Map making - need some suggestions

[Fathead]

I'm making a new campaign world map, and I was hoping that some of my fellow EnWorlders could give me some suggestions. I plan to hand-sketch the map, scan it, and bring it into photoshop. I'm looking for a good background for the map. I don't really need map edges (that's not what I'm looking for). I need a map background that looks worn - like it has gone through some degradation...something that looks antiquated, to add some depth to it.

 

[diaglo]

try asking on the Mapping & Cartography forum at www.mortality.net


that's where i go for help with maps.

 

[SkeletonKey Ed]

I may know a thing or two.

Take a piece of paper and wad it up. Flatten it out. Repeat.

Brew some tea or coffee and submerge the paper in it for 10 seconds or so. Do several pieces of paper this way, let them dry on a flat surface and choose your favorite. Water color washes work well for this also.

- or -

Go to a craft store and find some cool paper that you can scan in and use for a background. Follow the link below and scroll down to see an example of an illustration that I did with a scanned paper background.

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65103

Cheers -

Ed Bourelle
SkeletonKey Games

 

[Fathead]

I may know a thing or two.

Take a piece of paper and wad it up. Flatten it out. Repeat.

Brew some tea or coffee and submerge the paper in it for 10 seconds or so. Do several pieces of paper this way, let them dry on a flat surface and choose your favorite. Water color washes work well for this also.

Thanks Ed. I'll try that, if noone is able to point me to a ready-made background that I can grab (sorry...I'm lazy...so if there is one available, I'm snatching it up).

 

[Winternight]

I may know a thing or two.

Take a piece of paper and wad it up. Flatten it out. Repeat.

Brew some tea or coffee and submerge the paper in it for 10 seconds or so. Do several pieces of paper this way, let them dry on a flat surface and choose your favorite. Water color washes work well for this also.

Cool

- or -
bake it
put it in the stove (180° celcius) and bake it (AFTER you have drane the map)
It well look old and will get very brittle.

 

[Hand of Evil]

or use one from a web site...

 

[Hand of Evil]

another one

 

[A2Z]

Have you tryed googling it?

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=parchment&meta=&sa=N&tab=wi

Just now I'v efound a few;
http://www.statton.com/finishes/parchment.jpg
http://www.galleriacollection.com/montecarlo/images/c-parchment.jpg
http://www.metallicity.com/housemats/parchment.jpg
http://www.wildwood-graphics.com/Cloudy_Secrets/images/Graphics/parchment.jpg

 

[SkeletonKey Ed]

Another cool technique for drawing the map is to take a bamboo shish kebob skewer or a chopstick dipped into India ink and uses that in place of a pencil or pen. Even just doing it with a paintbrush can give you a more authentic feel.

Cheers -

Ed Bourelle
SkeletonKey Games