Using G.Plates 1.4 to study plate movement (tectonics of a con-world)

[Pixie]

So how does this bit work...? we just throw the tutorial in here, I suppose, and hope someone finds it useful...

This particular tutorial resulted from a joint effort by a few con-world-builders who happened to be working more or less at the same time in the same problems. We discovered quite a few tricks together and searched around for tools that could help us. The technique covered here is just a string of little steps to easily visualize the motion of tectonic plates (which is a "very spherical" thing) in an equirectangular map (which is pretty "rectangular").

You can see the original threads that seeded this tutorial here, here, here or here.


The map depicted is a creation of ManofNaozen, as seen here, who kindly agreed to let me use it as example.

tutorial_platemotion.pdf

[ascanius]

Like the tutorial pixie. It's so, so much simpler than the full 200 million year time regression from a super continent that I did. You did a good job it was easy to follow and not complicated.

[Naima]

Awesome I read it ans seems pretty clear , I will expermiment with it .
Thankyou.

[Naima]

Btw , as you wrote in your other thread , I do not have anymore my maps , but I kind of remember the details on the main areas I did.... But I didn't at the time make the whole world , just 2/3 continents and on the northern central empisphere .... Would be possible to draw a coherent map wothout considering "yet" the other regions of the world? Or I can use temporary plates perhaps and dfine shapes in a future moment?

[Pixie]

I'm not sure at all about my answer, but I can't imagine figuring out plate movement without knowing if a particular region is made of continental crust or oceanic crust. I see two possible options for you:
1. just decide that all that area you have no clue about never thought of is ocean.
2. create one or more land masses in there, without further details, and adjust their size/shape/position as you need, since you are absolutely unconstrained in that region.

I would go with option 2.

[groovey]

Awesome tutorial! Saved it to my tutorials collection.

It's very easy to read and understand, really helpful for those of us hesitant to try the program fearing it's too complex, so thanks, I would dare to use it now for a future project.

Will rep as soon as I can.

[Naima]

I have a question .

I was chekcing the real tectonic maps and I see that Africa is a single tectonic plate but then there is the Rift Valley and its origin from a tectonic second african plate I do not see in tectonic maps , what am I missing?

And btw just an artistic question , how do you draw those segmented lines for the tectonics ?

[Pixie]

Depending on the detail of Earth's tectonic map, the number of plates varies. Africa is generally considered one plate that is breaking, but there are a number of sources which already mention the "Somalia" plate.

This list at Wikipedia goes into the detail...

As for the segmented lines... it's just a bunch of straight lines...

[Naima]

Btw the euler pole for the motion can change for each plate or has to be one for all?

[groovey]

If I'm not misunderstanding the question, each plate in fact has its own Euler Pole, so the position of said pole in each is different.