    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.

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