Pointers

[jason.yarbrough]

I am just getting comfortable in these forums as I have never posted in one before I joined the guild. Looking for pointers about anything really. I am writing my first book for my dark fantasy series as well as map making. I started reading a book on plate tectonics and I am not sure if this is really relevant for map making. Any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. I will get better at this, I do promise

[Jaxilon]

First of all welcome and it's always nice to have new blood joining.

Sure tectonics are applicable but not everyone uses them. It depends on the level or reality you want to bring to your maps. Most of us are bothered by rivers that split on the way to the Sea for instance but only a few are bothered by mountains in the wrong places. Unless it's really crazy looking and doesn't have any external reason for it.

There are some folks here who know quite a bit about tectonics but I'm not any an expert. I know they exist and a little about how they work but I've never really delved deeply into the subject.

I have seen some threads on this topic before however so I do know there are some good discussions. You might try a search and see what pops up or maybe one of the folks who has them tagged will swing by and provide a link.

Either way have fun and I hope to hear/see more about what you are creating.

[Kellerica]

Like Jaxilon said, it all depends on what you are looking for and what your goals are.

I am myself first and foremost an artist/designer and storyteller first, not a scientist. I try to make my creations realistic enough that they don't cause the more scientific types to roar with rage, but for me the design and colors and making the map aesthetically pleasing is always the most important part. Of course I'm not saying I'm perfect at it, far from it! But that is my general approach to map-making, and I for one don't really worry about tectonics or the like.


Is there something in particular that you wish to get more info on? Are looking for a good way to get started on a brand new map and world, or do you already have a place in mind you'd like to put on paper? Do you have an idea on the style and look of the kind of map you'd like to make?

Since you did not specify what kind of tips you'd like, I'm just going to go ahead and point you in the direction of my personal favorite tutorials on starting out. The tutorials are for Photoshop, in my very biased opinion the greatest software for mapping, and the book is more generally related to map design. If you are interested in the 'classic' kind of fantasy maps, I found these resources to be invaluable when I started out.

Check out this book by Jared Blando, also known as TheRedEpic on these forums. A fantastic artist, he has done a bunch of mapping for the official publifications of D&D, just to name some of his work, and he wrote a book about making maps! It's pretty basic stuff on step-by-step approach to creating a map, and it's great for people starting out. This, in my opinion, is kind of the minimal amount of knowledge for setting out to create a fictitious place. It gives you some basic dos and don'ts on designing the landscape, without going into too much geographical detail.

As for the PS tutorials, first of all, take a look at the Jezelf series. This is the first tutorial set I ever tried following, and despite it being a little aged here and there, it's a worthwhile read for the alpha channel stuff alone. I would read through both of these and the next one, however, since there are a few things that Jezelf does that Tear does in a much smarter manner.

Everyone here knows the Saderan tutorial by Tear. It's almost a Guild classic by this point, and for good reason. This is a tutorial I strongly recommend to any starting PS mapper, even if you feel like the style isn't your cup of tea. It will help you get familiar with the Layer Styles panel and how to use masks effectively, which in my opinion are some of the most important assets in any PS mapper's bag of tricks.

The Ascension Atlas tutorial is also worth your time, some great tips in here as well.

There is also this article on Photoshop basics in general. I never used this myself - everything I know about using PS I've learnt from the tutorials above - but give it a glance if you feel like it.

For using tutorials, the most honest advice I can give you is this: don't panic even if you don't know what you are doing at first. Work your way through the tutorial even if you don't quite get it just yet. They usually tell you exactly what to do step by step, and even if you feel like you are going about it totally blind, just keep going. It's normal. When you have done them once or twice exactly as you've been told, you'll slowly start to feel more comfortable to begin carefully experimenting, and by then you will begin to understand what it is about, why the thing does what it does and how you can get different results. Don't just open up a tutorial, take a look at it and say "I don't understand this" and give it up before ever giving it a shot. These are seemingly complicated software at first, but they enable you to do amazing stuff once you get the handle on them.


I don't know if any of this helps. It's a little difficult giving advice on such a broad question. I'm just assuming you're looking for a way to get started. If you need anything else, or have any specific problems, let us know. And if there is anything PS related I can help you with, shoot me a message and I'll try to help as best as I can. I'm by no means a super expert, but I have picked up quite a few tricks over the years.

[Jaxilon]

Second the whole don't give up thing. I don't think I EVER got through a tutorial as it was meant to be. For some reason I would go off the rails along the path but that's ok, in the end you get your own thing going.

[waldronate]

The map is an abstraction that serves the story. Being an abstraction, what you leave out is at least as important as what you leave in. People will read into your map things that aren't there anyhow, so put in what you think is helpful and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Simple linework is sometimes more useful than pretty colors that most publishers won't pay to put into the book.
As the smart folks above advised you: never give up, never surrender. Fail with a pencil, fail with a pen, fail with Photoshop. Fail until you fail so badly that things turn out well enough to be usable.
Never drink before offering advice.

[jason.yarbrough]

Thank you,

I found a tutorial video on youtube.com using GIMP for map making. I am about to purchase a drawing tablet to make it easier for myself with the lines. I have also subscribed to various other map making artists on youtube that draw on paper as well. So much I am learning and helping out a lot. This process is so much fun!!!

[jason.yarbrough]

Thank you!!!

I have a few styles in mind and they pretty much revolve around the classic fantasy feel with elaborate borders. However, as I progress I might get more detailed. For now, I will walk instead of run. Thank you for these recommendations. I just placed an order on all of them. I want my books to be the best series I can create, write, and really delve into. The maps pretty much are Washington state, a fictional town in the peninsula of Washington, a fictional county map, and the fantasy world. Also including in the books will be individual maps of regions and villages of the fantasy world in my series. This guild is amazing!!!

[ladiestorm]

First I would like to say, welcome to the Guild! This is a great place to learn and explore map making, no matter what form you choose. We have some very talented artists here, and everyone is very helpful.

As for your question on tectonic plates (and please realize I'm remembering what I learned in school all those years ago): from a scientific, COMPLETELY realistic point of view... yes, tectonic plates are important... because as tectonic plates shift, they create faults that, over time will change land masses. These are in part how cliffs are formed, as well as mountains, and sometimes islands and new continents, as land masses shift and move. If you want a completely realistic map... it is worth doing some research into how tectonic plates shape land masses on a world.


That being said, is it truly necessary to understand tectonic plates for making fictional maps? No, absolutely not. Not unless your fictional map is maybe of a futuristic (or ancient) Earth. As someone above said... your maps are an extension of your story (or game, depending on what the map is for). It helps cement the backdrop for your tale, or provide details to help make your story more real to the reader, or gamer.


There are 'rules' when it comes to making maps... things need to be 'plausible' to help your reader(or gamer) believe the setting you put before them, but also understand... for every rule, there is an exception... even in the purely scientific world we live in. Take the river rule someone above mentioned. Yes, for the most part, rivers don't split... except for when they do. Rivers change course, they flood their banks and erode soil away to form new banks. Rivers take the quickest path to the sea... except for when they meander, as they often will over flat surfaces, since water tends to take the path of least resistance. The bottom line is: if you can justify it to your reader, you can pull of almost anything.

Mapmaking, even for fantasy settings, is a learning process. Not just in the 'right' or 'wrong' way to make maps... but a learning process into your personal tastes and style. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to convey the information you want it to, and it has to move your story along. Everything else is just window dressing.