Aspiring Author

[Romulus]

But who here isn't?

I'm working on a couple stories, and I love doodling maps but rarely end up with something useable for planning or presentable enough that I can consider it a piece of art in its own right. And by "rarely" I mean never.

My scales range from floor plans/layouts of buildings, to cities, to a continent (to maybe solar systems at a later point) and I'm not sure where to seek advice. I have GIMP and have been working through RobA's artistic map tutorial, though I think I'll need to go through it a few times before I get the hang of it.

But I'm very excited to join this community and eager to learn.

My basic question is, should I post requests for help/links to tutorials in a general forum, or in the specific sections? (If I don't know where to start with cities, do I post in the city forum?)

Thanks, I look forward to eventually contributing to the community instead of just asking questions,
Romulus (can't believe that name was available!)

[tilt]

They say everybody has a book inside of them.. especially goats *lol* welcome to the guild romulus
If you have specific questions, ask in the appropriate forum, and feel free to start a WIP thread with your map when you begin it, then you can get help while working

lol... just as I couldn't believe "tilt" was available when I started here

[jbgibson]

Welcome to the Guild, Romulus. Probably the fastest way to get help is to go ahead and tackle the tutorial or technique you are eyeing, posting the effort in a Work-In-Progress thread. Maybe include the tut name or other keyword right in the thread title. You'll find interested observers, ninja cartoexperts, and opinionated authorities coming out of the woodwork. Don't be shy even if what you start with doesn't meet your standards. <whisper> psssst. Most of our work does not meet most of our standards. We manage to exceed OTHER Guildsmens' standards, but seldom our own... :-) There's almost ALWAYS stuff we wish we'd done better. That's part of what drives us to try again! </whisper>

You're working on stories, and no doubt have scads of background in your head. So give us a story that you're trying to map, right in the WIP - kind of 'payoff' for the reader / evaluator / critic / mentor. Not to mention which - the story ideas will fuel your mapping.

Do feel free to stick queries in what seems to be an appropriate subforum. I for one browse by just hitting 'what's new' so I have at least a shot at seeing every post. I imagine if something you post would seriously be better off elsewhere, a moderator will move it to a better forum. The city mapping forum would be a fine venue for your question, particularly if you illustrate with what isn't working, or a sketch of what you're tying to accomplish. I think of the "how do I " forum as a spot for issues not having a forum of their own. Maybe if you suspect a particular hangup is with the Gimp, not with city mapping per se, you'd get a slightly more focused response in "how do I?"

By the way, asking questions IS contributing. The classroom maxim is probably true here on CG - that which you ask probably a dozen others wanted to ask :-). Trust me - if you spark useful discussion on city mapping, a LOT of us will profit !

[Steel General]

Welcome Aboard!

[Romulus]

Wow! Thanks for the warm response, everyone.