Illustration Tutorials and Advice Superthread

Krall · Aug 3, 2013

theDisciple said:
Just wondering but which program is better GIMP or Inkscape?

I've never really used GIMP, but I can endorse (and offer advice/help with) Inkscape. It's a purely vector graphics program, which means you draw paths and shapes, rather than colouring in pixels - this means it's easy to move around borders, coasts, etc., and that you can zoom in and the image won't look blocky and pixellated.

LSCatilina said:
By the way, Krall, could you add this tutoriel for GIMP (in french) from the Scriptorium? (http://www.le-scriptorium.com/uploads/file/Aides_de_jeu/Divers/cartographie.pdf)

Sure, though I'm not sure how much help it will be to people, as I doubt the majority of AH.commers speak French.

Edit: Since I posted the OP over a month ago I'll have to get a mod to edit the OP, which might take a while.

Seraphiel · Aug 7, 2013

Um Ive run into a bit of a problem, on Inkscape.

I was well on my merry way to making a nice looking map and I got to the point where I could fill in my countries when I found out that I had not connected my borders. How does one do that, as in in connecting a path to another path, creating an enclosed space.

EDIT: And if you dont know what Im talking about

here is the .svg.

Olthy · Aug 8, 2013

Krall showed me how to do that over PM, and I must say he is an excellent tutor! Would you mind me posting the messages, Krall? Save you typing them all up again

Seraphiel · Aug 8, 2013

Okay heres an embarrassing question, again. How do I upload an .svg image onto ah.com?

EDIT:

Im an idiot it was simple and I have found a way to do it (export to .png)

Krall · Sep 16, 2013

I kinda forgot about this thread for a while, so I've only just checked it and seen the last three messages now.

Olthy, feel free to post the explanations I sent to you via PM.

theDisciple, do you still need any help with Inkscape?

The B · Oct 15, 2013

Hi, sorry if I'm asking a stupid question.

I have a basic border map but I'm really not sure how to go about making it into a detailed one. I'm struggling to find any appropriate basemaps, or methods that don't involve me putting aside my time until next birthday (I don't mean to sound rude and ignorant here, sorry, but I really can't spend ages

).

The map is here (you'll notice it's a Victoria II one). I would like to just make a Europe map out of it.

What is best way to go about this?

The B · Oct 18, 2013

I dislike bumping but I feel this may be necessary.

Krall · Oct 24, 2013

The B said:
Hi, sorry if I'm asking a stupid question.

I have a basic border map but I'm really not sure how to go about making it into a detailed one. I'm struggling to find any appropriate basemaps, or methods that don't involve me putting aside my time until next birthday (I don't mean to sound rude and ignorant here, sorry, but I really can't spend ages).

The map is here (you'll notice it's a Victoria II one). I would like to just make a Europe map out of it.

What is best way to go about this?

Sorry for not replying before - for some reason I keep on just not seeing this thread when there's a new post.

Anyway, so, you want to make a more detailed version of your Victoria 2 game map. That's a rather vague goal, and I'm really not sure how to help you get there beyond directing you to the basic map-making tutorials linked to in the OP. What sort of details do you want to add?

The B · Oct 25, 2013

Krall said:
Sorry for not replying before - for some reason I keep on just not seeing this thread when there's a new post.

Anyway, so, you want to make a more detailed version of your Victoria 2 game map. That's a rather vague goal, and I'm really not sure how to help you get there beyond directing you to the basic map-making tutorials linked to in the OP. What sort of details do you want to add?

Don't worry, it gets submerged under the other stickies quite quickly.

I'd like to make a 19th century style map - like this. Obviously it doesn't have to be exactly the same or as detailed.

Unfortunately I'm not very good at photoshop, gimp or inkscape but I'll give anything a go, and this discussion may be useful to someone in the future anyway.

Nanwe · Oct 25, 2013

Reagent said:
I'm making an inkscape tutorial as we speak

That's really cool. I still don't know how to make stripes (other than making them one by one and that's tedious) in Inkscape and since you tend to use them, I'm really eager to see them.

