Total Noob

[Steel General]

Welcome Aboard!

[Ascension]

Welcome. I'll add in a couple of things; go through the tutorials subforum to see what grabs ya and you could always continue hand-drawing maps as well. In the tutorials area look for a tut by delgondahntelius on the tools he uses. If you want to use a tablet for drawing by hand directly into the pc then Photoshop or Gimp or some other raster software is the way to go. By sheer volume CC3, PS, and GIMP are the most supported here in the tuts area. This is not to say that we favor or plug any one thing over another and it also doesn't mean that you can't use something else. SketchUp and Blender are gaining popularity for ISO and 3d styled maps and the tuts written for raster programs pretty much transfer to any other program like Paint Shop Pro, paint.net, etc.

[Kingbreaker]

Re: CC 3 -

Advantage: Good-looking maps from the beginning if you follow the tutorials

Disadvantage: SOme feel that CC3 can be more limiting than other programs because it "shunts" users toward certain styles. This is certainly not an absolute limitation - CC3 can be used very creatively.

Disadvantage: I personally feel that the interface of CC3 is non-intuitive and frustrating. Possibly more significant in the long run, you may eventually want to broaden out into other realms of digital imaging (I started off in heraldry) - the concepts and techniques you use in other graphics programs will be potentially a LOT more useful than CC3 later on.

But this is all, entirely, from my perspective and opinion only - and in no way a knock on CC3 for anyone else - it entirely depends on your needs and preferences.