Best Method/Style for Rapid Map Sketching

[Gamerprinter]

While I agree that GIMP is a very powerful mapping tool, and it's free to download, its not the easiest program to learn and use - and certainly not the fastest mapping application you can have.

I have written an article posted on *G*M*S magazine helping would-be cartographers select the best progam for their needs - HERE.

Now I use Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9, its not free ($89), and I am pretty much the only guy who uses Xara for my mapping needs. Ask anyone in the know who the fastest mapper is - here or anywhere, and that is me. Partly because I work at rocket speed to do any graphics, but also partly because Xara is such a fast, vector application to create maps with. I can't claim that everyone using Xara will make incredibly fast maps, but I know that the way the program works, it can certainly facilitate doing incredibly fast maps.

GIMP is good, but by no means fast.

You can click on my various badges beneath my avatar to point to some award-winning maps I've done. I am a professional fictional cartographer having done RPG map commissions for Paizo Publishing, for the Jade Regent Adventure Path (City of Kasai and Kasai gazetteer), Rite Publishing (all the maps for the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror), Iron Crown Enterprises, Conflict RPG and many other smaller publishers - I use Xara to create all my maps (illustrations, cover designs and page layout - and web design.)

I have a dozen or so tutorials in this forum in which I create various things all done in Xara, though the techniques can apply to many different graphics applications.

[- Max -]

While I agree that GIMP is a very powerful mapping tool, and it's free to download, its not the easiest program to learn and use - and certainly not the fastest mapping application you can have.
GIMP is good, but by no means fast.

I have to disagree with this. Since Von Stahlein seems to want some quick sketch working with a graphic tablet, I would say any raster software like GIMP or Photoshop can do the trick very fast ( no need to have a deep knowledge of the software besides a few basic understanding of layers, brushes and a few tools) without getting some bad quality maps.

[Gamerprinter]

I have to disagree with this. Since Von Stahlein seems to want some quick sketch working with a graphic tablet, I would say any raster software like GIMP or Photoshop can do the trick very fast ( no need to have a deep knowledge of the software besides a few basic understanding of layers, brushes and a few tools) without getting some bad quality maps.

Actually Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 is the best vector tool for using a graphics tablet, even better than Illustrator, I am told. In GIMP I've found some drawing tablet issues, whereas in Xara the tools are much more intuitive with features like Sketch mode so that lines drawn closely together don't automatically connect, enabling pressure recording is a simple on/off switch on the tool bar. Plus Xara will let you draw lines with shape, that is start at 8 point width (for example) and the end of the line is a single point, for drawing things like rivers this is a great tool. Xara definitely has one of the fastest to enable and easiest to use drawing tablet capability, than most other software applications I use. I have a Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet that I sometimes use. I know that the first time I hooked up the drawing tablet to my PC, I was drawing superb line work in Xara inside of 5 minutes, even having never before tried to use a tablet with it. You can adjust Xara to react to pressure sensitivity for either line thickness or transparency or both at the same time.

Note: I technically use Xara Designer Pro 9 which is a larger (more expensive) drawing application with all the features of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9, but with page layout and web design capability. XDP9 won PC Pro magazines Software of the Year 2013 award.

Its faster and easier than doing the same in GIMP, I know, I've tried it with both applications.