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Thread: Hand drawn maps to scale

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  1. #4
    Community Leader Guild Sponsor Korash's Avatar
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    Well, Architects, Engineers and other technical drawing type people use what they call scales. (I hope that search is still available for you) They come in all sorts of different scales so you will need to figure out which one you want to start with. You can find them, or at least the more common ones, at most office supply stores.

    Now one of the things you need to understand about scales is that they are usually in the form of a ratio: 1 unit of measurement on the image will equal the stated multiple of that unit. EX. 1:1/4 means 1 inch/foot on the image equals a 1/4 inch/3 inches on the actual object (ie. the image is an enlargement). The same for larger scales like 1:10 000 only working the other way...1 inch on the map equals 10 000 inches on the ground. My suggestion would be to look over a few topographical maps to get an idea of what scale covers what sort of ground.

    Now those physical scales I mentioned....As you can see in the linked images, they are graduated in the scale stated on each side, with multiple scales per unit. Make sure you are reading the right one when you measure. Once you figure out the scale that you want your map to be in, it just becomes a matter of measuring out the distances you have with proper scale and marking it on the map. The accuracy of the map will depend on the measurements you have and direction readings you have.

    I hope that helps

    ***EDIT
    Yeah, I forgot something...Those physical scales come in imperial and metric measurement. Also you also want to make sure that the scale you are using is actually for reduction or enlargement. One of the OTHER things that I forgot to mention, is that if the scale is 1/4...that will usually mean that 1/4 inch equals 1 foot, 1/8 means 1/8 of an inch equals 1 foot......and by that I mean the measured distance on the image will equal that many feet on the ground...using the Architectural scales.......If you are not used to using them I very STRONGLY suggest that you talk to the office supply people and hope that you get someone you knows what they are talking about. I have several, but find that it is hard to describe with out showing the difference.....sorry...muddying the waters here....
    Last edited by Korash; 12-01-2012 at 01:31 PM.
    Art Critic = Someone with the Eye of an Artist, Words of a Bard, and the Talent of a Rock.

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