[Award Winner] Tutorial & Guide for Hand Drawn Maps (Pen & Ink w/ Photoshop)

[Badger]

Little slow on this one, but here at last, coastlines, rivers and lakes.

Rob mentioned tracing paper and I was going to wait till the end to go over the digital aspect to pen and ink maps. But most of this stuff can be done digitally, you don't have to use pen and paper, you could just as easily use a Tablet and stylus, the same principles apply.

A majority of what I ink ends up getting scanned in to the computer for use digitally, and that alone has cut down on the mistakes I make. Well, no, It cuts down on the number of noticeable mistakes in whatever I draw

So you ask, what does tracing paper have to do with digital maps? Why can't I just scan it in, whatever I draw? True... you can do that. But tracing paper to fix mistakes on digital work, matching it up perfectly. I've found it invaluable for adding hand written text in by tracing over font styles or by tracing over Celtic knot work.
celtic band.jpg

RobA for instance, drew a really nice map, but had done it graph paper, which he was having trouble editing out digitally. Tracing paper to the rescue, he copied his town exactly the way he'd drawn it minus the grid and it turned out Fantastic. But that's just a few things you can do with Tracing paper and Digital Art. I feel I should get on with the tutorial I planned

Coastlines

There's a point and time when you realize that the coastal regions you are drawing just aren't measuring up. At least it came to me as a sudden realization, and I strove to make more believable coastlines ever since. We should probably identify what parts actually make up a coastal region. I had to cut my usual pictures down to one per category as the limit on post images is set to 5. I'll be referring to this throughout the coastal part of the tut.
coastal.jpg

1. Peninsula
2.Bay, Cape, Cove, Gulf
3. Tombolo
4. Lagoon.
5. Island.
6. spit
7.Estuary
8. Delta
9. Sand bar or Shoal.

Of couse, not a definitive list of things you find on a coast, these are the ones I most often draw and deal with. Putting some of these in the right amount of places makes the difference between a really interesting map.. and a really blasé map that has no character. Interesting coastlines aren't all that easy to make, but with practice, and a good eye, you shouldn't have any problems with them after this

The way I started drawing coastlines was to first look at some of earth's coastlines. Scotland , Greece, Alaska , Cape Horn, Indonesia are some good places to start out looking at coastline. And when I say coastline I mean islands too, they are coastline after all. Switch from Terrain mode to map mode and look at them with both styles. Now sit down and try to draw some of those coastlines.

Above I illustrate how I go about ... I draw a line defining the where I about I want the coast. I then refine it, and once refined, I finish it off. I prefer heavy dark lines for the coast so they stand out. Keep practicing

Still giving you trouble, try the blind coast taste test. Draw a rough indication of where you want your coastline. Takea look at it ... now put your pen where your starting line was and close your eyes and try to draw along that line. make it slow and steady and try to keep it on that line you just drew... AMAZING you just drew a random near fractilized coast, congratulations... keep practicing that same unsteady hand movement and you will be able to draw some freehand coastlines in no time. Next to those coastlines are some of the effects I use to give the definition to coastal waters... keep the shaded parts as water, of course.

Still not getting coastlines down? Print off of google maps some of those coastlines you were admiring, or if you are doing them directly in your choice of software (Gimp, PS) if you can't download a googlemap either screen shot it or search the area you like in google images where you can find some really nice maps. then take your tracing paper and trace various sorts of coast line ... picking up the tracing paper and moving it around till you find a section of coast you like, get your tracing paper filled up and then scan it in and pull it up. start cutting up those sections and pasting them into the map and connecting them together to make your own coastline. If you still can't get it ... let me know, I'll draw them for you and only charge you a nominal fee Coastal Tax

Now, if we take a look at some rivers we have here on this wonderful planet: Congo, S. America,
and another S. America Now those are some hellish rivers my friends.
riverrules.jpg
River Rules to Live By.
The first is obvious, or should be, gravity is what it is, and water the magnitude of rivers here weight literally megatons. They always seek the lowest point on a map, and point is (usually) sea level. Unless you have some magical explanation for something otherwise, in which case you should probably relate that to people who see the map.

#2 is basically a hard and fast rule that I use, I don't know if it's going to send up red flags for people or not. But rivers tend to 'meander'. so to gage how your river should work, just measure the distance from starting point to stopping point in a straight line, multiply that by 3 and that is how long the river should be... winding back and forth until it gets there.

#3 is a big deal. At least it seems to be here at the guild. Rivers don't split (generally) going downhill. Eventually one channel will win out and all the water will divert down that path.

Then basically like a coastline you draw some rivers, except that you keep the lines smoother and let it meander through your map
bigriver.jpg

Lakes, let's take a look: Victoria , Canada , and that is why canada is called the land of a billion and two lakes.

Below are some of the types of lakes we find here on this beautiful ball of rock.
Lakes.jpg

Subglacial
Glacial lake
Endorheic
Fjord lake
Oxbow
Rift lake
Crater

Sorry to cut the lakes real short, but after coastlines and rivers, lakes should be a breeze!
Feel free to ask me some questions. Or if you need some examples.... Or anything at all.