Illustrator

[Dana O'Rourke]

I've been attempting to find guidance for this problem via Google for a few days now. I'm a handful of queries short of just throwing my laptop across the room, so it seems pertinent to find another avenue of asking.

I am building my world map in Illustrator (my version is CS4), and am having problems coming to terms with the way the mountains are displayed. I'd like to go for an aerial view; I'm keen on keeping perspective and sizing accurate enough to determine the appropriate supply lines in a time of war. I'm just not sure how to accomplish this without spending years attacking the task.

I'm hoping there's something along the lines of a technique coupled with a Has anyone traveled down this road? Is it filled with more than tears?

[Gidde]

Hmm. Top-down mountains are really tough. The only way I know of to actually get it right is to shade them by hand, which can be tedious and maddening. You could fudge it by doing a beveled path (or fifty). And I'm totally guessing on whether that is available in Illustrator. Even if it is, it would be really simplistic. For an idea of what you're shooting for, check out the mountain section of Torstan's "tips and tricks" tutorial. At least then you'll have steps to attempt to replicate?

[Dana O'Rourke]

Hmm. Top-down mountains are really tough. The only way I know of to actually get it right is to shade them by hand, which can be tedious and maddening. You could fudge it by doing a beveled path (or fifty). And I'm totally guessing on whether that is available in Illustrator. Even if it is, it would be really simplistic. For an idea of what you're shooting for, check out the mountain section of Torstan's "tips and tricks" tutorial. At least then you'll have steps to attempt to replicate?

I'm hoping to avoid doing them by hand. I think that qualifies as spending a lifetime. While they would look beautiful, that's overkill for the project-as-stands. I've been playing with the features like that, and I can't quite find a way to make it look acceptable... Or even vaguely resemble what I'm looking for.

I've looked into those forums and have run into his website in the wild. They're awesome, but they're hand done. I'm looking to minimize the amount of time I spend on any given mountain range.

I will continue to endeavor and hope someone has a better option than what I've managed to come up with already.