I'm Not Usually a Joiner, But in This Case

[mcrumph]

I have had a lot of experience looking at maps. As a kid we would take some fairly long trips for vacation, and in that age where children didn't have so many things to distract them, we had to keep ourselves occupied. Part of that was attempting to decipher the various lines & squiggles on the map. I even started making my own maps about this same time. There was a state park we would spend a lot of time, Greenwood Lake.Over the course of a summer I had mapped, not only the laid out trails, but also the paths I discovered, and the certain spots where I found interesting things.

I have spent decades sailing on fresh and salt water. Even though those are called charts, and are not so interesting as maps, until you get near a shore, they are just has handy in showing your position.

I am here mostly to refine my map making skills. I have made some few back in my RPG-playing days, and a much larger one for a fantasy novel I was writing before the turn of the century (I do like saying that). I am more used to pens & paper, but I want to start working with software, enabling me to make a more detailed product. I will be focusing on two applications: GIMP & Inkscape. The map I will be concentrating on is for a fictional city of 8 millions of people. It is a contemporary story in our reality so I will also have train, light rail and canals to integrate (it is a very old city, which is where the canals come into play).

The attached file is what made me join. The idea of interactive maps is very intriguing to me.

I look forward to seeing more of everyone's maps and asking a great deal of questions.

Have fun!