My first map! Advice or tips?

[Raven]

THESNO~1.JPG

Made this in CC3, for a book I'm writing! It's the Province of Snowfall.
All advice is welcomed, and please note a few things.
I know I made it WAY to big.
The shape is more of a visualization for myself.
It will be redone, over and over if needed, until I get good at the program.
I just started today.
Thanks! -Raven

[Mouse]

You just started today, and this is the very first map you ever drew?

That's actually pretty darned good compared to my own first effort.

If you are looking for advice (and please tell me to shut up if I go a bit over the top), there is a lot of detail already on the map, but it is all very concentrated in just a few small areas. I would suggest that you consider adding at least a bit more detail to the rest of the continent - the suggestion of a few mountain ranges perhaps... or some name that indicates a vast tract of unexplored land? You might find using a few different textures will break up that large green block at the heart of the continent.

Here is a very small extract of one of my own maps to illustrate what I mean (and here I upload a little apprehensively, because this has been done using the Herwin Wielink style, which I suspect you may not have. Its quite a recent style, but the principle is the same - mountains, different textures on the land, etc):

Example.JPG

There is just so much I could tell you - show you how to do things... but your new to the software and I don't want to smother you with too much all at once, so I will refrain until you ask

[Raven]

Thank you! I have to say that map looks amazing ;-; I'll never get to that level... all I have are stock assets and a very limited knowledge of the program. I'm not really sure how to ass texture, and it's concentrated purely because it's still a very early work in progress.... I have a few questions that I can't seem to get a straight answer to, and all video tutorials I have found are long outdated.
How do I add text?
How do I change Border colors?
How do I delete individual items?
How did you make those beautiful trees and mountains?!

Thanks, I look forward to learning so much more!

[Mouse]

Ok then... and I warn you this will be a very long post to read! Firstly I would strongly recommend working your way through the User Manual "My first Map" exercise, which will familiarise you much more thoroughly with all the controls at your disposal. However, if the manual is missing, and you don't have your father's registration details to hand I can understand that you will be looking for a few very basic instructions. I will do the best I can for you in such a short space here.

As I am sure you have worked out for yourself by now, it is necessary to chose what action you wish to apply before you select the object you want to perform that operation on. I will answer your questions out of order, because there are a couple I need to explain in greater detail.

For a start I didn't draw the mountains. They are symbols, which you can see in the symbol catalogue which is open on the left of the screen shot below. Similarly the trees, the grass and the fields are texture fills. I didn't draw any of them either but added them to a land shape I drew in exactly the same way that you drew yours. The symbols and texture fills together comprise what we call a "style", and this is the Herwin Wielink style I mentioned above.

Show and tell.JPG

Deleting things:

1. Click the button on the left with the pencil eraser.
2. Select the object you want to delete by clicking its edge.
3. Right click the mouse, and select "do it" from the sub-menu that appears.

Adding text:

1. Click the button with the smaller "A" on it to the right of the screen (circled in red on the screen shot)
2. Choose your font and the style of that font - bold, underline etc.
3. Click ok once you are happy with the font and the style.

4. Click the button with the larger "A" on it.
5. Type your text into the dialogue box that opens
6. Click ok and paste it where you want it to be.

The colour of anything you add is dictated by the colour shown in the little block at the centre of the top bar. You can change the colour by clicking once on it and choosing from the colour chart that appears.

[NB. I can no longer see your questions, and having a memory like a goldfish I will have to post this now and edit it to add the things I have forgotten to cover.]

[Raven]

Uhm, I think this may be my fault, but... I don't have another "A"...

2.png

Also, I don't have any of those symbols...

[Raven]

Did a bit of reading, and it seems that feature is in CC3+ only, as far as I can tell....

[Mouse]

Ok - my broadband flipped out for about half an hour, and is still very jittery right now. I finished the instructions but the edit was lost

With hindsight, however, and bearing in mind that you have since made another two posts, the further instructions may only have served to confuse the issue, since the toolbars and palettes are all in different places on your screen.

I think it may be more useful, if your version of the software is so different from my own, if you make an account (no cost) over on the PF forum and ask an extremely friendly community over there for help. They, at least, are greater in number, and among them the author of the legendary Tome of Ultimate Mapping - Remy Monsen. It also pays to get advice from more than one user (ie me).

I have contacted Ralf Schemmann to ask how to go about upgrading your software, and to find out the cost - which shouldn't be anywhere near as much as buying it new (I hope). We will see what happens

I will let you know what Ralf says once he gets back to me, but I am pretty sure that you will need to email him (I will give you the details if that is the case) to sort out transferring the registration of the software into your own name from your father's name, to make an upgrade possible.

I know that you say you have no money, but please don't despair. There are things afoot behind scenes of which you know not - and they are good things

EDIT: PS - the arrangement of a user's screen is a personal thing, and is never anyone's "fault" Mine is probably not exactly standard, since I have tweaked a lot of things on the dashboard since I first installed.

[Raven]

I will head over there, and make an account then! I don't know if this is registered, even though, and the fact that it lingered when I updated to win 7 makes me think he pirated it... I hope not, because that would create many problems. Thank you for all your help, I will go register there and then probably head to bed, as it's getting kind of late... Until tomorrow, then! Good night, and thank you again!

[Mouse]

Don't worry if it is or it isn't. You are never responsible for something you did or didn't do (unless you stand and watch someone being murdered, that is).

If you have any problem getting a forum account, then it may be that we need to sort out the registration thing first, but I'm waiting for instructions from Ralf to know how to proceed on that front. EDIT: so it may be as well that I have some time to work on this.

Sleep well!

[Raven]

Good morning! I look forward to a good day of mapping, writing, and well, video editing! Not to mention learning!