Hello, Cartographers!

[VossBC]

My name is Michael and I have been playing D&D for over a decade. I also enjoy Warhammer 40k as well as several other table-top games.

My friends and I started playing 4th edition D&D a few months ago after a gaming hiatus of several years, and are having an absolute blast. I am the DM.

I had really been hoping to find a community like this, so I was psyched when one of my players linked me to Cartographers' Guild. My problem is that I can't make maps!

I am a professional graphic designer, so I have access to Photoshop and any other software that one would think might come in handy when making D&D maps. The thing is, I can't draw! Not even a stick figure. So I need to find ways to make maps that have nothing to do with actually drawing them out by hand.

I look forward to browsing the forums and getting to know everyone. Incidentally, if any of you think my skills might be of use to you, don't hesitate to ask. I left my email address public.

[Steel General]

Welcome Aboard!

Lots of great tutorials for Photoshop (and other programs) for you to peruse. Give them a try, ask questions, post examples - we'll turn you into a cartographer in no time.

[NeonKnight]

Welcome to the Guild!

[Midgardsormr]

You'll certainly want to look up the Zombie Nirvana tutorials on Youtube. They're a terrific place to start for Photoshop mapping. And I'm not sure if it's still up, but Hapimeses did a very good video tutorial on hand-drawn mountains suitable for any raster editor.

In addition, most of the Gimp tutorials are not terribly difficult to convert to Photoshop. Since you already use Photoshop professionally, you should not have any trouble with that at all.

[VossBC]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes. The tutorial board certainly seems to be a wealth of information. Thanks for the tips!

[ravells]

Wow, how do you become a professional graphic designer when you can't draw? The good news is that you don't need to know how to draw to make decent maps! (Yay!). Check out the tutorial sites - there's plenty of advice there about how to make believable coastlines from initial primitive shapes (it's by RobA and one of the most if not the most useful tutorial in the entire list IMO).

Welcome to the Guild!

[VossBC]

I know, it seems like a contradiction, but well... I did it. The fact is, my job is mostly layout, so drawing doesn't really enter into it. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I'll be sure to check out RobA's tutorials.

[Nomadic]

Wow, how do you become a professional graphic designer when you can't draw? The good news is that you don't need to know how to draw to make decent maps! (Yay!). Check out the tutorial sites - there's plenty of advice there about how to make believable coastlines from initial primitive shapes (it's by RobA and one of the most if not the most useful tutorial in the entire list IMO).

Welcome to the Guild!

Very few graphic designers I know have any pen and paper artistic talent. But graphic design and hand drawn art don't work the same.

Anyhow, welcome to the guild. I know there are several tutorials in the tutorial section on making high quality randomly generated maps. This is perfect if you are not sure what you want or you don't have the skill to hand draw things. Remember, photoshop filters and effects are your friends

[ravells]

If you've got a good eye for colour and composition, then you're more than half way there (IMO). Good luck and looking forward to seeing your maps!

[ravells]

There's hope for me yet!