Illustration Tutorials and Advice Superthread
- Thread starter Krall
- Start date
Sorry for the noob question.
With svf base maps such as this
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blank_map_of_Europe.svg
I'm not exactly sure of an easy way to manipulate borders, since rather than independent lines, they are "halos" around the outline of the country. What is the best way to do this?
With svf base maps such as this
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blank_map_of_Europe.svg
I'm not exactly sure of an easy way to manipulate borders, since rather than independent lines, they are "halos" around the outline of the country. What is the best way to do this?
That's quite a problem : see, there's no boders to speak off, as they're not objects but rather gaps between objects. So, modifying them would require to modify the countries' shape.
The best way would probably to find another basemap, as this one is not really fit to work with the way you want.
The best way would probably to find another basemap, as this one is not really fit to work with the way you want.
That's fine, thanks.
I have a suspicion I may just end up doing it in a standard Q-BAM or similar and then tracing it in inkscape. Unless that's an awful idea. I'm struggling to find an svg basmap that fits.
Krall
Banned
I agree with what LSC said, and will note that I've never used a pre-existing SVG basemap; I always trace over a basemap instead, so it's an entirely legitimate method of making a map in Inkscape.
Does anyone have a good suggestion for a mobile app that can do a respectable amount of flag/map editing? I don't want to pay for something and then have it end up useless, and I don't have a functional desktop right now, just my iPad.
Krall
Banned
I'm not sure I can help you out there. Inkscape does have a portable app, but it's for Windows, and it doesn't seem to have an iOS version.
Does anyone else know of a suitable app?
I agree with what LSC said, and will note that I've never used a pre-existing SVG basemap; I always trace over a basemap instead, so it's an entirely legitimate method of making a map in Inkscape.
Oh thanks, sorry I didn't see this.
Krall
Banned
My computer turned off unexpectedly and I lost an unsaved Inkscape file, is there anywhere I can locate it? Otherwise I'll have lost two days of work
I answered this via PM, but I might as well put the answer up here too.
When Inkscape itself crashes it will try to make an emergency save file in the same directory as the file you're editing, but I don't believe it's possible to recover work lost due to your computer turning off unexpectedly.
There is a way to set up Inkscape to autosave your work though - if you press Ctrl+Shift+P, go to "Input/Output" and then "Autosave" you can configure how often the program makes autosaves, where it autosaves to, and how many autosave files it will keep (once this number is reached the oldest autosaves will start being deleted). It won't help you recover your files now, but it might help you if you experience something like this in future.
Krall
Banned
Could be worth it - I've never made a map of that sort before, and you seem to make them more often than other map makers do.
Anyone got any tips on as to best draw railway lines in Illustrator/Photoshop?
Much obliged
I'm afraid I don't use those programs, so unless they're very similar to Inkscape someone else will have to field that one.
Krall
Banned
Well maybe the process is somewhat similar. I'm just desperate for inspiration, tbh
Oh, well in Inkscape I would draw the path showing where the railway goes, then make three copies of it and overlay them with different properties. The path at the bottom would be black and of middling thickness, the path in the middle would be the same colour as the background and be thinner than the other two paths, and the path on top would be the thickest and be a dashed line with very short dashes and very small gaps inbetween the dashes. The result looks like this:
Here's what the three paths look like separated out:
I don't know if Illustrator and Photoshop allow you to draw paths, copy them, and then alter the properties of the copies freely like that - if they do, then the same process should work!
In my UNTANK map for MotM 3, I did it quite similarly.
Usually, a railway is shown as a series of small black and white stripes with a thin black frame. The similiarity is using the same line in three iteration.
First line: Just draw it and take it as it is and turned it into a patterned line, the gaps just as big as the remaining strips.
Second line: Duplicate original line, shift the stripes so long until both look like one solid line. Then color it and voilà, you have your pattern.
Third line: Duplicate whatever, turn it into a solid line, make the filling transparent and and a frame. This line is hollow and only works for giving the other two elements a common frame.
It's even easier with motorways and other big roads, you duplicate your line and the second one is supposed to get hollow. Done.
Usually, a railway is shown as a series of small black and white stripes with a thin black frame. The similiarity is using the same line in three iteration.
First line: Just draw it and take it as it is and turned it into a patterned line, the gaps just as big as the remaining strips.
Second line: Duplicate original line, shift the stripes so long until both look like one solid line. Then color it and voilà, you have your pattern.
Third line: Duplicate whatever, turn it into a solid line, make the filling transparent and and a frame. This line is hollow and only works for giving the other two elements a common frame.
It's even easier with motorways and other big roads, you duplicate your line and the second one is supposed to get hollow. Done.
Thanks guys, however, as I should probably have noted (sorry!) I was hoping more for something along the lines of what Blomma has done here, for example:
http://orig06.deviantart.net/eb3b/f/2013/095/0/3/die_neuordnung_europas_by_1blomma-d60k360.jpg
Something akin to a horizontal path with vertical slits inserted along it.
http://orig06.deviantart.net/eb3b/f/2013/095/0/3/die_neuordnung_europas_by_1blomma-d60k360.jpg
Something akin to a horizontal path with vertical slits inserted along it.
Krall
Banned
Sorry for taking so long to reply to this.
The method I showed should work for that effect, if you make it two lines - one solid, one with a dash pattern with large gaps.