Scales, Areas - what software is best?

[rauvin]

Hi everybody! How is everyone doing?! I am new to the guild and looking forward to all the cool stuff I am going to learn from you guys
My dearest brother told me to draw a map for his fantasy setting and he insists, that I use his scales while drawing...
So there is this quite large realm that is literally the center of the civilized world and the other nations just clutch at its borders. Brother dearest tells me that this realm is around 2,2 million km² large...
My question is, is there a software that can actually calculate the area of a country/realm while i am drawing it. Is it possible to do it with cc3 oder do I need fractial terrans 3 for that?
Thanks for your help and recommendations

[Midgardsormr]

I believe CC3 has a command to calculate the area of a shape. FT won't help you there. It's primary function is to create landforms and a heightmap. I don't think it has any tools to designate political divisions, just physical features. It's also not terribly good at guided creation. It's best for generating entirely random features.

I'd say your best bet is to get the shape for your central nation to your brother's satisfaction without regard to its size. Once you have the shape, you can run the Area command to get its size and rescale it to where you need it to be. Then you can turn your attention to the surrounding nations.

edit: Oh yes, and welcome aboard!

[rauvin]

Hi there! Thanks for the reply Midgardsormr
By the way, whats your opinion on GIMP? I watched a tutorial on youtube and it seemed to me that its rather complicated to create a map with GIMP. Does anyone know a more amateur-friendly software?

[Azélor]

I would not say that Gimp is more user friendly than CC3 but you can see the number of pixels selected with the histogram. http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...?t=2279&page=2

[Midgardsormr]

I don't really have an opinion of Gimp itself, as I have never seriously used it. I use Photoshop. However, speaking generally of raster editors vs CAD (which is what CC3 is), it is my opinion that CAD can be faster, but a raster editor is more flexible.

I actually advocate using a combination of both. Use CC3 for rapid layout and development, then move into Gimp or Photoshop for some post-processing and effects that are more difficult in CC3. But when you're getting started, learn to use your main tool well first before adding another one.

[Gamerprinter]

I use vector software (Xara Photo & Graphic Designer) for all my mapping, rather than an image editor like GIMP or Photoshop. Vector software has a defined page size (that you setup yourself at the start of the session) - I usually work in sizes of 18 x 24, 24 x36, or 36 x 48 inches. In vector pixels have no meaning until you export the file to an image format, vector is only points, lines and shapes in whatever predefined scale you want. Since I work in inches, there is a 1 inch square grid (points only) on the page that I use to gauge scale. If I am designing an encounter scale map, I make 1 inch equal 5 feet. On the other hand if I'm working on a city or regional map, I might say 1 inch is a 100 feet or a mile, and design my map with that scale in mind and a grid to reference as I work. I can even work in real world scales (feet, meters, miles, kilometers), but I don't need to as I can convert from inches on my own, just fine. Once a map is complete, I am free to rescale (if I want), then export it at whatever pixel resolution I want, even multiple resolutions from the same original map design. I export 300 dpi for intended printed maps, or 100 dpi for most digital only maps.