Changing Projections of Multi-layer Map

[Gull Mapper]

Hello Guild Members, I am working on a world map that contains several layers such as coastlines, rivers, cities, overlays and name labels. Would you please advise me how to reproject it so that the layers are in sync?

Details about the map:
- Vector map created in Illustrator to allow for rescaling
- Equirectangular (2:1), assuming Earth size for utility

The Goal:
- To be able to change projections to the most common ones such as Winkel Tripel, Mercator, Orthographic, Robinson
- To have the output in similar format so that an artist can rescale it and add details

Approach to the problem:
- Cartography is an area I am an amateur in, my knowledge is at the novice level. I am familiar with PS and Illustrator but not with dedicated mapping software
- I tried G. Projector as it seems beginner friendly. However, it is not fit for the purpose as far as I understand. Also, like others in the forum, I found it to be limiting in file size
- I imagine there are programs that can reproject while keeping labels positioned to the correct object they describe. I guess that working in layers is typical for such programs?

What would you suggest?

[Hai-Etlik]

The way a GIS handles vector data is VERY different from how vector graphics software normally works. It's more akin to a database. The best you are going to be able to manage is extracting the geometry from your vector image so that you can load it into a GIS and attach attributes to it. Then you can rebuild your map by combining the feature sets you've produced and applying styles to them. Then you can create a print layout and export to a vector image, which you can then load into a vector graphics editor for additional manipulation.

Reprojecting vector data can also be finicky. You may need to do some manipulation before or after the reprojection. Dealing with features crossing discontinuities and adding geometry density are the two most notable things.

The details of all of this are rather more than I can put into a forum post right now.

I started on two tutorials that cover some of the basic things you'd need. They are a bit out of date since QGIS 3 came out the simple stuff hasn't changed much and I never actually finished them.

https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=17469
https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=32309

Downloading QGIS and playing with it a bit would be a good start to any foray you might make into GIS. Natural Earth is a good source for GIS data that's easy to play with.

[Gull Mapper]

Thank you, I will go through the tutorials.