[Award Winner ] Creating an old-school map in Gimp.

[claud9999]

First, thank you very much for excellent instructions and motivation (oh and your art has been very helpful as well in my MapTool-centered campaign.) I even used your sample dungeon in a mini-adventure in 4E with some folks and we had a blast. (If you want the .campgn file, I can send it to you.)

I have been using GIMP 2.6.6 to try to recreate the steps you've outlined, and I must be dense--I select "snap to grid" (after setting the grid to 50px x 50px and showing the grid) and the paint brush fails to snap to the grid. I've checked the GIMP Bugzilla and there is no mention of this being a bug. Am I missing something obvious? I suppose I can just do caverns until I figger this out. ;^o

[RobA]

I have been using GIMP 2.6.6 to try to recreate the steps you've outlined, and I must be dense--I select "snap to grid" (after setting the grid to 50px x 50px and showing the grid) and the paint brush fails to snap to the grid. I've checked the GIMP Bugzilla and there is no mention of this being a bug. Am I missing something obvious? I suppose I can just do caverns until I figger this out. ;^o

You have to restart gimp to get the grid preferences recognized.

I'd suggest using the grid of guides script instead, as you can set and clear them on the fly.

-Rob A>

[torstan]

You're welcome. I'm glad it came in handy - and I'd be very interested in the campaign file!

In Gimp 2.6.4 I can toggle snap to grid in the View menu and this changes the snap to grid behaviour of a paintbrush. I'll go and grab 2.6.6 and see if the behaviour is the same.

[RobA]

Torstan, tt is not the snap to grid toggle, it is the grid itself. When you change the grid spacing (at least in my version 2.6.4) you have to restart gimp, otherwise the snap to grid toggle continues to use the old spacing. I find it a pain to do this, as I often want to change the snap spacing while working (i.e. to get a 1/2 grid snap).

-Rob A>

[torstan]

Just tested this in 2.6.4 running on windows XP media centre edition and it works fine. No problems at all with using configure grid to edit the spacing. Snaps to grid like a dream. How bizarre.

[claud9999]

You have to restart gimp to get the grid preferences recognized.

I'd suggest using the grid of guides script instead, as you can set and clear them on the fly.

-Rob A>

Something's broke in 2.6.6, at least the MacOSX build. I am able to run your script and it generates the guides but when I select "snap to guides" the paint brush doesn't snap. Luckily I have VMWare, too bad sourceforge.net seems to be borked right now. ;^o

[claud9999]

Something's broke in 2.6.6, at least the MacOSX build. I am able to run your script and it generates the guides but when I select "snap to guides" the paint brush doesn't snap. Luckily I have VMWare, too bad sourceforge.net seems to be borked right now. ;^o

Ah, I'm dumb. But perhaps my stupidity will save someone else the trouble...The trick I found is to turn up the "Snap Distance" in the "Tool Options" Preference panel. If you turn it up to 25, it snaps on all interactions, 15 is a reasonable medium, 8 is just too low for me.

[torstan]

Ah, that's a great find! I'd never have gone looking for it there. Thanks for posting the solution.

[Goblin Witchlord]

Thanks so much for creating this! It is enormously helpful to those of us who are very new with these editors to create something simple and cool. Altho I wish I had seen claud9999's comment at the end before I had started.

Until I get more experience at this, I'm going to have to go through this step by step a few times. I put together a mini-checklist from the original tutorial to make sure I don't forget anything as I work on new maps.

I use GameMastery flip-mats for my RPGs, which are 24 squares wide and 30 squares high, which explains some of the dimensions.

[Goblin Witchlord]

1. Create a canvas using "File > New". Assuming you use 50px squares, a 1000x1000-pixel image will create a 20x20 square grid. A 1200x1500-pixel image will create a 24x30 (flip-mat-size) grid. Setting the image to 160dpi should enable an output PDF of the (flip-mat) map to have a half-inch margin.

2. "View > Show Grid". This displays the default grid.

3. "Image > Configure Grid". Set the grid spacing to 50 pixels.

4. In the Layers Palette, choose "Patterns > Grid 50x50 blue". On your canvas, go to "Select > All" and then "Edit > Fill with Pattern". (Or "Filters > Render > Pattern > Grid" with Width 1, Spacing 50, Offset 0).

5. "Edit > Preferences". Go to "Tool Options" and raise the "Snap distance"; 25 will make the brush always snap to an intersection.

6. "View > Snap to Grid" should be checked.

7. In the Layers Palette, hit the "New Layer" button. Give the layer a name (such as Walls), and select Transparency as the Layer Fill Type. Make sure the new layer is selected.

8. Double-click the foreground color in the Toolbox Palette. Enter "18769d" in the "HTML notation" field.

9. In the Layers Palette, click on "Brushes" and select the "Circle (01) (3 x 3)" brush. A 9px brush creates a more visible internal wall.

Drawing and Coloring Walls

10. Draw some walls.

11. In the Toolbox Palette, choose the Fuzzy Select Tool, and make sure that "Sample merged" is off. On the canvas, click the area to be colored as impassable. Go to "Select > Grow..." and grow the selection by 2 pixels.

12. "Edit > Fill with FG Color". Repeat 11 and 12 to color in all the walls.

Placing Doors and Other Elements

13. "File > Open" and choose "door.png". "Select > All". "Edit > Copy". Close "door.png" without saving.

14. On the canvas, choose "Edit > Paste". In the Toolbox Palette, click the Rectangle Select Tool. Move the door and anchor it.