Atlas Elyden

[Raptori]

I'm a big fan of that map actually and i was considering that style of mountqain ut its actually a lot more work than the marching caterpillars, which can be achieved relatively easily by stroking a line with a wedge shape (in theory). these dinotopia ones are much more attractive though far more time consuming to get done. A dilemma, for sure!

Ahh fair enough, I've never tried either. I wonder if there's a way to get that effect in Photoshop using layer styles.. it might be possible to create parallel lines radiating down a gradient, but then you'd have to go back and add some more detailing to emphasise the slope. Might not be worth it even if it's possible, but I might give it a go at some point. I do think it'd be a perfect fit with the rest of the map style though!

Here's another idea for the mountains:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...arine-1851.jpg

It probably shows much more mountain detail than you need in these maps, but I think a similar style could work if you only draw the relevant ranges.

That's lovely... how people had the patience I'll never know.

[vorropohaiah]

yeah that map really is detailed - I shudder to think on how long it must have taken to make, and if not, the talent needed! beyond my attention span, that's for sure

[Raptori]

I really want to use that mountain style at some point, but I'm lazy and want a short cut. I messed around in Illustrator for 10 minutes and came up with this (with a little texture added in Photoshop to make it look like it's been inked):

contours.jpg

Obviously it could do with some variation in the length and shape of the lines, but that's dead simple. Getting the end points of the ranges to look right might be a bit fiddly though. I'll have to play around some more and see whether I can get it to work. What do you think could make it closer to that style? If I can get it right I'd be happy to post a tutorial so you can use it in these maps

[Llannagh]

I actually just spent yesterdy (the whole of it) trying to recreate the style from the dino-map. I almost lost my mind. My template was this and this.

No matter what I did, it always looked crappy and was way too much work. What I came up with was that, dunno if that would work for you:

Mountainhist.jpg

The ridgeline in the middle is just for guidance, in this case I just forgot to put it on an extra layer, that's why it's still there...
I used a soft brush with a fine texture and low opacity and flow. Maybe that's something to work off.

[Diamond]

I think I may have already mentioned this to you, vorro, but a member here, Bill Hooks, put together some pretty convincing caterpillar-style brushes: http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...n-brushes.html. I've used them on a couple of different maps, and with some minor tweaking, they look pretty great.

[vorropohaiah]

I really want to use that mountain style at some point, but I'm lazy and want a short cut. I messed around in Illustrator for 10 minutes and came up with this (with a little texture added in Photoshop to make it look like it's been inked):

Obviously it could do with some variation in the length and shape of the lines, but that's dead simple. Getting the end points of the ranges to look right might be a bit fiddly though. I'll have to play around some more and see whether I can get it to work. What do you think could make it closer to that style? If I can get it right I'd be happy to post a tutorial so you can use it in these maps

thats pretty good! shame i dont know illustrator (considering the map style im going for id probably be saving a lot of time using netscape or illustrator)

I think I may have already mentioned this to you, vorro, but a member here, Bill Hooks, put together some pretty convincing caterpillar-style brushes: http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...n-brushes.html. I've used them on a couple of different maps, and with some minor tweaking, they look pretty great.

i had seen these. though theyre good as theyre not that flexible and will involve a lot of editing and copy/pasting - though still easier than makin them all from scratch. als theres a matter of licencing - i might publish the atlas at some point and want to make sure im using oppen resources like fonts and brushes

[Raptori]

thats pretty good! shame i dont know illustrator (considering the map style im going for id probably be saving a lot of time using netscape or illustrator)

Funny, I'd have guessed you were using Illustrator since those maps look very vector-like.

That technique wouldn't require any knowledge of illustrator really, it's basically just use pen tool + apply a brush then adjust the width of the line, so dead simple. Making it look more hand drawn seems to be a little more difficult... I wish it would be possible to have the brush resize at random like you can with Photoshop :/

[Eilathen]

[heartfelt plea]
Oh please please no caterpillar mountains! There are so many nice suggestions from Lingon, Raptori and others that look sooo much better than those non-mountains that are the caterpillars.
[/heartfelt plea]

[vorropohaiah]

well since they're political maps its not that important that there are mountains or not. i might go for something like what raptori suggested (the europe and Dinotopia maps) though neither are strictly necessary. the dinotopia ones are nice though the only way i can see myself doing them is printing out a 50% opacity version of the map in full scale and painting them in by hand as im not convinced i can do them on a tablet. (my bamboo is in dire need of an update!)

[Raptori]

well since they're political maps its not that important that there are mountains or not. i might go for something like what raptori suggested (the europe and Dinotopia maps) though neither are strictly necessary. the dinotopia ones are nice though the only way i can see myself doing them is printing out a 50% opacity version of the map in full scale and painting them in by hand as im not convinced i can do them on a tablet. (my bamboo is in dire need of an update!)

Their importance would really depend on the technological level of the time. If it's easy to cross the mountains/go around them then they're probably not important. If they're a significant barrier to travel though, they'd play a major part in the how each area coalesces into a new culture, and how they'd interact with their neighbours. I'm just about to start reading Guns, Germs and Steel which is supposed to really do a good job of discussing that, should be an interesting read.

Yah I was thinking the same - those mountains might be a case where drawing manually is a lot easier. I love my tablet - if you have 700€ to spare I can't recommend the Yiynova MSP19u enough (this review is pretty accurate)! The ability to draw directly on the screen should make those much easier; sadly my partner uses it most of the time, so I may have to steal it back to try that actually... Edit: just looked at the latest post on that guy's tumblr - turns out there's a similar tablet now out for $389...