Making Fractal lines in GIMP

[Ascension]

This can be done in PS, and quite easily too. I stumbled upon it while experimenting in my secret lab last year. Filter-render-clouds (pic1). Filter-artistic-cutout. Filter-stylize-find edges. It produces what you see in pic 2; looks like contour lines. Even easier, is what's in pic 3, same clouds but then Filter-stylize-trace contour; makes a continent outline.

[Cool as a Cucumber]

I really hate to sound like I'm beating a dead horse, but making continents was never a problem thanks to FM8. What I need is to be able to draw a line in GIMP or Photoshop, and then have it becoming 'fractaled'.

[Ascension]

Don't know of any way to do just a line. The only thing I can think of is to draw a white shape on a black background. Yer gonna say, "I need a line" but hold on, we'll make the black and white edge become a line. In PS hit the filter-pixellate-crystalize, set the size around 24, then repeat this process at lower increments (12, then 6, then 3). Adjust the brightness all the way up, (image-adjustments-brightness/contrast)...this creates a random shape based on the rough white shape we started with. If it's too pointy or spikey then hit filter-noise-median and set that anywhere between 3-10 and this will round off the points. Delete the black (select-color range=black, hit the delete key). Now since we just have our white shape left we turn the opacity of the layer all the way down to zero and then add a layer style of stroke and there you have a random black line. It's kind of long but if you turn it into an action then it's way easy...draw a shape hit the button.

[Cool as a Cucumber]

Don't know of any way to do just a line. The only thing I can think of is to draw a white shape on a black background. Yer gonna say, "I need a line" but hold on, we'll make the black and white edge become a line. In PS hit the filter-pixellate-crystalize, set the size around 24, then repeat this process at lower increments (12, then 6, then 3). Adjust the brightness all the way up, (image-adjustments-brightness/contrast)...this creates a random shape based on the rough white shape we started with. If it's too pointy or spikey then hit filter-noise-median and set that anywhere between 3-10 and this will round off the points. Delete the black (select-color range=black, hit the delete key). Now since we just have our white shape left we turn the opacity of the layer all the way down to zero and then add a layer style of stroke and there you have a random black line. It's kind of long but if you turn it into an action then it's way easy...draw a shape hit the button.

At that point I might as well draw it in Fractal Mapper and screencap it..

[Greason Wolfe]

Not sure how much this will help, but you might take a look at RobA's "Creating an Artistic Regional Map . . . " tutorial for GIMP (original thread : http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=1142 ). With just a tiny bit of alteration, it might be able to accomplish what it sounds like you are looking for.

GW

[msa]

At that point I might as well draw it in Fractal Mapper and screencap it..

Can't you save the FM screen as an image? My GM uses autorealms for mapping, which has a fractal line/shape tool like you describe. To pretty it up in gimp, I just took his landmasses and saved them as a BMP in the resolution I needed (7200x4800 and 3600x2400). Then I brought it into GIMP to do all the artistic stuff.

There isn't a GIMP tool like that that I know of. You might get some traction out of select->distort but I haven't been satisfied with it. When I need a fractal-looking line, I usually draw it by hand

[jfrazierjr]

Ok, so you are trying to do two things correct?

1. Create you continent(done) with topography to indicate height
2. Create a country border region with an inner glow to differentiate each country(which might(will) cut across topography lines.)

Is that right? If so, step one... import your existing map into GIMP. Use the magic wand tool to select each country. Add a new layer and use the Stroke selection to create an outline of that section. Repeat for each country so you have each country on a separate layer.

Back in Fractal Mapper, remove all country borders(so you maintain the shape only) and add in your topographical lines and optionally, the colors. Export to png.


Open the second exported map, copy the layer and paste into your original map as a new layer. Now you have both. Now select each country layer and add the inner glow effect. Depending on how many topo layers you need this should take no more than 20 minutes or so.

[Karro]

Ok, so you are trying to do two things correct?

1. Create you continent(done) with topography to indicate height
2. Create a country border region with an inner glow to differentiate each country(which might(will) cut across topography lines.)

As I understand it, he is also trying to do a 3rd thing:

3. Create a single, non-looping randomized, fractal-style line to represent a river on the continent he's already created in FM.

I would think you could use the cloud filters for this purpose as well, though it might be more trouble than it's worth. You could probably adapt some of the techniques used in RobA's various GIMP tutorials to do this (there's one that he uses to create a very stark, randomized black line on a cloud filter that could probably be used, but I'm not sure how practical it would be). However, the learning curve to do so in GIMP might be sufficiently steep that it could be better to draw the rivers in by hand.

[Cool as a Cucumber]

As I understand it, he is also trying to do a 3rd thing:

3. Create a single, non-looping randomized, fractal-style line to represent a river on the continent he's already created in FM.

I would think you could use the cloud filters for this purpose as well, though it might be more trouble than it's worth. You could probably adapt some of the techniques used in RobA's various GIMP tutorials to do this (there's one that he uses to create a very stark, randomized black line on a cloud filter that could probably be used, but I'm not sure how practical it would be). However, the learning curve to do so in GIMP might be sufficiently steep that it could be better to draw the rivers in by hand.

Yeah, what this guy said. I guess I'm just going to have to do the rivers in Fractal Mapper.

[RobA]

I find it easiest to do rivers in Inkscape, as it is vector based and does have functions like fractalizing lines/shapes.

There is a tutorial on the site on using fractalize and inkscape to cerate rivers.

-Rob A>