How would you convert a flat map to a spheroid with the lest loss of coastal shape?

[Ingólfr]

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!

[johnvanvliet]

i do need to recreat these guides
right now the internet archive has a snapshot
see the post on this site
http://www.cartographersguild.com/ho...tml#post254396

and at this post
http://www.cartographersguild.com/re...tml#post255780

the "fixing an image and height map
shatters.net ? View topic - (#12) fixing a image & making a HeightMap
( the images are ONLY the thumbnails )

and this old snapshot
----- making a planet using " The Gimp "-----
shatters.net ? View topic - (#3)making a planet using " The Gimp "

it is rather easy to "fix" a map , it WILL be changed a bit
the circumference of a sphere at the equator is DOUBLE that that of 45 Notrth/South


gimp has a nice tool called "distort / Polar coordinates "
that can turn remap to the north pole
then you can "fix" the image and remap back to a rectangle of 2 x 1