focusing in and scaling up!

[Christopher Mahood]

WP_20151107_21_26_21_Pro.jpgWP_20151107_21_16_53_Pro.jpg[ATTACH=CONFIG]77271[/A Hello again all! I have been toying with photoshop for a while, making a few lovely maps but I personally feel you cant beat the sensation of pencil on paper!

I am currently working on a map for a children's book. The story revolves around 3 races on 3 continents.

I am currently making an overall atlas. As seen above. I want to make a separate page for each continent. Any tips for drawing larger versions of the already outlined continents?

[Shikotei]

Other than good hand-eye coordination and a larger sheet of paper, I can think of a few ways to enlarge your map.

The first one would have you scan in the original map to a digital file and print it out on a larger sheet of paper. A second sheet will then be used to redraw the (now blurry) up-scaled map.

The second would require some sort of contraption that involves magnifying glasses, a light-box. Not sure how this could easily be built, but the gist of it is that you magnify the original and project it bigger..
Maybe a transparent sheet, a marker to draw the original (same scale) on the sheet and an overhead projector. Really not something you'd have by hand.

The third would have you draw a grid on the original and a larger grid on the new one. Then it's a simple task of drawing the contents of each grid in the original again in the larger grid.

[Midgardsormr]

There is a device called a pantograph that might help you out. It takes quite a bit of table space to operate one, but it's a very simple gizmo. You might be able to find one in an art supply store, although they're uncommon enough that you may have to order it. Should cost less than $50. Or if you're a handy type of person you could build it yourself.

[Durakken]

If you have proper scanner or position the light so it doesn't cause a gradiant it could be possible to do it in photoshop...

The easiest to preserve the outline is to just color everything the border jet black and then scan it, select it, and then stroke the edge of the selection since the black should be selectable. the important part is constrast. If you can make the border alone jet black with the background lit up and white as possible then it should be fairly easy to select it and preserve it in a digital format. I tried with what you gave to get the shore line with what you give but the largest problem is you colored which makes the contrast harder to pick out, you have a grey colored paper, the light causes a gradient, and the line of the coast is inconsistent so in some places it fades while in others its nice and dark. These all cause problems, but if you can fix it close enough to raising the border out of that contrast against the back it should be no problem.

As far as other methods of transfer...

Light, under a surface that is hard but lets light through (glass table), put the drawing on the table first, then the frash piece above that and trace it.
Another way is carbon transfer paper which you set up in the reverse way but has the inconvenience of you having to trace on your drawing potentially ruining it.

The finished product once your done tracing will need cleened up and such anyways though so you might just consider taking what you have and using your Graphic program to color over it to begin with...

Still yet a third option is to erase those blue lines that make the ocean around the coest line, again darken the coastline as much as possible, and then just color select it in the graphics program.

[Durakken]

You know I just read the OP and realized I didn't answer the question...

Use High res scan, print on size of paper you need, trace over it.

There is a more "artistic" way which is to grid it and then transfer each square over. That's easier than drawing the whole thing as a single piece.


Side note... be careful of posting images drawn on paper that you have written a lot on. People can easily play a little with graphic editing programs and make out a lot of those things clearly, because the slight indentations of the paper also cause contrasting which can be picked up on, just like if you lightly shaded with a pencil.