Is Campaign Cartographer a faux pas?

[waldronate]

Out of curiosity do you have to be good at drawing artwork to use GIMP or Photoshop to make maps?

I spent many years and dollars searching for the magic hardware and software combination that would make me a good (or at very least passable) artist. I never found it, although I did pick up a fair amount of technical ability along the way. All I can recommend is to do what I never did: Practice, get feedback, repeat until you are happy enough. Don't give up and don't try too many shortcuts. That feedback part is critical, even if it can sting at times.

Trying to learn a skill just for a specific task has given the world many oddities, including the Witch of Maria Agnesi.

[Jacktannery]

Out of curiosity do you have to be good at drawing artwork to use GIMP or Photoshop to make maps?

Absolutely not. I'm hopeless at drawing but still manage to make OK maps with GIMP.

[anomiecoalition]

I started with CC3 and now play with PS for some maps...I personally think the learning curve ascribed to CC3 is a bit overrated - there are some really great tutorials on youtube (particularly the ones for dungeon mapping) that really help you learn the basics).

I also think that the two programs are useful for different things. I've found that making dungeons or structures is FAR EASIER with CC3 - largely because drawing outlines is simpler and you can just drop in objects. You can do it with PS but i've just found that it takes me twice as long. On the other hand, PS is infinitely better for doing big scale maps (continents, cities, or villages) or any map where you want to display elevation (mountainsides or hills). There are some work arounds in CC3 but ultimately it doesn't have a "multiply" layer style (though I think they might be trying to add that in for the new version of CC3+)

[Galendae]

Out of curiosity do you have to be good at drawing artwork to use GIMP or Photoshop to make maps?

By the way, thanks for all the helpful replies.

No, you do not. I can't draw stick figures in real life. If you saw the map I am currently working on, you would think I was a Pro

[SumnerH]

Out of curiosity do you have to be good at drawing artwork to use GIMP or Photoshop to make maps?

By the way, thanks for all the helpful replies.

I'm a miserable artist, and I'm putting together some pretty decent looking maps using Inkscape and Gimp.