Drawing mountain ranges by hand (AKA Jon Roberts how did you do this??)

[aaronil]

I'm a hobbyist mapper trying to teach myself some new tricks.

I recently read a great post on Jonathan Roberts' site about making mountains: Top Down Hand Drawn Mountains in Gimp or Photoshop.

The first two steps - drawing the ridge lines - have left me flummoxed.

Here's how his look:



Now, just using my mouse and a low-opacity brush tool and/or ink tool, here's how mine look:



Realizing there was an order of magnitude difference, I figured I'd better stop before I hurt myself and ask the pros. How do I get that "hand-crafted" look to my strokes? I'm assuming even without a Wacom tablet there are some setting I can tweak to get it?

Thanks!

[Jaxilon]

Well, pressure sensitivity makes a big difference. Drawing with a mouse the lines are the same width from start to finish. Using a tablet and stylus you can draw from wide to thin just by easing up on the tip. Doesn't mean you cant make some killer maps with a mouse. When I started I used a mouse as well but when I got a tablet it was a lot different.

I'm thinking if you want to get a hand drawn look you will want a pen. If you can draw it on paper you should be able to then draw it on your tablet.

Additionally, you are at like stage 2 of his drawing. Adding the shadow and so on will add a lot to what you are doing. You probably won't look exactly like Jon on your first try. Don't forget he's been doing this for years.

[Deadshade]

It's the light/shadow that makes the whole difference.
Basically you work either line oriented (most maps are like that) or you work surface oriented (typically relief and/or 3D maps).
The former is natural for pencil/pen work because pencils/pens, trivially, draw lines.
The latter is natural for brush work and in this case you can do a whole map without a single line appearing - the "lines" jump up at you as interfaces between colors,light and shadow and this can be done with only a mouse. I did several maps like that.

If you have only a mouse, it is indeed practically impossible to do a line oriented map IF you want to go for the realistic or at least semi-realistic style. The constant thickness of a mouse drawn line makes the result immediately look cartoony.
This can be done if you go for a very symbolical map or a town/building map where the constant thickness doesn't matter.
So if you want to do a realistic looking line oriented map with lines of variable thickness, you should do it with a pen/pencil or its electronic equivalent the tablet.

[aaronil]

Well, pressure sensitivity makes a big difference. Drawing with a mouse the lines are the same width from start to finish. Using a tablet and stylus you can draw from wide to thin just by easing up on the tip. Doesn't mean you cant make some killer maps with a mouse. When I started I used a mouse as well but when I got a tablet it was a lot different.

I'm thinking if you want to get a hand drawn look you will want a pen. If you can draw it on paper you should be able to then draw it on your tablet.

Additionally, you are at like stage 2 of his drawing. Adding the shadow and so on will add a lot to what you are doing. You probably won't look exactly like Jon on your first try. Don't forget he's been doing this for years.

Hah, well no point moving on to stage 3, 4, or 5 when it's clear I wasn't getting the desired look at stage 2. That would be like "well, my pancake batter tastes like fish, but let's go ahead and add baking powder anyhow!"

Sounds like to get serious about this I'll need to start working on a tablet to get the desired lines I want. Thanks, that clears it up!

[Josiah VE]

I think mainly it is the tablet, and he has years and years of experience. I couldn't imagine doing my maps without a tablet, it really makes the difference.