Steps 16 - 20 and we're done!
Five more steps and this tutorial is finished!
Step Sixteen: Next import a forest texture, I used the best one I could find at:http://www.cgtextures.com
Import, then delete. Select the forest shape, apply the forest texture with the Color Fill Tool and the bitmap selection of the dropdown and the forest texture (now added to the gallery.)
Sometimes I want a different color then the texture provided. So with the forest filled, forest shape selected, click the Transparency Tool. In the top transparency menu, the second dropdown with the default setting of "Mix", go to the second option which is "Stained Glass".
This option of transparency works very similar to a layers effect in Photoshop. It allows the background object to show through the shape the effect is applied to - it looks right to me.
Continue to create a second forest shape on the other side of the river.
I forgot to mention, these particular forests should be placed on the ground level below the plateau, as I plan to use a different colored forest on top.
The first image shows the results.
Step Seventeen: now to create the forests on the plateau and in the valleys between the mountains we've created. Using the freehand drawing tool create a scalloped forest shape on ground areas and valleys between the mountains (we want the mountains to rise above the forest level.)
The second image shows this result.
Step Eighteen: apply the Forest texture fill. Since these forests are so scanty in shape, you won't need to apply a transparency effect. Instead "Feather" the object to give it a more realistic edge - don't let the forest disappear by feathering tool much, however.
The third image shows the results (along with the completed forested areas.)
Step Nineteen: now to create the water level, first the shallows. This one is easy. First create a rectangle that completely covers the map area. Select the "teal color" in the color menu at the very bottom of the screen. Next go to "Arrange/Move to Back". That's it, now your river is filled as well as the oceans beyond the coast.
In Campaign Cartographer, the water level is created at map setup in the wizard at the start of the app. Because Xara Xtreme is a vector drawing application, you can do any step, at any time. I usually do the water last.
The fourth image shows the results.
Step Twenty: last step, create the deeper waters. Similar to how you created the land shape in step one, you will create the deep water area, beyond the shallows, but closely following the contour of the coast line. You will be required to again, again use the Alt key, when you get to the edges of the map, to insure a clean, straight line.
Once the shape is closed, apply a darker blue from the Color Menu at the bottom of the screen. Select color to your taste of course. Rather than a harsh line between deep and shallows, you will apply a feather using the Feather slider at the top right of the screen.
Notice however, that the shallows are showing through. There are several ways to handle this. One way, is to create a narrow rectangle on the edges of the map, where it should still be deep water. Use this to hide the feather, with the same color as your feathered deep water object.
The other way to handle this is how we have to take the final exported map into GIMP or Photoshop and apply a crop to clean it off.
Anyway, the map is complete as far as Xara is concerned. Save the file in .xar format by going "File/Save As", so you can make edits later on. Now you want to export this map for useability. Go to "File/Export" and select your preferred file format, whether its BMP, JPG, PNG, whatever. Within the settings of the file format you can adjust color depth, resolution to whatever your needs.
The last image below shows the completed map, before export.
That's it!
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