Step 6 (part two), shaping a mean-temperature map
Now we start shaping those straight lines from the baseline map. Start by putting the baseline map under all the layers which map influences and make all those layers 60% visible (opacity).
We will deal with one influence at a time. They may curve the lines in either direction. As a general rule I make the influence curve a temperature boundary only half way to the next boundary. I hope you get what I mean with help from the ilustrated examples.
Right, so let's jump in. You can ignore topography, winds, rain, and what not. All it matters now is the temperature map and each of the influences. So, turn everything off, except the baseline radiation map and...
1. Maritime Influence
This is a milding influence, which means it turns areas closer to mild/warm temperatures. Which means, bend the boundaries in a way that turns some "Very Hot" area into "Hot" area and "Hot" into "Warm", and on the opposite side, make "Extremely Cold" into "Very Cold", and so forth until "Cold" turns to "Mild".
As you can see, I use a dummy/draft layer to write the new boundaries, then adjust the temperature map. You have some liberty adjusting those boundaries, just try to keep the same criteria throughout.
2. Continental Influence
This is an extremes influence, basically working in the opposite direction to maritime influence. "Hot" turns to "Very Hot", "Warm" to "Hot" on the other end, "Cold" gets "Very Cold" and so forth. Mild is not affected.
Again, re-shape those boundaries like before.
In this particular case, you can see how the interior of this equatorial continent gets hotter. The original straight lines are disappearing already...
3. Cold/Warm currents
These have cooling or warming effects, obviously. However, they cannot take areas into extreme temperatures. Thus, they never influence an area into "Very Hot" or "Very Cold" into "Extremely Cold".
This is now showing the mean july temperatures after cold and warm currents are factored in. In the left side of the map I created a pocked of "Hot" in the middle of "Warm" as that area was under the influence of a warming factor and less than halfway to the next boundary - this can be done with any influence.
4. High humidity
This is a no-extremes effect. Water "soaks up" a lot of heat energy preventing temperatures from rising sharply and it also releases that heat energy should temperatures really drop. It changes every area closer to "Hot", "Warm" or "Mild". Areas already in these temperature range are not changed.
Keep reshaping the map. In this case, all the areas under this influence get affected, it's not a case of bending the boundary "half-way".
5. Medium Elevation
Well, the higher, the colder, that's a basic rule of thumb. Every temperature range will drop one level colder. However, compute this obeying the "only halfway to next boundary" rule... medium elevation isn't that high.
6. High Elevation and Very High elevation
On the other hand, these influences will make the temperature drop no matter at what latitude. Any area under this influence gets colder. I suggest you work this out from cold areas to warmer areas - if you do the other way around you will end up messing up the work.
..July
..January
So this is the final result. After every factor is computed in, I zoomed in on the details that didn't look right (like spikes, right angles, etc) and adjusted them slightly to get a more "natural" result. Then I used the sea mask to delete the over-the-ocean-clutter and end up with a mean-temperatures map of the land only.
But this is it, as computed by the method I just detailed.
It's a very mild Winter for most of the land south of the equator apart from the highlands where it gets Very Cold even at the tropics, while the Summer on the north is Hot, but not extremely except in some pockets. In January, on the other hand, things are different, Summer is scorching inland south of the equator. The very tall plateau in the northern hemisphere, however, even if almost tropical, gets freezing temperatures.
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Originally Posted by Azelor
