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Thread: Adventure author learns cartography

  1. #1
    Guild Novice Adventureaweek's Avatar
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    Default Adventure author learns cartography

    Hello everyone!

    I'm brand spankin' new here. Although I am no stranger to role-playing games, maps, or even writing adventures professionally... I'm still green when it comes to cartography as a craft. I am here to learn some new tricks and hope my friend Jonathan Roberts (torstan) has some free time to give me a couple pointers from time to time.

    I would like to also meet other cartographers who are interested in getting their work out and about in the RPG community. Todd Gamble and I founded Adventureaweek.com and launched our site earlier this year. We push out an amazing adventure every week. There are loads of opportunities for those looking to have their work published.

    Now that I'm done with my own self promotion, seriously. I'm here to learn. I love David C Sutherland III maps, especially some of the stuff he did for Dragonlance and Castle Ravenloft. I would like to find my own style and will surely take the traditional fantasy route when constructing maps... but I love to dream and twist things around... get creative... make something new that perhaps has never been done before.

    Hopefully I will meet some of you soon!
    Last edited by Adventureaweek; 07-10-2012 at 09:19 PM.

  2. #2

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    Welcome to the Guild Adventureaweek! I know that Torstan has created several map-making walk-throughs over in the tutorials section. There is a treasure trove of cartographic resources to be had in that forum btw. It's great to have more publishers here, we certainly welcome you.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh

  3. #3
    Community Leader Guild Sponsor Gidde's Avatar
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    Welcome to the Guild!

  4. #4
    Guild Novice Adventureaweek's Avatar
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    Thanks for the kind welcomes! What would you recommend for my first practice map in Photoshop?

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    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Blaidd Drwg's Avatar
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    Recommend? Oh dear, I don't know. Whatever you feel like!
    There are some really good tutorials in the tutorial section. Some of my favourites are:
    - Ascension's Atlas Style in PS
    - Pyrandon's Medieval Town Map Tutorial

    But there are many others. Just follow through a couple, go nuts and change whatever you like.
    Good Mapping!

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  7. #7
    Guild Master Facebook Connected jtougas's Avatar
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    Welcome to the Guild. I like to think of myself as a writer as well and I find that maps really help spark my imagination. I look forward to seeing your work.
    I am the breath of Dragons...The Song of Mountains...The Stories of Rivers....The Heart of Cities.... I am A Cartographer....

    Finished Maps
    Kingdom Of Shendenflar Campaign Setting (WIP)

    Everything I post is free for use and redistribution under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence, except where noted otherwise in the thread.

  8. #8
    Community Leader Jaxilon's Avatar
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    Awesome and welcome aboard. Torstan has been pretty busy lately with a huge commission and the whole Higgs-Bosun party lately but he still comes around so don't worry if he's a bit slow responding at the moment.

    You can do as mentioned though and read all his tutorials and stuff, that will help get you rolling. Plus there are a few folks here willing to give help to those asking. Just post up a WIP in the appropriate thread and you will be on your way.
    “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

  9. #9
    Guild Novice Adventureaweek's Avatar
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    Thank you to everyone for the greetings and providing some places to start. I have a couple adventures on Adventureaweek.com to catch up on, then I'll be devoting some free time to learning the basics of cartography.

    For anyone interested in getting involved in our site you can submit your work through this email: submit {at} adventureaweek.com

  10. #10
    Guild Novice Adventureaweek's Avatar
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    So, I have finished my first map! Where do I post it? Can I pop it up here?

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	BEFORE AFTER.png 
Views:	404 
Size:	2.23 MB 
ID:	46524

    BEFORE: Jacob Kellogg's rough map sketch
    (2012 RPG Superstar contestant)

    AFTER: My first professional map!
    (3x ENnie award winner Todd Gamble usually handles all the maps, but I decided to try my hand at cartography for this adventure!)

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