WIP - The Western Reach - a Wonderdraft project
I decided to try out Wonderdraft to recreate a map I hand-drew several years ago (previously posted here).
This was the original map.
Imperial Map.jpg
Even though I had CC3+ for years I never had the time to get proficient with it, so I was interested to see what I could do with Wonderdraft.
Last edited by AEB; 12-13-2018 at 12:20 AM.
Wonderdraft allows you to import an existing image or map as an underlayer that you can then trace over.
Sorry for the thumbnails above but insert image isn't work for me atm.
While relatively simple Wonderdraft is in pre-release atm and a lot of things seem buggy or have no explanation of how they function.
It does however have a highly active community, and I'd like to thank Zalkenai for the large mountain and volcano symbols.
Western Reach 2.png
Last edited by AEB; 12-13-2018 at 12:45 AM.
Labels in particular gave me problems as the Ctrl+z hotkey undo didn't work with labels, and I wound up with a number of invisible blank labels on the map that interfered with the correct labels.
However after maybe six hours work of which four were spent googling answers on how to use the damn app this was the result.
Western Reach 3.png
Last edited by AEB; 12-13-2018 at 12:35 AM.
The questions I have for those with more experience when it comes to mapping....
Is the map too crowded?
Are the labels clear enough and legible?
I am considering spraying a light colour over the terrain to give a better idea of the climate. Would adding colour ruin the map? (I can give it a try I suppose).
Obviously I will now move on and complete the blank areas and finish this particular map. I will post the results later.
Hi there, you're off to a nice start with this one! I'll try to give my two cents on the questions you asked.
Crowding-wise, I think you're mostly fine, but the area labeled Shush looks a little messy to my eye. You might want to try and make some more breathing room between the tree and the hill symbols.
The labels are easy enough to read (although the 100% vertical labels look a little odd to me), but one thing I do notice is that you have way too many fonts on this map. It's basic good sense in typography to try and limit yourself to two different typefaces per design (on some occasions three might be acceptable), and they a serif font is good to combine with a sans-serif one. Straf here on the Guild actually posted a link to a good read on the subject a while back, and it sums the basic principles up pretty nicely. When choosing fonts, it's good to opt for wider font families, that have regular, italic and bold options available - those are a great way to bring a bit more variation to your map's labels while still keeping the look consistent. The most important thing in labeling maps is to come up with a system and stick to it, Why, for instance, is Shush written in all caps while nothing else on the map is?
I personally don't think a splash of color maybe wouldn't hurt it, as long as you don't overdo it. I'd go with a rather subtle hue, like light greens not too strongly contrasting with the terrain color you have there now. Give it a try, see what it looks like!
Hopefully I've given you something to think about. Keep at it!
Last edited by Kellerica; 12-13-2018 at 04:14 AM.
Kellerica, thank you for the reply.
The Shush is meant to be a tangle of wood covered hills representing a howling wilderness surrounded by more civilized lands. The label is an old font I was using for region names before I changed it to the font used for Thuria.
Labels are a struggle in Wonderdraft atm. There are only 14 fonts available currently, and it is unclear to me how to import custom fonts. Part of the mess was caused by me disliking a label and trying a different font/colour/size. Sometimes a label reverts for some reason and occasionally you get a white LABEL label in place of what you originally used.
I will try cleaning up the Shush by grouping hills and trees into clumps rather than as a intermingled scatter. Ill change the Shush label to match Thuria and I will try a verticle label for the Sea of Valor.
Ah, yeah, I should've thought about that - I'm a Photoshop user myself, so my points are really from a design perspective. I obviously don't know the challenges presented by the software you're using, as I'm not familiar with it.
Is it just me or does Wonderdraft have a 'campaign cartographer' feel to its aesthetic style?
I think that by the time you add in the Symbols packs and all the styles and additions from the Annuals that pretty much everything looks like CC3.
Wonderdraft is in early release since October and there is a lot that needs to be added. For example there are no page size presets and scaling is currently limited meaning you need to change the page size to change the scale.
But it has potential - this map took a bit over an hour and some of that was spent googling RBG colour numbers and getting stuff to work.
Serprntine Valley.png
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