Greetings Cartographers!

[rad465]

Hey, Cartographer's Guild!

First off, let me say – WOW! I initially joined because I wanted to commission someone, but after seeing all these incredible maps, I think I'll be sticking around for a while. I mean, who can resist all these lovely maps? 🌍

While I might not have the artistic touch many of you possess, I have a deep love for maps and GIS. Fun fact: I've even got a version of the Waterman Butterfly inked on my thigh!

A bit about my journey: I have a BS in Geology and an MS in Geographic Information Systems/Sciences (GIS). Over the years, I've played around with various geospatial tools. And here's the thing: I'm offering to share my knowledge completely free. Not because I'm an expert who knows it all but because I genuinely love maps and GIS. I remember how daunting these programs felt at first, so if I could help even one person feel more at ease, it'd make my day.

Products I'm familiar with:
Open Source
QGIS, MapServer, GeoServer, OpenStreetMap

Paid
ESRI Suite: ArcMap, ArcDesktop, Online, Pro
Harris Geospatial's ENVI


For those crafting fantasy maps, GIS has some nifty tricks up its sleeve:

Scaling: Adjust your map's size without losing detail.
High Resolution: Enjoy nearly infinite in-suite resolution.
Versatile Export Options: Export as vectors, shapefiles, or PDFs for further editing.
Editing & Analysis Tools: From editing vector maps in QGIS to finding the perfect castle location.

To all the GIS enthusiasts here, let's geek out together! And to everyone else, keep those stunning maps coming. They're truly inspiring.

If you ever have questions or just want to chat about maps (because... MAPS!!!), I'm here.

Cheers,
Rad


P.S.
Linking the tutorial user pakpak made in 2021 because it was so good:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1..._vFtIQuCVkbt_s
Here's the thread: https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=49214

[Redrobes]

Welcome, I am sure you must have a few maps to show and it would be well interesting to see how somebody well versed in the GIS apps can make some. We have loads of people here who use it but I don't think anyone is a self confessed virtuoso in them. We all dabble a bit some are better than others but I think we all miss out on a lot from not knowing the details and their capabilities.

[rad465]

I would not claim to be a virtuoso. I have a Master's degree and have been working in the GIS field for the past 8 years. I've been a GIS Technician, Analyst, Engineer, and now I am a GIS Technical Project Manager. The maps I create, and have created are mostly for my internal company's usage, displaying trends across the US (I'min Insurance now, so risk modeling and mapping are primary). I have also created maps for suitability analysis purposes - solar, wind, road placement... etc. That was mostly academic. I haven't worked in utilities, I was in Agriculture working with hi-res multispecral imagery as well as LiDAR, and with Insurance, I mostly work with the multispectral images, though that is primary for vector line extraction vs my agricultural work which was primarilyutilizing aerial imagery to determine crop (and to a lesser extent, soil) health status.

However, vectorization of rasters is well within my wheelhouse. And I am quite fluent in the aforementioned programs.