Tutorials for Decorative Borders?

[Galendae]

I am looking for a Photoshop Tutorial for creating decorative borders.

I found this excellent one for GIMP, just was wondering if there was also one for PS?
https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...p+Borders+GIMP

Love Max's Map, Kingdom of Kesh too. The Borders on this map are superb. Max, please do a tutorial
https://www.deviantart.com/maximepla...Kesh-429008080

Thanks
Galendae

[Kellerica]

Hi there. While I personally have never come across any tutorials on this topic, I think I can offer you at least a couple of tips since I usually create some sort of decorative borders for my maps with PS. A lot of the things you can find in that Arsheesh tutorial you posted are valid with PS too; while the tools and commands used may vary a bit, the basic idea is the same: a good border consists of multiple layers all put together to accomplish the wanted look.

I'll give you a quick rundown on how I usually make my own borders, hopefully you'll find at least something useful in here.

There are two things that are my best friends in this task: the Custom Shape tool (found under the Rectangle/Line tool, fast key 'U') and the Layer Styles panel.
The very first thing I'll do, is by making sure I have my Ruler on view, and then lay down some Guides in order to make sure my border is going to be evenly postioned from every direction (see the attachment in case my wording is unclear.)


I'll start with a background layer. I usually I do this with simple rectangle shapes, by first deciding what size and what shape I want my border to be. I'll make the shapes, and merge them (or if I am uncertain on whether or not I want to make some changes later, I'll at the very least sort these separate shape layers in a folder, so they'll stay in order). I'll open the Layer Styles panel on the layer/folder, and give it a basic Color Overlay in whatever color I see fits the map. I'll leave it at this, for now.

Then I'll set out to creating the decorations. It can be anything from simple lines to the checkered pattern Arsheesh suggested to elaborate drawings. I usually opt for abstract curves, celtic knots or something like that. I'll make the decorations either by drawing them freehand with a Brush, or by using some Custom Shapes, or importing them as a PNG or SVG if I have something I have previously made that I want to use instead. This the most time consuming part, and I often end up spending several hours at trial and error until I find things that look good together. This really comes down to personal taste. At this point, I'll be working with just basic black color.
Once I have the decorations I want, I'll start playing with the Layer Styles panel. There really is no right answer to what I want to use here - it all depends on the look I'm going for. If I want to make the decorations look like they are carved into the border, I'll want to give them a Color Overlay in a hue that is very close to the backround layer's color (or optionally just drop down the Layer's Fill level to something like 10% or even less), and add an Inner Shadow. If I want to give the decorations a painted look, I'll instead give them a dark, ink-like Color Overlay and then give them an Outer Glow in the exact same hue (make sure the Blend mode is set to Normal), in order to give it a blurry look that often helps it 'bleed into' the texture of the map.

When I have found the look I want for the decorations, I can either go back to editing the Background shapes (perhaps experiment with Bevel & Emboss for a more 3D-ish look, or see what a Pattern or Gradient Overlays could accomplish), or then create a lineart layer on top of everything. For the lineart layer, I'll usually draw freehand lines to surrounding the border, and maybe add some extra lines here and there for a more fancy look. I usually only go for this if I want to make my border to look handrawn - freehand is often the only way to truly accomplish this look, but if that is not the goal, simly adding a Stroke to the Background of the border can get you there faster. If I go for a handrawn separate lineart layer, I'll again add an Outer Glow in the exact same color as the layer itself, to get that blurry look.

This is very simple breakdown of how I usually work with these elements. In practice, my borders usually are a combination of 5-10 layers all stacked on top of each other, but they are variations on these basic elements. The key to this all really is the Layer Styles panel. Sky really is the limit here - there really is no limit to what you can do with this baby once you get the hang of it.

Hope this gives you at least some ideas!

[Hai-Etlik]

Chequed neatlines are not decorative, they are a functional part of the map. They serve to enhance the readability of the graticule, and possibly to provide extra resolution without being as disruptive as a denser graticule would be. Like graticules, they also imply a degree of precision in measurement of latitude and longitude that may be inappropriate for some maps. If your map is supposed to be pseudomedival high fantasy, this may not fit.

They also provide information about the coordinate system that may conflict with your intent for the map. The spacing of meridians and parallels says things about the location of the map and the projection it's in. A large scale map that's not at the equator and is in a projection appropriate to the extent should have meridians closer together than parallels. If your neatline or graticule indicate something else, you have a problem.

It's also possible to design them in ways that don't make sense given their function similar to how it's possible to design a scale bar or compass rose that is hard to use. A neatline marks the precise edge of the extent of the map. They should also line up across the map extent, following the corresponding meridians or parallels. You should also avoid exact alignment to the corners of the extent unless the map extent itself is aligned to them as in the case of a global map or hemisphere map.

There are situations where it makes sense to ignore some of this. My Welstar map is pseudomedieval with an evenly spaced neatline aligned to the corners, because it's a map of a MUD, a game with a world divided up into a grid of cells and I wanted to indicate where the cells in the actual game map were. It's a good idea to be careful about doing this though and you should have a good reason.

There are also plenty of ways to be decorative that don't have these issues should you want to avoid them. Knotwork in particular is a great alternative for fantasy maps. It conveys a fantasy feel, doesn't inadvertently say anything you didn't mean to, and it just looks cool.

[Azélor]

We might not have the same definition of decorative.

I did this https://www.cartographersguild.com/a...0&d=1503031175

It's basically a bunch of rectangles with different borders and colors. They actually are the exact longitude and latitude of the map from the larger world it is part of.

For me this is what purely decirative looks like https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=42537

[Kellerica]

Oh, yeah. Both Hai-Etlik and Azélor brought up excellent points! I'll fully confess to being one of those fantasy mappers who uses functional elements such as those checkered borders and navigational rhumb-line resembling lines on the oceans merely for aesthetics. I'm much more of a designer/illustrator than I am a navigational expert, I couldn't make those elements correctly even if I wanted to...

[Galendae]

Hai-Etlik, Azelor and Kellerica, thanks for the responses.

"enhance the readability of the graticule"-Hai-Etlik, exactly what I was trying to achieve with the map I am working on. What you said makes sense and I have incorporated your suggestions. Thanks!

With trial and error, I have achieved a look that I think works well. Now I need to decorate the Title, the Map Legend and probably the extreme margin.

Thanks
Galendae

PS. Almost ready to post it in Finished Maps.