'Hello' from new member

[KoDa]

Hello, from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My name is Konnel. I was checking to see if a topic awaiting moderation had posted when I realized that I had never written an introduction.

I love maps - I am intrigued by their promise of hidden knowledge; their sense of order; their service as an index of nature's grandeur and of man's accomplishment.

Since I'm a gamer, from a practical viewpoint, I am most interested in fantasy maps. The problem is, as much as I appreciate maps I am truly awful at drawing them. I never progressed past the elementary method of right angles on graph paper for dungeon mapping. I have difficulty with AutoRealm. I am confounded just opening GiMP, but I strongly suspect I'll suck at that, too. My hope is, with a little work on craft, I will become less awful. Despite hours of pouring over professional maps I can't say I have a firm grasp on notation or theory. My goal is to be able to compose maps that will adequately communicate information to others. I believe my one advantage is a sense of proportion (judging by my stick-figures).

Thanks for offering this forum,
Konnel

P.S. you have the best emoticons on the 'net.

[arsheesh]

Welcome to the Guild Konnel . Well have you tried some of the tutorials here yet? Allot of people come here doubting their artistic skills but find that after attempting some of the tutorials, they are capable of much more than they had dared to hope. Since you have GIMP, check out some of the many GIMP tutorials on offer here and post up a WIP once you've begun. That way others can offer helpful feedback. Best wishes to you.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[KoDa]

Well have you tried some of the tutorials here yet? [...] Since you have GIMP, check out some of the many GIMP tutorials on offer here and post up a WIP once you've begun.

I tried one that was very well received and presented, but was for an earlier version of GiMP and I was lost. I will start with a general GIMP tutorial as soon as I clear some of my back-log. Past experience tells me I need about 2 months of 1hr x5 practice a week. Until then, I will continue practicing with hand-drawn maps and hopefully cement the foundations. Thanks for the welcome.