Hello Again - Elbakk needs advice

[LukasElbakk]

Hello,

A week or two ago I introduced myself in this forum and I was welcomed friendly by several comunity leaders.

Now I have this world of mine, which I would like to make maps of.
I'm not quite sure if, for my goals, I would be better off drawing on paper, or making a digital map.
Is there anyone who can help me making an atlas-like map with terrain heights on it on my pc.
This is my world of Elbakk so far:

[a2area]

well it looks like you have the basics down. First off what software are you using (photoshop, illustrator, gimp, fractal terrains, 3dmax etc). There are several ways to go about doing what you want depending on your software. You should check out some of the atlas style oriented tutorials. One of my favorites is this Atlas Walkthrough Tutorial.

The atlas style is a particular favorite of mine.. be it old or new looking atlas.. i was lucky enough to get my first map featured which was designed in that manner.

[LukasElbakk]

Hey a2area,

First of all, thanks for your reply.
I was blown off my feet when the creator of the Torentine map (one I looked at quite often) answered my request for advice.
My ambitions are a bit different though, the sort of atlas map I want to make is more concentrated on terrain heights, climate zones and such.

It seems my biggest problem is the fact that I have no other software than Adobe Photoshop Elements and that I can't afford lots of additional software. Are there free atlas making programmes downloadable to combine with photoshop?
One of my major concerns is the grid system that looks so wonderfully real in the Torentine map, how can I make such a grid system look real?

Thanks once again,
Lukas

[LukasElbakk]

Hey,

Another question.
I am considering buying Fractal Terrains. Before I do that, i would like to know if one can import worlds into Fractal terrains.
The planet Elbakk is a world I have drawn times ago, it is that world that I would like to make better maps of.
On the Fractal Terrains site it seems that one can only make random worlds in that programme and then adjust them. Am i wrong?

Please answer me

[waldronate]

Fractal Terrains can import existing worlds. In my opinion it's not terribly easy to work with on existing worlds, however. You can do it, but you need great care and patience. FT is geared primarily towards output for CC3, which might mean that you would want to invest in that software as well. What features of FT are driving your interest toward it?

However, it is easy enough to use PS Elements for making better maps. If you're after artistic-type maps then it is quite well suited for that, as is the GIMP (free software). There are numerous tutorials around here for both software packages and I recommend taking a look at them if you haven't before selecting a particular piece of software.

[NeonKnight]

Welcome to the Guild!

Looks almost like a mirror image of North America there.

[LukasElbakk]

To Waldronate,

Thanks for your advice. I will look through the tutorials, though I did before and just can't find any tutorial for drawing heights in Adobe PS or anything like that. Maybe I didn't look good enough.
My interest in FT is the heights and the realness of what you can create in that programme, but as you say it is quite hard to put in your own maps, I might think it over once more. Thanks anyway.


To NeonKnight,

You are right. I didn't realise it when I was drawing El Bakk but later I saw that the continent of Goya has similarities with North America.
However, I am from Europe and have no special bond with N-America.
If you also see the grid system though, you can see that Goya is located much more southward.
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...chmentid=21492