Hey all,

I have been lurking here for a couple of weeks and have decided to make my presence known to all. I have been a long time Gamemaster of Dungeons and Dragons (since the old 2nd Edition days.) Recently, I have abandoned my beloved D&D for the GURPS gaming system (much better ... to my surprise.)

All told, I've been creating maps by hand for nearly seventeen years now, and I have only recently begun to create them on computer. NOTE: I did utilize ProFantasy's Campaign Mapper [see note 1 below] back in the day but I never really liked that style of mapping. I have always prefered hand-drawn maps (i.e. Tolkien-esque) to CAD-type renderings.

I recently found one of RobA's tutorials as I was searching for GIMP [note 2] tutorials and found my way here. All I can say is, WOW! I hope that I can learn to create maps just like many I've seen here.

My current set-up is GIMP plus Inkscape and my weapon of choice is my Watcom Bamboo pen tablet. I hope to have something to post for you guys in time.

[1] Campaign Mapper was a freeware version of the Campaign Cartographer that came bundled with the AD&D Core Rules software. Note sure if any of you remembered that one or not.

[2] I've used GIMP for some time now having switched from JASC's PaintShop Pro. Keeping up with the upgrades and having to purchase a new version every so often hurts my wallet. A second hobby of mine is comic books and I have been creating them on my computer for some time now.