turn that crumple into a map!

[Caenwyr]

So I was looking at a crumpled piece of paper, and I started thinking... Why don't I turn something like this:

IMG_20130906_120954.jpg

... into something like this:

crumple.jpg

It's a very preliminary work, but it's a nice project for the weekend. So now I'm wondering if there's a fabric that's water tight, crumplable (is that a word?) and not shiny, so I can crumple it, pour water over it and see where lakes are formed? Maybe you guys have an idea

[kurtzknight]

Look at the numbers you see on uniforms at track and field events or in marathons they are paper and can crumple and hold up in rain. Mabey just search for waterproof paper.

[Urist]

Old paper money had good crumplablity and could survive contact with liquids.
I can't think of anything else that is water tight and would retain its crumples, so maybe you could use PVA to seal regular paper.

[RobA]

You could use Tyvek (made by duPont) or some other house wrap material.

And on a map related front, here is a Tyvel, crumple-able, waterproof city map: Crumpled City : Emanuele Pizzolorusso

-Rob A>

[waldronate]

I'd recommend spraying a few coats of clear paint on it. That'll both seal it and make it stronger.

[Lingon]

This is an interesting idea… Looks really cool too. Maybe something for a future mapping challenge?

And to add something to the material discussion: aluminium foil might work too, if spray-painted. Some ultra-cheap, cracking paint could even look good; with some luck that'd do the texture work as well.

[randigpanzrall]

Funny idea!

Ever thought of using dark charcoal or pencil dust, rubbing the paper in, whipping the coal away and polishing the whole think carefully? In the deep valleys the black color will stay, i hope...and you avoid oceaning your table :-)

[Caenwyr]

All very good ideas, my friends! I'll on holiday for a week from tomorrow onwards, but I should be able to come up with someone when I get back ;-). I'll keep you posted!

[Supine]

This is kinda interesting, although I can already tell it's only really going to work for mountain regions. But that brings me to my point: Perhaps next time my players are running around in the mountains, I'll do this, add features with a few colors of pen, and then clear-coat it until it stops trying to unfold, using that as my close-regional map. The main struggle, I think, will be creating another one when they inevitably go too far to one direction and I have to match the borders.

[Chashio]

... The main struggle, I think, will be creating another one when they inevitably go too far to one direction and I have to match the borders.

Glue, or tape, the next piece of paper firmly to the edge you're expanding, then fold and crumple more gently? Or fix it digitally if you don't need it as a 3d object?

For materials, I'd probably try painted aluminum foil first for durability and minute fixing of details, but parchment paper or waxed paper might work too and they're both reasonably water resistant. Tracing paper's kinda interesting as well; it has a wrinkly shrivel-ish tendency when it gets wet. If you go with something that can hold pigment as well as water, then once you find your lakes, or maybe better... if you use an eye-dropper and selectively drop water into the highest valleys without hitting the slopes too much, add some color to the water and it'll stain your river paths and water bodies for you. Watch you don't do any of this over something that's not washable, though, and mind that your landscape is stable enough that it won't tip over when you don't want it to.