My first local cartography job!

[RobA]

I'd also suggest adding an overlayed bumpmap crater later like this one I doodled up using your source image as a guide (hand drawn white fuzzy blob with black fuzzy blob in middle, apply pixel spread filter, then displace map with a noise layer)
blast 1.png

Here is that turned into a bumpmap applied to a 50%grey base layer then set to overlay:
blast 2.png

-Rob A>

[Redrobes]

Yes yes, and some blast marks like kicked up dirt.

[Gamerprinter]

I'd also suggest adding an overlayed bumpmap crater later like this one I doodled up using your source image as a guide (hand drawn white fuzzy blob with black fuzzy blob in middle, apply pixel spread filter, then displace map with a noise layer)

-Rob A>

OK, I just downloaded GIMP 2.4.5, as well as your GIMP tutorial and printed this page.

Hopefully, I can get these bump maps the way I want them. I will probably include some dirt clods around the crater rim to add some more texture to the craters, so they are less just circles, but rough circles with outlying piles.

Let's see what a day of experimenting can achieve.

Thanks for the tip, RobA (repped!)

Oh, and I took Cartographist's suggestion and placed some craters and damaged sand bags in both trenches, added a dead and bloody horse and one shelled carriage. Still more bodies live and dead to add...

[Gamerprinter]

OK, I gave RobA's tip a try using GIMP. It worked, but somehow I made the crater edges to large or the depth isn't great enough. I like RobA's version better, but I just need a bit more practice. Unfortunately, I'm running out of time in completing this project.

Thanks again, RobA!

I found some photos of WW1 soldiers - both Allied and Central Powers, actually the best pictures were from WW1 reenactors sites. Tomorrow, I'll hand draw some British "Tommies" and "Germans" in several body positions - firing rifle, at machine gun nest, standing idly, sitting position, wounded on stretcher and dead on battlefield. Then place in both trench areas.

I added the grid and some cloud cover just to see if they worked.

WIP so far - almost done!

[The Cartographist]

Really looking good, GP.

I'm a little surprised at the dimensions (in terms of number of horizontal and vertical hexes). It doesn't seem big enough to stage dogfights on.

[Gamerprinter]

Really looking good, GP.

I'm a little surprised at the dimensions (in terms of number of horizontal and vertical hexes). It doesn't seem big enough to stage dogfights on.

Something didn't seem right as I was creating the Hex Grid. I should have 12 hexes top to bottom and 18 hexes left to right, so I think I need to half the size of my placed grid.

The hexes were correctly scaled, but the map is only 1/4 scale to the actual - that's the problem.

I will fix this sometime today, as well as add in the troopers and bodies to the trench areas. If I have time, I'd like to put some disorder into those perfectly placed sandbags. And I'd really like to try RobA's crater rim bump maps again, to see if I can improve the look on mine.

I need to finish this so I can get back to my challenge map...

[Midgardsormr]

I think it would be helpful if we had some tutorials on using bump maps in Gimp and lighting effects in Photoshop. I've been experimenting a little bit, but I think seeing how people who know what they're doing approach it would be helpful for those of us who haven't really got it down yet.

We have a few tuts about generating a heightfield for use in a 3d app, but not much about using the graphics programs' own functions.

[RobA]

OK, I gave RobA's tip a try using GIMP.
...
Thanks again, RobA!

No problem! But aren't you a photoshop guy? It should be just as trivial in photoshop, no?

-Rob A>

[Gamerprinter]

No problem! But aren't you a photoshop guy? It should be just as trivial in photoshop, no?

-Rob A>

I had a discussion with RPMiller once in a past thread - I think its the "DPI vs. PPI" thread - that I used a rather old version of Photoshop (5.5), I don't have and never had PS CS.

PS 5.5 doesn't have bumpmap feature, or many of the filters now common with CS - so I've never used this function in any Image Editor.

Though I use PS extensively - I never really dabbled in bump maps, outside of 3D applications (which I use lots).

I tried to create the crater in 3D first, but it was difficult to see, that's why I needed to try your technique - I was looking for better results...

[RobA]

Hope you stick with gimp for a bit... I find it quite flexible (and the price was right )

The best thing I can suggest is to really over-exaggerate the bump map filter (crank the height up quite high, almost until it starts to clip at white and black) then adjust the amount of the effect by dialing down the overlay layer opacity.

-Rob A>