Mapmaking - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Mapmaking

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Adromalath
Aug 24, 2010 14:35:47 I'm planning to create a campaign for my party that continues the story from H1 and H2 (I've changed them a little) and thought I'd start out by making a world map. And so I wonder if there's any program that would make it easy to create world maps or if I need to rely on either my sucky hand-drawing skills or my possibly worse MS Paint skills :P
#2
mobar2008
Aug 24, 2010 19:27:17 Any reason you think you need a world map at this point?

#3
zeropoint
Aug 24, 2010 20:21:08 There's also the cartographer's guild, where you could pick up pointers or tutorials or just find a nice looking map that works and use it.
#4
tedium
Aug 25, 2010 3:35:10 If there's nothing potentially spoilerish in the map, do a quick pencil sketch of it, and ask your players if any of them would mind making a good looking one to those specs. The version with all the spoilers on can be as scruffy as you want, since only you should be seeing it anyway.
#5
Adromalath
Aug 25, 2010 5:11:09
Any reason you think you need a world map at this point?

I like to have one handy, makes it easier for me to create storylines and such if I have a handy set of towns and other locations to use. Of course it won't be set in stone, I'll add stuff as I go along It just makes it easier for me to tell the story if everything is neatly organized and I know what is north of that town and south of that river.
#6
Phrenesis
Aug 26, 2010 1:31:14
I prefer creating maps with Adobe Photoshop. Maybe you have a version, because I can share a nice YouTube-Tutorial with you: Fantasy Carthography with Adobe Photoshop.

It needs a bit of time and a little bit of training, but it is definitely worthwhile.
#7
bone_naga
Aug 26, 2010 11:27:31 I like Fractal Mapper from nbos for world maps. The fractals let you create continents and other landmasses very quickly, you can place objects on different layers and hide layers as needed. You can project the map onto a second screen with the GM only layer hidden from view. You can turn your map into a globe view. It has tools like a distance calculator. And I've recently started using it for my battlemaps as well and it has proven very useful.
#8
zeropoint
Aug 27, 2010 9:31:56

I prefer creating maps with Adobe Photoshop. Maybe you have a version, because I can share a nice YouTube-Tutorial with you: Fantasy Carthography with Adobe Photoshop.

It needs a bit of time and a little bit of training, but it is definitely worthwhile.

And GIMP is essentially a free version of that program, for the cost-conscious DM. You can check around to see which you might prefer, but I've used both and there is very little that I can't do in GIMP that I can in Photoshop, so I go with the free option.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Adromalath Aug 24, 2010 14:35:47	I'm planning to create a campaign for my party that continues the story from H1 and H2 (I've changed them a little) and thought I'd start out by making a world map. And so I wonder if there's any program that would make it easy to create world maps or if I need to rely on either my sucky hand-drawing skills or my possibly worse MS Paint skills :P
#2 mobar2008 Aug 24, 2010 19:27:17	Any reason you think you need a world map at this point?
#3 zeropoint Aug 24, 2010 20:21:08	There's also the cartographer's guild, where you could pick up pointers or tutorials or just find a nice looking map that works and use it.
#4 tedium Aug 25, 2010 3:35:10	If there's nothing potentially spoilerish in the map, do a quick pencil sketch of it, and ask your players if any of them would mind making a good looking one to those specs. The version with all the spoilers on can be as scruffy as you want, since only you should be seeing it anyway.
#5 Adromalath Aug 25, 2010 5:11:09	Any reason you think you need a world map at this point? I like to have one handy, makes it easier for me to create storylines and such if I have a handy set of towns and other locations to use. Of course it won't be set in stone, I'll add stuff as I go along It just makes it easier for me to tell the story if everything is neatly organized and I know what is north of that town and south of that river.
#6 Phrenesis Aug 26, 2010 1:31:14	I prefer creating maps with Adobe Photoshop. Maybe you have a version, because I can share a nice YouTube-Tutorial with you: Fantasy Carthography with Adobe Photoshop. It needs a bit of time and a little bit of training, but it is definitely worthwhile.
#7 bone_naga Aug 26, 2010 11:27:31	I like Fractal Mapper from nbos for world maps. The fractals let you create continents and other landmasses very quickly, you can place objects on different layers and hide layers as needed. You can project the map onto a second screen with the GM only layer hidden from view. You can turn your map into a globe view. It has tools like a distance calculator. And I've recently started using it for my battlemaps as well and it has proven very useful.
#8 zeropoint Aug 27, 2010 9:31:56	I prefer creating maps with Adobe Photoshop. Maybe you have a version, because I can share a nice YouTube-Tutorial with you: Fantasy Carthography with Adobe Photoshop. It needs a bit of time and a little bit of training, but it is definitely worthwhile. And GIMP is essentially a free version of that program, for the cost-conscious DM. You can check around to see which you might prefer, but I've used both and there is very little that I can't do in GIMP that I can in Photoshop, so I go with the free option.