The World According to Wolfe

[jfrazierjr]

Not so much to show elevation changes as opposed to just giving a bit of texture instead of a flat color. In the long run, I may end up using a flat color.

For the most part, I'm just experimenting on the side with full digital generation while working the hand drawn version at the same time. The biggest problem I face with hand drawn maps is that I do them on a very large scale (i.e. world maps being the size of a wall map) so scanning them in is a bit of a chore since I have to do it piece by piece and then try to put them together.

GW

Ah... if your not trying for an elevation map underwater, you may want to try something a bit more subtle. Your using Paint Shop Pro, is that right? Unfortunately, I have no idea how it works, so can't give any direct help. Can you create noise/clouds in PSP? and if so, how much control do you have over the outcome? Also, does the version you are using have layer masks? I am kind of thinking along the lines of creating a texture using noise/clouds and bump mapping that and then using a layer mask to block out the land shape, at least that's what I would do in GIMP, but not sure if PSP (or your version) has those features.

[Greason Wolfe]

To an extent, yes, I have those features. Unfortunately I don't have much control over them (random noise or gaussian noise and a very basic cloud texture) since it is an older version of PSP. I haven't ruled out experimenting with them yet, however. I'm just taking things one step at a time and comparing the results to see what looks the best. Thanks for the suggestions, though, will definitely keep them in mind.

GW

P.S. I have downloaded GIMP and will be experimenting with it soon, but, as always, there is a learning curve and I am, at least with GIMP, at the bottom of that curve at the moment.

[jfrazierjr]

To an extent, yes, I have those features. Unfortunately I don't have much control over them (random noise or gaussian noise and a very basic cloud texture) since it is an older version of PSP. I haven't ruled out experimenting with them yet, however. I'm just taking things one step at a time and comparing the results to see what looks the best. Thanks for the suggestions, though, will definitely keep them in mind.

GW

P.S. I have downloaded GIMP and will be experimenting with it soon, but, as always, there is a learning curve and I am, at least with GIMP, at the bottom of that curve at the moment.

Well... I can say there are plenty of people here that know GIMP, so you could probably get a lot more help if you decide to give it a go. I would start with RobA's regional map tutorial and run through it (open a WIP thread also!) because it covers a HUGE range of techniques in GIMP. Also, if you do set up GIMP, there are a lot of plugin's available, many of which have links found here and in RobA's sig. This one, is an add on for the default noise generator, which(the default GIMP one that is) while very good compared to most softwares noise generators, is a dinosoar compared to the one I linked to.

[Steel General]

I started with GIMP (and of course RobA's tutorial) and later moved on to Photoshop (I prefer the interface), the learning curve isn't terrible so I think you'll find yourself moving up fast.

[Greason Wolfe]

So, I know it's been a while since I posted. Lots of problems here in winter wonderland, so to speak. Nothing quite like working 70 to 80 hours a week because everyone else is afraid to drive in a little snow and/or ice. And, of course, there were those corrupted tube files that I am having to rebuild. I have, however, made a little progress through another utility. I decided to revisit my efforts to export FTPro results into Terragen. I'll have to rebuild my surface maps to some degree, but here are some preliminary results.

The first image is a full color version of the islands as rendered by FTPro.

The second image is a grey-scale version of the islands, again rendered by FTPro, but using a color-scheme with Terragen in mind.

The final image is a Terragen rendering of the islands based on the grey-scale image and using a very basic "Forest" surface. As I said, I'll have to re-work the surface to better identify mountainous regions and give it more of a "jungle" feel since the islands are in a tropical climate.

As always, comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

GW

P.S. If anyone is interested in how I did this, I'd be happy to whip up a quick (and dirty) tutorial explaining the process as it applies to Terragen V0.9.43 and will happily include the coloring schemes I used in FTPro.

[Ascension]

I would be one of those who wants a tut on this. My experiments with importing into TG have been average at best.

[Steel General]

I second this, always good to have a tutorial for things like this, in case someone wants to try something new and/or different.

[Greason Wolfe]

I would be one of those who wants a tut on this. My experiments with importing into TG have been average at best.

No problem. I'll get on that later tonight or early in the morning then, and should have it posted sometime during the day on Friday after I've gotten a little shut-eye.

GW