100% noob checking in!

[wilhufftarkin]

Hi guys!

I want to start by saying I have heard amazing things about this community and am excited to learn from the best of the best! I have been running the D&D 5e campaign Curse of Strahd for about 8 months now. My group has maxed out on content in the book, but want to keep it going so I am currently in the process of writing level 10-15 content for them in the Demiplane of Dread. I am pretty comfortable with the setting, and the regional maps included in the book are top-notch. While I have the majority of my story content laid out, my weak spot is 100% maps. I don't even know where to begin. I want to make something more visually appealing than the RPGmaker looking maps I've done with the Roll20 interface in the past, but I have no idea where to begin. I am willing to invest some money into software, but again aside from PS I really have no idea where to start.

Specifically, I am looking to create maps for three dungeon environments, and one smallish quest hub town. Like I said, I am happy with the larger scale maps included in the book. If there is some sort of FAQ thread for new members, I would really appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction! Thanks in advance!

[Mouse]

Hello and welcome wilhufftarkin

Its always good to see new members raring to go.

The two sticky threads at the top of the Software Discussion forum might help a bit if you are looking for software comparisons or recommendations. Even though they were both started a long time ago and some of the apps mentioned in the early comments either no longer exist or have changed a lot in the last 10 years, they are still pretty useful if you read right up to the present day. You might also find a few of the other threads in that forum an interesting read.

If you are already set on PS, and you mean tutorials, there are literally thousands of such things in the Tutorial/How-To forum, and if you get really stuck on something specific there is always the How Do I ??? forum, where you can ask any relevant question you may have.

Looking forward to seeing some of your maps

[wilhufftarkin]

Mouse,

Thanks for the kind words! I am starting off with baby steps, just trying to get familiar with PS in general for now, but hope to have something to show the guild before too long. Do you have any general advice/pitfalls you would look out for if you were starting out?

[Mouse]

General advice - This place is a hive of helpful and very talented people - you only have to show us a problem and ask for help and you'll find that out for yourself

The only pitfall I can think of when starting out is the tendency to try to achieve too much in the very first few maps. Art is something that can be learned, but like everything else it takes time and patience. Take things in smaller steps, rather than gigantic leaps - unless, of course, you are having us on and you're really an expert artist already

[Diamond]

Hey Tarkin, if you're a complete newbie to PS and mapping, I'd say my advice would be to just dive in to some of the PS tutorials here. Start a work-in-progress thread in the relevant subforum (Regional, etc...) and if you want comments/help/advice, ask away.

Welcome to the Guild!

[wilhufftarkin]

Diamond,

Thanks for the advice. I'm in the midst of this semester's final exams for veterinary school, so trying hard to not get too distracted just yet lol. I will work through some PS tutorials next week most likely and see where I get from there

[Diamond]

Ah. Good luck on the exams!!