How much effort do you put into your maps?

[Nyaricus]

I've been taking 6 years to draw my campaign setting's map

No, really.

I have been continually refining the look and style of my maps over the past six years, since I was by 12 when I first started to draw them. I've always been an artist - since I was 3! I've been drawing dinosaurs and such - and when I got into D&D (when I was 11) it was only natural for me to start drawing my maps once I got into worldbuilding (when I was 12).

Personally, I continually switch back and forth between a variety of different intrests (writing lyrics for a band I don't have yet, video games, and various tasks for campaign creation of said homebrew, including new classes, new races, new monsters, history, geography and region detail, myths, legends and tales, and other such things) that it takes a while for me to get down and actually just draw these days, but hey, I try

Here's a pic of a slightly outdated version of my map [working on differnt copies at the same time ] which doesn't feature some updated nations and major cities, nore none of my far eastern lands...

Sorry for the crappy quality; my webcam doesn't 'catch' this kinda stuff that great :\

 

[Kris]

How much effort do you put into your maps?

.... too much

Seriously though, I do create a lot of stuff for my campaign world... and it's pretty much all done on the computer.

I mostly use a (cheap & nasty) vector graphics program called greenstreet draw4 for roughing out all the shapes and then photoshop to try and make them look pretty. I occasionally dabble with illustrator, and I've also just got hold of Poser5 (when they were giving it away for free the other day) - which will be used to create 'overhead-views' of statues and the like.

So as an example... the following church map (which is still very much a WIP) was roughed out in draw4, then all the textures, shadows. etc. were added in photoshop.... and finally the statue image was created in poser5.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/hador_goldenhead/church.jpg

For my actual world-map ...it's entirely done with vector graphics - a small example of which looks something like this:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/hador_goldenhead/northmap.jpg

And then maps like the following one are 90% photoshop:
http://www.enworld.org/CrookedStaffProductions/condeltun.jpg

So I guess I will use whatever I have at my disposal in order to get the desired effect. Heh... I still have the free software that came with my scanner installed... just because it has a rather easy to use 'gem' effect that I like to use from time to time

hmmm... maybe I do spend too much time on them... maybe I should get out more

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Almost none. I've gotten fast enough on my feet now that I can sketch out a rough inn, mid-size home, restaurant, or secret smuggler base from a general room description. Sure, sometimes there aren't bathrooms, but usually it works out ok. Spot locations that I know are going to be important tend to get decked out a little more, ie: The castle, the final showdown, etc.

I've just been through a few too many "You're sneaking out in the middle of the night to break into the police station because you think they might be holding crucial evidence?" moments to spend too much time on floorplans unless I know they'll be used.

My favorite though was one particular town I knew was going to be important for a while. I gussied up a bunch of template maps, like "Shack" "2 bedroom" "2 floor house" "Cheap inn/Brothel/gambling parlor" (The same map had multiple uses depending on who, just throw in or out a few walls) "Legit business" and "Sneaky Business (complete with secret room)". It was nice having just what I needed at any moment, but that was a point where I had more time than usual.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Not enough, probably. I don't think of it as a key area of prep.

As in, I'll do it, and they'll have everything they need to have, but that's it. Nearly all my time and effort goes elsewhere. That, and I ain't no artist.

Generally, I draw overland or other very large-scale maps by hand, on large small-grid paper. For the smaller stuff, The GIMP usually does the trick.

Mapping programs have generally been 'meh' IME, but to each their own.

 

[Odhanan]

How much effort do you put into your maps? Do you simply draw quick sketches, or do you spend hours upon hours to get a map "just right"?

Hours to get it right. Maps are important to me.

And do you create maps by hand, on paper, or do you use the computer - and if the latter, do you use conventional graphics programs or specialized map making software?

Both. I start with outlines and shades of grey by hand. I can this outline, then modify shades using Photoshop and adding individual elements I keep on file. This has become my usual technique, but I'm not always doing it the same way, though.

See here for Seven Spires maps.