Hi!

[Olooriel]

So, I've been lurking for a while, admiring everyone's amazing creations and not really daring to drop in. I tried my hand at drawing battlemaps last November/mapvember, but found it harder than I expected. I'm a somewhat decent illustrator, but I realized that there's a whole other set of skills required for mapmaking. I've always loved maps though, so I'm eager to learn! Battlemaps specifically is exactly my kind of thing that I never knew existed (long time roleplayer, but never played a system that uses miniatures). I recently got Dungeondraft, which has proven to be quite addictive, but also feels a bit like cheating because it's so easy and fast in comparison, even though I create some custom assets. I assume most people here use either traditional or digital drawing to create their maps rather than a mapping software?

[Kellerica]

It's a mixed bag. Some of use do prefer to do things solely by hand, but there are plenty of others who use softwares like Campaign Cartographer or Wonderdraft (I'm assuming Dungeoncraft is part of the same franchise?), and some do mix several different tools to create their works. It depends on what you're after when making maps, I suppose. I know one of our long-time members has been a keen CC3+ user and created tons of custom assets that she used in her work, and ended up actually getting hired by the people who created the software, which is kind of awesome in my opinion. So yeah, digital and traditional artists of all ilks under the roofs of these Guild halls

Well, in any case, a most warm welcome to the Guild! Looking forward to seeing you around.

[Olooriel]

Thank you! Really looking forward to joining in!

Yes, Dungeondraft is a new program by the makers of Wonderdraft. Glad to hear that I won't be the only one here using this sort of thing. I could not achieve the consistent look I'm after when painting the maps, but matching assets to their style gives me a good guideline to follow. I also found that it freed my mind somewhat for other concerns, like considering layout and tactics, thinking about possible background story or encounters, or even just setting details and atmosphere I want to create.