How do I start with a world map and work down while maintaining scale?

[johnvanvliet]

if you create heightmaps( raster images ) like waldronate and i do besides wilbur there is Qgis and the r.teraflow GRASS plugin
see my last update to the April challenge
https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=40181

look at the difference in post 3 and 4
-- it is small but there
there is also a tool Just for rivers , though i have not used that yet

also qgis can remap to one projection and then back to the original
-- something g.projector can NOT do

[StillnessTolls]

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you, waldronate

[Orastus]

I came here to post about this exact topic, so thank you for asking it!

I also have a desire to create a large world map and then detail specific locations in regional close ups. The advice given so far has given me research topics to pursue.

I understand that clipping specific sections and redrawing coastlines for detail can achieve this goal. However, how does one make sure the heights are fairly consistent?

Also, are there any particular techniques the community recommends on generating large, planet scale land masses? Would a basic alpha map, as demonstrated in various tutorials, be sufficient?

[waldronate]

The best way to ensure consistency (in shape, area, altitudes, and so on) is to generate a whole-world map (a height map could work for this). Editing smaller pieces and ensuring consistency from the edges of those pieces back to the whole has three major possibilities: [a] extreme discipline (that is, spend a lot of time ensuring consistency), [b] declare that the smaller pieces are correct, or [c] don't worry about it too much because early maps were frequently off in shape and area.

As always, what you're going to do with your maps will have a major impact in how you approach your mapping.

[Orastus]

Thank you for your reply Waldronate. I am a beginner and still very much in the initial learning stages. I have made a few scratch/practice maps mainly using Ascension's Atlas tutorial.

I have a very long running RPG campaign for which I would like to create these maps. The various aspects of the game are spread around a large area. I just want zoomed in regional maps to feel like they belong to the larger world map.

I feel as if my land masses are very uninspiring when I create them using some basic alpha mapping techniques. However, I also understand that land has a fractal quality, gaining more detail and granularity as you zoom in. I would probably ascribe to possibility b, the smaller maps contain the true detail.

I am most interested in using some of the techniques using Wilbur to simulate realistic erosion and river formation. My concern was recreating this on regional maps in a way that feel consistent with the larger depiction.

I hope that all makes sense