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Hi James!
Welcome to the guild - "The Mappiest Place on Earth!"™ from a fellow Canuck. Hope you weathered the floods OK
You post was held in moderation (as are many first posts) so I have approved it.
-Rob A>
Hello, from an Amateur Fantasy writer/map-maker!
Hello, my name is James Swinney. I have, for several years now, been writing fantasy stories--though I've yet to complete one. Mostly, however, I'm fascinated by the fact that, as a fantasy writer, I get to create my own worlds and furnish them and make them come alive. It all started when I read the Lord of the Rings and saw the beautiful maps in the back; I fell in love. I immediately put pencil to paper and drew my own. It was terrible, of course, but it was the beginning of what was to become a hobby of mine. I'm still an amateur, certainly, and I am by no means good at making maps, but it's something that I enjoy, and that's all that matters, right? Anyway, after browsing this website for a while and seeing some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen, I decided that I had to sign up.
I've been thinking recently about getting into making maps on the computer. I read that most people on this website use either Photoshop or GIMP, so I downloaded the free one and I'm working through one of the tutorials.
Hi James!
Welcome to the guild - "The Mappiest Place on Earth!"™ from a fellow Canuck. Hope you weathered the floods OK
You post was held in moderation (as are many first posts) so I have approved it.
-Rob A>
My tutorials: Using GIMP to Create an Artistic Regional Map ~ All My Tutorials
My GIMP Scripts: Rotating Brush ~ Gradient from Image ~ Mosaic Tile Helper ~ Random Density Map ~ Subterranean Map Prettier ~ Tapered Stroke Path ~ Random Rotate Floating Layer ~ Batch Image to Pattern ~ Better Seamless Tiles ~ Tile Shuffle ~ Scale Pattern ~ Grid of Guides ~ Fractalize path ~ Label Points
My Maps: Finished Maps ~ Challenge Entries ~ My Portfolio: www.cartocopia.com
Welcome to the Guild James! You will find that there are many other aspiring authors here as well who are a kindred spirit. Have a look around the tutorials section, there are plenty of great tutorials written for GIMP there. Looking forward to seeing you around.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
I too was inspired by the map in Lord of the Rings. That is a style to go for. I wish you well in being able to create exactly what you need.
Welcome. I liked the Rings maps as well. Though I think I liked the flavor of the Wheel of Time Maps a bit more.
Gimp is great for freeware. I personally learned on photoshop and the adobe suite. If you ever decide to go to Adobe I suggest The Software Tech Store. Of course it is a digital download, but it is a licesnsed copy and it is the most reasonable priced place I found.
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