Old Hand Drawn Map Maker

[LargusMeans]

Hey everyone.

Did a lot of work years ago on hand drawn maps of a world I created called Leth. Wanted to create stories about the world and worked on histories, languages, place names, etc. Well that was over 30 years ago and I've found that family and work has gotten in the way less these days and have started into the writing again. Pulling the old maps out has really made me want to digitize them so that I can have the updated and fresh. Also have the ability to have multiple versions so that as time rolls on place names, citadels and other things can be added or removed. Going through a number of posts on here about the required undertaking to do that has me a little daunted. Don't have the time to continue writing and also delve into Gimp. Not sure what my best move forward is. I've seen a few posts mentioning commission work on here, is that something some of the posters do? How does that work?

Would love a little feed back and get an idea of what others have done and think, no Gimp and rebuild or try and find a 3rd party to update my current work?

Thanks
David

[LargusMeans]

Original when I began building the world I used hex paper and had segments.

Leth3.jpg

[LargusMeans]

Then I later merged them together, and build my first rendition of the world.

Leth.jpg

[LargusMeans]

Afterwards, unhappy with some names and text, I began to redo it, on maps like this.

Leth2.jpg

[Josiah VE]

Hey David! Welcome to the guild!
Very neat maps, the world looks very detailed and interesting.

You can post a commission request in Mapmaking Requests.
I also do commissions, you can email me at birdsinyourbackyard [at] mail [dot] com and we can discuss it.

Cheers,
Josiah

[ChickPea]

Hi David, and welcome to the Guild. You've got some really nice maps there and it would be a crying shame not to develop them further. I can appreciate that it's hard to learn an image editor from scratch, though it can be very rewarding in the end. I think you have a couple of options...

You could watch a few 'beginner's guide' tutorials on YouTube to try to acquire some basic familiarity with Gimp, then try out a tutorial or two (plenty here and here). If you're not keen on hand-drawing from scratch, you could look into Gimp brushes. StarRaven's are perennially popular. This type of brush basically works like a stamp and you plop 'em down wherever you want them. You can create really attractive maps without too much effort, though there is still a learning curve, of course.

Alternatively, we have a folder where you can commission someone. Occasionally people will take free commissions if your project interests them, but you'll probably get a much better response if you're willing to pay. If you decide to go down this road, take a read through this post before you create your thread. It outlines the sort of information artists are looking for, and I'd include your pics again (or a link to this thread) so that artists can see what's involved.

I wish you good luck whichever option you try, though naturally I'd encourage you to give it a go yourself. Mapmaking is an incredibly addictive and enjoyable hobby!

[LargusMeans]

Thanks for your response Josiah, I will delve into Gimp a bit and see what the learning curve is.

Thanks for the encouragement ChickPea and the links and ideas. I will wander around and look at some videos and get an idea of the work some of the commissions offer.

Question- With a full world map do you make sure the rez is high enough so that you can zoom into areas and have a snapshot of that region also>?

Thanks

[Josiah VE]

Question- With a full world map do you make sure the rez is high enough so that you can zoom into areas and have a snapshot of that region also>?

Yes, that can sure be done.

[LargusMeans]

Ok, after playing with Gimp all day, this is what I've come up with so far. Lots of learning to do, but am generally happy with the beginnings. Need to figure out how to do a better icewall at the bottom still. Also need to figure out if I'm going full old school black/white, or a touch of color (very muted). Edges need cleaning too.

Any suggestions on things to focus on?

Also may re-start this post in another forum area if one is more appropriate.

Cheers

Leth 9.jpg