Map-making has been my hobby since I can remember. I would spend countless hours on the floor expanding my maps of graph paper and tape (sometimes even keeping a running census) or using all sorts of materials to creat 3d maps (ever tried cutting erasers?!).

Most of these "tangible" maps have long since met a tragic fate but still have a few remnants or photos that I can share here sometime. I am actually refurbishing a poster-board and papier mâché city that I'd even previously salvaged and re-constructed after my parent's cat used it as a scratching-post and bed.

Anyway, all of this knowledge of fellow mappers collected in one place will have a huge part to play in the quality of map I create from here on out and starting with these. I'll try to give credit for any inspiration and eventually, if-and-when I can organize my thoughts for long enough, maybe even create a tutorial for something

cereth: the compliment will make up for Michigan losing to you guys... again

wormspeaker: i built these on many (did i say many?) layers so each aspect/effect can be adjusted which allows endless variety. One of my aims for this project when finished (and a reason for the many test shades of relief maps here) is to have an atlas style topo/land-use map that will accept small text and still be legible.