Drawing on the computer

[ThomasR]

One thing has to be considered. As Kelleri said, digital work allows one to erase some mistakes but there's a downside to that. You can easily second guess yourself a lot slowing down the process. From experience I can say that a map drawn by hand can take from 1 hour (even less sometimes) to 3 or 4 hours. The same map drawn digitally with the separate layers (which is a wonderful help) will take me a lot longer. One middle ground would be to get wild with pen and paper, scan it and go digital. It can (I insist on CAN) be quicker than direct to digital.

Another thing. Going traditional allows for errors and big screw ups. It can be frustrating at times but it pays off as it really makes you progress quickly.

In the words of a master "Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is." Plus it's fun to experiment and shape maps with the rapidity pen and paper allow.

[Kellerica]

Thomas does bring up a good point. If one is prone to perfectionism, making a map digitally can turn into an endless hell of tweaking and adjusting to the point of insanity. Not that I'd know anything about that. *cough cough*

I guess it all comes down to what you're more comfortable with. I do and will very likely always stand by digital tools for cartography and art in general, as that is the thing that I feel comfortable and confident working with. I'm not saying that it is by any means the only way to go, it just works best for me. There are pros and cons to both traditional and digital map-making, but wonderful things can be accomplished with both ways. It's all about the craft itself, and somewhat less about the tools one uses, in my opinion.

[DnD4ever]

A monochrome map (pencil) takes a couple hours at most to make a useful map, color pencils two to four times as long - all take some drafting and some planning to get a good result. Digital maps offer MANY advantages, one of the best artists I ever got to work with gave me some wisdom which I share with you here. He said "Yes, it is a it like learning to draw with a bar of soap. Still, the unlimited medium to paint on and with, the use of the 'UNDO' makes this transition priceless."

If you can get a tablet, do so but a mouse can do the job. GIMP is easier than you think. Practice is key. Watch some videos and dive in!