All these wonderful maps--How are they done?

[NHBL]

So many people post such wonderful maps. I'm wondering how thay are done; I want to create a few of my own.
Thanks everyone!

[Thande]

This OTL map is a good starting point. Most people just use MS Paint to edit them.

[Shadow Knight]

Depends on the map and the mapmaker.

Some start with a blank map and make all their modifications using MS Paint (or Photoshop for those daring to do something special), or they may use a map generator and build one (see the Blank Map of Asia? Thread in the Ask for Help Section). Others use someones already existing map and use the aforementioned programs to edit them.

[EdT]

As people have said, it very much depends on the mapmaker and the sort of effect you're going for. For basic line maps like the one here, then paint is definitely the right thing to use. There are loads of decent templates out there for all sorts of eras that you can generally use as a starting point. If you still can't find one that suits you then there's a rather handy programme called 'Centennia' (http://www.clockwk.com/) which generates maps for any period in Europe between 1000AD and 1996 or so. This is what I use for my European maps.

If you're feeling more ambitious and want to go for the history-book look however, Photoshop is the way to go. It takes a lot longer, but the results are worth it- take the one below for example, or this one. Personally I think these maps are far more successful, the extra time spent on them is definitely worth it. If you want to take this route, the I suggest you get your base maps from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world.html , which has excellent, hi-res maps of pretty much everywhere whichj are perfect for alteration.

[Tyr]

Using photoshop is difficult though
What sorts of things do you use on that? I have always just sticked to a lot of hard work on paint.

[EdT]

Photoshop is difficult to start off with, but you soon pick it up. I do a lot of photo-editing (I'm a b3ta regular if you know there) so I've got pretty good over the years. I reckon that it's really worth the effort and extra time to make a map look authentic, particularly if you're doing a multi-part TL or putting something on a website.

As for what I use, it's mostly gratiuitous usage of the clone-stampt to get rid of the pesky existing borders and names, then drawing in the new ones and fiddling around with the blur filters until they look like they belong. Not all that complicated really, although it's very time-consuming to make it look exactly right.

[Thande]

Although an EdT-style map is a very impressive piece of work, and hits the plausibility-ometer because it looks like the detailed maps you would find in an atlas, for everyday work I think it's best to use simpler blank maps and MS Paint etc. - only after it's gone through the process of "But you gave Austria Carpatho-Rus, when clearly the Diet of Beetles in 1464 states that..." and you've made all necessary revisions, should you attempt something that ambitious.

[Nicole]

My most complex map was an ME8 map, done in Paint Shop Pro 4... Can't match EdT though... How do you use the clone brush? PSP has it, but I don't understand it.

[EdT]

Originally Posted by Thande

for everyday work I think it's best to use simpler blank maps and MS Paint etc. - only after it's gone through the process of "But you gave Austria Carpatho-Rus, when clearly the Diet of Beetles in 1464 states that..." and you've made all necessary revisions, should you attempt something that ambitious.

Hehe... "Diet of Beetles"- I like that . Yeah, completely agree. Normal blank maps in paint are best for the simple stuff and for random posts here. But when you're writing something extensive and detailed and want to present it on a website, it's definitely worth the time and effort to do it properly. As a map nutcase, I have to say that few things detract from a well-thought TL more then a crap map, it tends to draw the attention away from the rest of the content.

Originally Posted by Imajin

How do you use the clone brush?

Well I don't know PSP, but if it's anything like Photoshop you alt-click on the area you want to clone, and when you click on an area of the screen the exact pixels of the area you alt-clicked on will appear there. It's really useful for getting rid of borders and names on maps, especially if the image file is a .jpg and has artifacts or the area you're changing isn't flat colour. On the China map I posted below for example, everything between China's OTL borders and the ones it has in the ATL have been clonestamped to get the darker colour. I then traced in the roads and city locations afterwards.

[chunkeymonkey13q]

Creating a quality map is hard work, but I usually find it to be rewarding afterwards as it’s a true work of art. I'm still only a beginner at this, but I find that each map that I create is better than the maps before it, both more accurate and more professional looking. Mostly I just use paint but Photoshop CS2 9.0 also comes in very handy.