Krall · Oct 28, 2013

The B said:
Don't worry, it gets submerged under the other stickies quite quickly.

I'd like to make a 19th century style map - like this. Obviously it doesn't have to be exactly the same or as detailed.

Unfortunately I'm not very good at photoshop, gimp or inkscape but I'll give anything a go, and this discussion may be useful to someone in the future anyway.

Well, there are ways of making maps like that in all those programs - I don't know which one is objectively the easiest though, but I'd suggest Inkscape. Since it works on vector graphics rather than raster graphics it's a lot easier to edit something after you've drawn it, and it means you can zoom in or out without making the image heavily pixellated. It's also the program that I'm most familiar with, so I can actually give you advice on how to do things using it.

I'd suggest starting with LSCatilina's Inkscape tutorial - it's enough to get you familiar with the basic tools and functions you'll be using, and once you're at that basic level of competency more complicated effects are pretty easy to figure out/do. If you need any help or want to know how to do something in Inkscape, please don't hesitate to ask.

Nanwe said:
That's really cool. I still don't know how to make stripes (other than making them one by one and that's tedious) in Inkscape and since you tend to use them, I'm really eager to see them.

I tend to draw one stripe, then copy and paste it, then copy and paste those two stripes, then copy and paste those four stripes, etc. It's somewhat tedious and can cause the program to lag, but it's not as bad as making each and every stripe manually.

nixonshead · Nov 8, 2013

I've added Blender to the Wiki. It's what I've been using for my illustrations of Eyes Turned Skywards.

Krall · Dec 2, 2013

nixonshead said:
I've added Blender to the Wiki. It's what I've been using for my illustrations of Eyes Turned Skywards.

Sorry for the late reply - I do keep missing this thread.

I'd add Blender to the OP, but it's been more than a month since I posted it now so I can't edit it. I'll try PMing a mod to see if they can edit it in.

The B · Jan 3, 2014

This is a really simple problem which I should know the solution to, but can't find.

I'm adding borders using the magic wand tool and stroke (photoshop or gimp). However, on shared borders this builds up, so on countries with three or four neighbours you get really thick lines (example here). How can I fix this?

Krall · Jan 3, 2014

The B said:
This is a really simple problem which I should know the solution to, but can't find.

I'm adding borders using the magic wand tool and stroke (photoshop or gimp). However, on shared borders this builds up, so on countries with three or four neighbours you get really thick lines (example here). How can I fix this?

I'm afraid I don't have any experience making maps in GIMP or Photoshop, so I can't help you there.

Do any of our GIMP and Photoshop using map-makers know how to solve this issue?

Alex Richards · Mar 8, 2014

Reagent said:
Krall I made a few minor cosmetic changes to the map. I don't think it would disqualify my entry in the slightest, but I feel obligated to inform you anyway.

Did you change the upload site or anything because now I can't see the image (this is happening a lot atm and I can't seem the find the issue. Changing browsers doesn't helped for example).

Transparent Blue · Mar 8, 2014

Yo Krall can you tell us how you do the MOTF roundel illustrations?

Krall · Apr 1, 2014

Transparent Blue said:
Yo Krall can you tell us how you do the MOTF roundel illustrations?

I can't believe I managed to miss a post in this thread for several weeks *again*!

Anyway, I'm not sure how easy it would be to explain how I make the MotF roundels, as each one is different and requires using different techniques. It certainly wouldn't be any easier for me to do than a map tutorial, which I already tried doing and gave up on. I'm willing to offer advice, and to explain how to do certain things, but I'm not really capable of making a coherent tutorial right now, I'm afraid.

Alvar_13 · Apr 13, 2014

I have a question regarding usage of Inkscape, is it possible to but other things on patch like command text on patch buts text on patch

Krall · Apr 14, 2014

King Alvar I said:
I have a question regarding usage of Inkscape, is it possible to but other things on patch like command text on patch buts text on patch

I'd love to help, but I have no idea what you're talking about I'm afraid.

What do you mean by putting things "on patch"?

Illustration Tutorials and Advice Superthread

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