[Award Winner] Assorted tips and tricks

[torstan]

This is less a tutorial, than just a little advice on converting the advice of the last couple of posts over to Gimp.

grunge.png

So the last couple of tutorials I've posted have been very photoshop specific. This post is a quick note on how to achieve the same result in Gimp. The key is in getting the right brush.

Simple brushes without angle jitter
1 As before, create a grungy inkblot image -but this time, create it with a transparent background (images 1).
2. Save this as a .gbr file (the Gimp brush format), and place it in the gimp brushes directory (http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-using-brushes.html)
3. Re-open Gimp and your brush should be there. Throw in jitter (click Apply Jitter) and random colour variation using the Brush Dynamics setting in the brush dialog (above Apply Jitter) and you're good to go.

Brushes with angle jitter
For this we need to have a brush that has many copies of the brush image with different rotations. To do this, I'm deferring to the excellent tool by +Rob Antonishen here: http://ffaat.pointclark.net/blog/arc...g-Brushes.html
• Download the setup-brush.scm plugin, and check out this page for how to install Gimp plugins: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/GIMP/Installing_Plugins
• Create your brush splatter image as before, but this time make sure it's:
- square, so make sure the canvas has equal dimensions on each side
- on a white background, not as a transparent png
- flattened. Make sure there's only one layer
• Run the brush maker script from Script-fu->Setup Rotating Brush

You'll now have a new image with lots of rotated images in it.
• Save this as a .gih file - and make sure you follow Rob's screenshot for the correct settings for the Save Dialog
• Move the .gih brush your brushes directory.
• Refresh the brush list - it should now be there!

My version of the grungy brush for Gimp is here if you want to download it. It's free for any personal or commercial use - just don't sell the brush itself, that would be daft: http://jrsandbox.com/Maps/Mini-Tutes...ads/grungy.gih

Now for drawing the tree tutorial, you'll want to use the Brush Dynamics settings in the brush dialog. Those can be set to exactly follow the Photoshop tutorial here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...l=1#post177407

#gimp #tips #tutorials #fmtips

[torstan]

Today's tutorial is a quick walkthrough for isometric or forced perspective mountains. This is entirely software agnostic, and is the starting point for maps like this: http://fantasticmaps.wordpress.com/2...ld-of-hominia/ or this: http://fantasticmaps.wordpress.com/w...tsmapwebres-2/

isoMountains.jpg

This was done with a pen in my lunch break, but can equally be done in Gimp with a mouse, or Photoshop with a tablet.

1. Defined the silhouettes for your mountains. They can be jagged, they can be smooth. Allow your hand to wander and create different shapes. It helps to start with the closest mountain (bottom of the page) and work to the farthest (top of the page)
2. Draw the ridge line. Start at the highest point on a mountain and draw a ridge line to the next in the line of mountains. Don't draw directly to the next peak, offset the end of the line. That will make it look like the ridge drops down and then comes up the far side where it's hidden from the viewer.
3. Add in the details. Here I've taken lines from all of the mini-peaks and drawn flowing lines down the sides of the mountains. Add in a few secondary ridge lines running off down to ground level (like the second mountain from the top on the left hand side)

At this point you have your mountain range. Any more detail added with colour or tone will add to the effect, but you can leave it at this and it'll read just fine as a mountain range.