Alright, so I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this off and on for over two years. I’ll get to thinking about it one day and then try for hours and hours until my vision starts to blur and I get a headache even rum can’t fix.

And yet I am still at a loss. Therefore I will do what I should have just done years ago and beseech these forums for aid, hoping that someone here might have an idea about how to accomplish what I want.

First off, let me say I know it’s impossible to wrap a flat map onto a globe without warping, just like it’s impossible to unwrap a globe without hideous distortion. I’m not looking to do the impossible, I’m just looking for a method of converting my flat maps, or more accurately, transferring the outlines of landmasses/islands/continents onto a globe with the least possible loss of shape. Kind of like if you were to put a sticker onto a ball, there will be wrinkles and bumps, but a large portion would remain relatively unharmed.

Doing the entire thing by hand seems the least complicated option, since then you just sort of eyeball it until it looks right, but doing an entire map in something like Substance Designer or ZBrush or some other 3D texturing software seems a bit... excessive? If that's my only option then fine, I'll drop a globe into ZBrush and get to drawing very, very slowly. But If anyone can think of alternatives, I'd be exceedingly grateful.

Thank you!