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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Epic Meepo" data-source="post: 9437982" data-attributes="member: 57073">And Then There Are MountainsI’ve spent much of my free time this week adding details to the regional maps I'll be using in my book. Ideally, I’d add those details to a single, high-resolution globe of the world, which I would later break down into regional maps. Sadly, my ancient computer lacks the memory needed to manipulate a 3D-rendered object of sufficient resolution. As a result, I’m adding finishing touches to individual 2D regional maps, one map at a time, instead of adding them to a globe of the world all at once. It’s not the most efficient process, so I wouldn’t recommend it.The work I’ve done on the cartography for this project has never been entirely smooth and efficient, but I was expecting that from the outset. Before I started this project, I had limited experience with digital imaging tools. I’ve essentially been learning to make digital maps as I go, often by trial and error. Thankfully, the maps I’m creating for this project are supplemental graphics, not the main selling point. I don’t need to compete with the best professional cartographers in the industry. I just need to produce a few simple maps to serve as infographics supporting the text.I feel I’ve met the goals I set for myself. I have a series of maps that are respectable without trying to do too much. Line art, colors, and simple graphics delineate most of the terrain...And then there are mountains. For some reason, I decided I wanted to add realistic, ridge-and-valley textures to my mountains. With nothing but a trackpad and limited artistic skills, I knew drawing ridges and valleys by hand wasn’t an option. Instead, I made several attempts using procedural tools available in the software at my disposal (primarily GIMP and Blender). In the end, those attempts were passable, at best. Ultimately, nothing I created with procedural tools felt worthy of the final product, so I abandoned that approach.I decided there was no way I would be able to create better ridge-and-valley textures than Mother Nature herself, so I went straight to the source. I took a public domain satellite image of actual ridges and valleys and ran it through some filters to create a texture for the mountains and hills on my maps. (In honor of Canadian author Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms setting, I used a satellite image of the Canadian Rockies, specifically.) I can’t think of a way to create a more realistic ridge-and-valley texture than making one from an image of actual ridges and valleys.But alas, I’ve spent too much time talking about mountains. Now it’s back to the trenches, where I’ll be adding more finishing touches to the regional maps I'll be using in my book.</blockquote>

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