Blog Comments

I think that the linguistics background was more important than you give it credit for.

Hmm... just seen this. I need to go look back through the maps though to pick three - there are so many awesome maps posted all the time I just can't remember them all.

I'm pretty sure that in my top three would be the huge map of Gandwarf's world though. Although CC3 is not my favourite mapping medium and I find most maps done with it too cartoony and slapdash ( I think it is just too easy to slap down some elements with no internal logic and call it done ), Gandwarf is a master with it and his map (I really need to go look up the name) is just full to bursting with details. I can scroll around it for ages just appreciating the thought that has gone into it.

Anyway, as I say, I'll look up some maps and some links to answer this properly when I have more time.

*lol*... new to me too... but never played WoW either... but I do remember the old Muppet song - introduced it to my kids and they love it

Nice, hehe, I had never seen that one.

This is a great place and the community makes it shine. I find myself thinking, "I feel like playing a video game." Only then I sit down at my PC and come here which ends up with not playing a game. You can get lost in here. I wish I could keep up with all the great creative art that is going on and the helpful tips but it's more than I have the time to do. That's ok, it's always here when I need it that way.

As for the way folks around here treat one another, it was one of the first things that found so attractive. I recall someone once, shortly after I first started, who went off on someone with some crap about "get some skill before posting" or something of the like, only to be put in his place by several of the others around here. I loved it! That is how we ought to be. There is a proper way to be constructively helpful even with someone with no talent and I appreciate that in our community.

Now, I know I have some artistic talent but I do get lazy at times and/or miss things so it is nice to know that if that happens there will be someone who calls me on it. That kick in the seat will motivate me to fix it. So, I don't want all feathers and fuzzy bunnies. If it's not quite right, it's nice to have those with a good eye to help identify what went wrong. I think this friendly encouraging atmosphere is what keeps drawing people to us. I also think being an artist is tough because most of us put our best effort into our work and being told it's not good enough blows holes in your sails. Too much of that and you give up. This is exactly why when you ask a first grade class, "Who here is an artist?" 90% of the class will raise their hand. A few years later when they reach High School and you ask that question you might get a couple. The thing is, you only get better if you keep honing your skill. That's what this guild is great for.

BRAVO, BRAVO!!!

For a 1% personality type, you tend to find a lot of us congregating in certain places.

INTP here as well and I've got to say your introduction to the blog hit it right on the head for me. Most excellent blog.

I am all about the self-actualization.

very insightful
And looking at the maps produced here (or displayed here) it truly are artist at work, although I guess we've laid the frustration behind us, and thank god for that. I for one would not be here if the maps accepted only were the simplest possible, only conveying the absolute necessary without any embellishment - I love the embellishment as much as I love minimalism in much of my other work outside cartography. I think some of the compasses I've uploaded displays both styles
I truly enjoy looking at all the beautiful maps and great ideas that people have in here
And *beep* Maslow, we're going straight for the top

My current degree is a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration. Late last year I started a 12-course program offered by Bellevue University in Nebraska in cooperation with my company for Professional Customer Contact Center Management (P3CM). I am in the second week of the fourth couse in the series, dealing with call center technology. As I am a technical solutions manager, that's pretty much what I do for a living so this class has been pretty smooth so far except for the week out of pocket in Cincinnati. Actually I've been in this industry for nearly fifteen years so all of the coursework has been a bit like a refresher.

I think one of the interesting things I've experienced as I get older is that I have become more open to new ideas and new ways of thinking than I was when I was younger. I figured it would be the other way around. I'm not complaining .

That sounds like good and hopeful reasoning. Hopeful is not part of the scientific method but it should apply to people.

What sort of studies are you thinking of?

Thanks for the coaching Sigurd. I understand the truth of what you're saying and I've been thumbing my nose at entropy for a while now. I just spent the last week at a program called "Future Leaders" with a bunch of twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings, but there were a few even longer in the tooth than me. The average person alive today will live to be 100. That means that those of us under fifty have a good shot at hitting that age. Based on that, I'm not even at the halfway mark yet. That makes finishing my second Bachelor's degree and starting on my Master's sound like a good investment.

Thanks RobA. I don't think I've seen a video imbedded at Cartographer's guild before. You've stimulated my creativity

Don't give up on the impossible dreams. For me passing 40 just seemed to feel like my personal warranty period was over - still does.

If you're young and listening - it sucks to get old but you'll do it too if you're lucky. Worry less about doing things wrong and more about not doing.

A lot of things I've desired are not or will not be mine but that's ok. The really great dreams don't have to be mine mine. I've just become a huge booster of creative people and works. I love to see something spit in the face of ugly entropy, something awesome. "There is no charge for Awesomeness!" I think there are elements of creativity that have to be shared, its in their nature.

Seeing so many people making things and sharing them is really exciting about this place. (And there really has been an explosion of great map makers here.) The spirit of freedom and sharing gives time here a rare daydream quality. Its the most hopeful thing to make a new world. I stitch together thoughts from everything I see here. Something about everyone literally having their 'own space' makes growth easier without being threatening. I suspect that even the River Police would rather flutter board than water board.

A 69 mach 1? brilliant. I remember finding a minty '69 GTO ragtop (still had red-wall tires) that I so wanted to get as my first car...I ended up with a malibu classic instead.

And the ROFLMAO video is brilliant. I shall include it here for posterity...


-Rob A>

Ah yes secrets. If someone has some, the truth is that it would take a lifetime to learn everything that people are openly willing to share, so they're welcome to keep 'em. The real secret isn't all that hard to uncover: judgement, or what some call "the eye" is what makes a great map. Look at Ramah's featured scroll map. None of the techniques he used were all that difficult to reproduce, but the map as a whole fit together so perfectly that the entire work came together as a masterpiece.

Awesome statement Riggamorphus. "If you cannot change the world, then create one you can change." That's definitely going in my quotes file!

I do think that people can rise to expectations. The earliest Guild members formed a very civil community that had high regard for mutual respect. As the Guild has grown, that expectation of respect has remained strong, and people who violate it are usually called down for it. But not in an abusive way—it has always been very constructive.

I can only hope that the peer pressure to treat one another with dignity continues to be as strong. This truly is one of the best communities on the web.

Now, the thing I count on the most here is that people openly and freely share their knowledge. Sure, there may be the odd few that keep some techniques secret for professional reasons, but by and large, no one is hoarding what they know. In addition, the talent here is not restricted to one particular aspect of the trade. We have artists and technicians and administrators all pulling together to improve every aspect of fantasy cartographic practice, which is almost unheard of. I love being able to come to a single place to get pointers on color theory, image processing, and world building. I just wish I had the time to contribute more.

For the short time I have been actively involved here, I have realize something unique here also. It is a combination of skills and the imaginary drive that makes up the artists at the guild. Here one can display their talents get feedback and walk away with a sense of pride. The endless ideas are a great escape from reality. Instead of reading the news, I come here more often to get my fill of fantasy worlds. If you cannot change the world then create one you can change. Its good therapy or a hobby for me.

Sorry to point out you spelled Saruman wrong, RR. hee hee.

I don't generally worry about whether the name I've chosen means something in Danish or Swahili or Latvian. First, because the chances of someone who speaks one of those languages seeing my map is somewhat small, and second because it's not an uncommon phenomenon even with real-world names. Like trying to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico. Nova's a great word in English, but in Spanish not so much.

Anyway, if somebody in Cambodia wants to mock me because I named a country "Donkeyland," that's okay, because I probably can't understand what they're saying about me!