Mapping - how do you do it? (fixed version)

[Mercurius]

I'm working on some maps for my campaign world and as I was browsing through the Cartographer's Guild, I was struck by how few hand-drawn maps there were. It got me thinking: do gamers, by and large, use computer programs--whether Photoshop, GIMP, Campaign Cartograther, etc? Are the days of sloppy, pencil drawings over hex paper over?

I have always drawn my maps by hand. Some years ago I tried my hand at CC and didn't like it. On the other hand, I've seen some truly beautiful computer-created maps; the danger being that they can end up looking rather lifeless. There is just something...soulful about a hand-drawn map that doesn't come through in a software-created piece. However, I would think the main benefit for software is that even if you have little to no artistic talent you can still generate nice looking maps. I don't know if software makes map-making less time consuming--maybe someone can clarify that for me?

So what about you? What do you use for map-making? If computer, which program do you use? (And which is easiest to learn?) If by hand, what medium--do you use pencils, pens, colored pencils, paints, etc?

I'm going to add a poll because I'm curious about what percentage of those that respond use software vs. hand--with the obvious caveat that it is a very small, very specific sample size.

 

[Lhorgrim]

All of my stuff is hand drawn, except for battle mats provided with published adventures.

I don't do it because I'm some kind of purist, I do it because I haven't found a free program that I could easily learn and use to produce good maps.

I'm sure there are some great programs out there, and the Cartographers Guild has some super info, but I'm just limited on the amount of time I have to practice mapping. If I can't get good results in a few hours of working with a program, then I'll fall back to hand drawing. I've heard great things about Campaign Cartographer, but I don't have the spare money to purchase it and the add ons I would want.

I have used GIMP and followed a tutorial to get good basic results, but the effort/result ratio was not as good(for me) as my hand drawing.

Maybe after I retire I'll have time to tinker around with a program to make maps worth showing to other people.

 

[jedavis]

It largely depends on the equipment available to the group I'm playing with. If I'm going to have to transcribe it into a whiteboard anyways, I may as well hand-draw it in the first place (because if I can't draw it on paper, there's no way I can draw it on a whiteboard). Likewise, if we're playing with GameTable, MapTool, or similar, then there's no sense in hand-drawing.

In general, though, I prefer to do dungeon maps electronically and large-scale geographic maps by hand.

 

[Smoss]

My maps tend to be drawn by hand - Cleaned up in post by computer and add text. So a combo of several there.

Not that it makes any of it good. I fail at art. I think art teachers gave up on me when they realized I was incapable of drawing a straight line even when using a straight edge...

For proof, see my world maps on my web page. Simple. Readable. Will NEVER be considered high art. Or even low art.
---------------
Smoss
Doulairen

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I used to enjoy making hand-drawn maps, hand-colored with color pencils. Problem was if I decided I wanted to add, change, or delete some part of it I had to redraw and recolor everything by hand. I bought Campaign Cartographer some time shortly after it graduated from being a DOS program. I toyed with it for a day or so, did not immediately grok it, then left it sit untouched on my computer for more than a year.

Then I sat down and actually WORKED with it and got good enough for MY needs. I wasn't making ART for my games, just drawing maps and at least CC2 (what I now use) did that faster and more CLEANLY than I could by hand while allowing me a tremendous freedom to change them.

I now have Campaign Cartographer _3_ sitting untouched on my hard drive because to take advantage of its distinctly superior handling of graphics simply delves into a level of commitment I don't care to make yet in order to relearn how to make it work - though I know that someday when I do it will make all my maps a level better than they are now. Since CC2 still does what I want it to, I know how to use it and don't need more (at present) I have never bothered with any other mapmaking software.

 

[IronWolf]

I use a wide variety of methods. First I run a good amount of published material and even when not I play in either the Forgotten Realms or Golarion, so my world maps are pretty much done for me.

As for adventures I also tend to use published modules and such, but there are plenty of times that I drop in something that needs my own map. I sometimes hand draw something and then scan it for possible future modifications or use in an online game.

Most recently I needed a map for a goblin cave that I was going to run IronPup through. I ended up finding a rather large cave system through a GIS search and then used Paint.Net to cut out the section I wanted to use for a much smaller cave and then adjust ends of corridors and such as needed.

 

[Davachido]

Well for campaign maps I hand draw them, now I'm not very good at actually drawing them but am good at painting them. So the maps turn out somewhat oddly drawn but have pretty colours. This is only because being in university you don't have enough money going around to really invest in some of the better programs. I'd love to at least try the electronic stuff though.

As for battle maps, I'm lazy in that regard and just have grids for all of mine and draw them on a battlemat. In combat heavy campaigns it gets tiresome trying to draw all those.

 

[gamerprinter]

I'm one of the Map Spammers at the Cartographers' Guild - I have over 200 maps (more if you count work-in-progress versions of some maps posted, almost 600 maps) and I use all styles based on mood, curiosity (I'm always experimenting), and RL schedule.

Its true, lots of mapper at the CG are very much into Photoshop or GIMP made 'satellite view' maps is what its called. For me, I'm a bit 'meh' about satellite view - yes, that's how we see our world now. In fact to a degree, video games have skewed some map creators to want to try to go photorealistic in style, which largely depends upon computer graphics only created work.

While I'm still commissioned now and again for photorealistic map work, which for me is quicker to create than more hand-drawn style, and I can create a fairly robust map that meets the clients needs, I really prefer hand-drawn maps, but that's takes more time and inspiration to do a proper job.

Here's a dungeon map for a contest in my hand drawn style...

Here's a link to a larger version of the dungeon: http://www.gamer-printshop.com/cbg/crypt-final.jpg

So I do both styles, well enough.

Actually my hand-drawn style is a hybrid. I do draw it by hand with a pen then scan into my computer, within Xara Xtreme Pro, I create the color scheme, placed the beveled walls and drop shadows to build a sense of depth. So my hand-drawn style, isn't exclusively hand-drawn.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Not really drawn maps in recent years.
Would hand draw if not using a published setting.

Also, no longer into drawing the world first. I would much prefer to keep things locally initially and expand out as the players demand more information.

 

[Lanefan]

Hand-drawn all the way, to a greater or lesser degree of elaboration depending what it's for.

A campaign map gets colour, detail, a photocopied base map on which go various details depending what the map is showing, etc.; with an eye to it being read by others.

A dungeon map is pencil on paper as it's only (usually) going to be used once and only by me so it can be in "shorthand".

Such electronic maps as have ever been made of my worlds have been done by players, working off the hand-drawn maps.

I've tried computer mapping programs in the past and found I just don't have the patience to a) learn how to use them, then b) spend the time it takes to make a map.

Lan-"all these maps and I still don't know where I am"-efan