Map of the Week
- Thread starter xanatos
- Start date
Prime_Evil
Adventurer
Scorpio said:
I dunno. Grids have a legitimate place in the scheme of things, although they aren't always appropriate. I tend to use a grid when mapping out areas that will see a lot of tactical activity during the course of a game. I tend to avoid grids for overland maps unless there is a very good reason to include them.
(By the way, I love the maps that you have done for various d20 products...)
Prime_Evil
Adventurer
Scorpio said:
Umm. That would be the holy grail of RPG mapmaking....
Mapmaker
First Post
That castle map was one of their best sets, actually. It might have been better if the grid aligned to each of the walls individually, but overall the collection was quite good. I liked the stonework walls and handdrawn quality.
As for grids that don't look like grids, I personally prefer stonework tile floors with 5' squares (where applicable). This tends to look great in dungeon maps, but I've also carried the techniques over to sidewalk tiles in my Global Positioning series for Polyhedron. It works just as well there, even if real sidewalks generally aren't made out of 5' squares...
Tile floors are also easy to turn into grids.
When I need to have a grid in a place where one can't be camouflaged into the setting, I generally try to make the lines faint, so that you can use them if you need to but they don't get in your way.
Few things can spoil a map like an overemphasized grid...
As for grids that don't look like grids, I personally prefer stonework tile floors with 5' squares (where applicable). This tends to look great in dungeon maps, but I've also carried the techniques over to sidewalk tiles in my Global Positioning series for Polyhedron. It works just as well there, even if real sidewalks generally aren't made out of 5' squares...
Tile floors are also easy to turn into grids.When I need to have a grid in a place where one can't be camouflaged into the setting, I generally try to make the lines faint, so that you can use them if you need to but they don't get in your way.
Few things can spoil a map like an overemphasized grid...
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Prime_Evil
Adventurer
Mapmaker said:As for grids that don't look like grids, I personally prefer stonework tile floors with 5' squares (where applicable). This tends to look great in dungeon maps, but I've also carried the techniques over to sidewalk tiles in my Global Positioning series for Polyhedron. It works just as well there, even if real sidewalks generally aren't made out of 5' squares...
When I need to have a grid in a place where one can't be camouflaged into the setting, I generally try to make the lines faint, so that you can use them if you need to but they don't get in your way.
Few things can spoil a map like an overemphasized grid...
In a dungeon setting, it's relatively easy to hide the map grid, but this is a real problem for overland maps. The natural landscape is rarely divided up into neat squares or hexes. In this case, the best that you can do is leave the grid out or make it as faint as possible. Its a delicate balancing act between creating something that is aesthetically pleasing and something that is useful in a game session.
I believe that the cartography for roleplaying games is going through a rennaisance right now. We've come a long way since the blue-and-white maps in old 1st edition modules...
Incidentally, I really like the Global Positioning series in Dungeon because I feel that there is a real shortage of good modern maps out there for roleplaying games. Although these maps are obviously designed with d20 Modern in mind, I intend to use them with a number of other roleplaying games (notably the World of Darkness games from White Wolf). If you are open to requests, I would love to see a map of an industrial setting (such as an abandoned steel mill or something similar).
If you don't mind a question about your technique, how did you do the water for the map of the Kopru ruins on page 42 of Dungeon 98? I love the semi-translucent effect. I assume that it was somehow done in Photoshop using layers with different opacity settings, but I've got no idea how you managed to create the final result. Did you use a commercial filter, or was this all done manually?
Mapmaker
First Post
Maps
I keep a list of potential map idea that the editor and I put together with input from various associates. It's growing faster than I can get the maps made, so I think that feature will be around for a good long time.
An industrial site like you mention wasn't yet on the list, but I like it. Consider it added.
Right now we've got enough ideas to keep the feature going at the rate of two maps/month for a couple of years at least, so I can't say when this map in particular will pop up (they're in no particular order)...but I do like the idea.
I consider my water technique a bit of a trade secret, but I can tell you that there's no transparency at work in that one. It's all done with a combination of careful digital painting and a little photoshop wizardry.
There is an easter egg hidden within the waters of that map, though. Stare into the water beneath the cage for a while and tell me if anything jumps out at you.
I'm rather tickled that that easter egg even appears in the magazine's latest subscription card.
Yeah; for regional or world maps, I prefer to just include a scale at the bottom to allow readers to measure distance more freely.
I keep a list of potential map idea that the editor and I put together with input from various associates. It's growing faster than I can get the maps made, so I think that feature will be around for a good long time.
An industrial site like you mention wasn't yet on the list, but I like it. Consider it added.
Right now we've got enough ideas to keep the feature going at the rate of two maps/month for a couple of years at least, so I can't say when this map in particular will pop up (they're in no particular order)...but I do like the idea.I consider my water technique a bit of a trade secret, but I can tell you that there's no transparency at work in that one. It's all done with a combination of careful digital painting and a little photoshop wizardry.
There is an easter egg hidden within the waters of that map, though. Stare into the water beneath the cage for a while and tell me if anything jumps out at you.
I'm rather tickled that that easter egg even appears in the magazine's latest subscription card.
