My first attempts at mapping

[Eternalknight]

Well, not at mapping, per se, but mapping using CC2 and Photoshop. If anyone wants to give some advice it would be welcomed.

The first, my campaign world, The Broadlands:

 

[Eternalknight]

And the second, a castle known as the Border Keep:

 

[Ricochet]

They look splendid!

 

[D'karr]

EternalKnight, those look very good for first map attempts.

I would recommend that you also post those to the CC2 Yahoo Groups list. The people there are very professional and can give many insights into the production process with CC2 and Photoshop.

Any particular question you might have about using CC2 will usually get you several responses with good answers, tips and tricks.

I've learned a lot about CC2 even by mostly lurking on that list.

Good luck with your mapping.

 

[Eben]

The result looks fine to me.

While we're at it, I've recently started looking at some mapping software, but can't really make up my mind. CC2 is apparently the most popular suite, but I've been reading some reviews and messageboards, stating it has a steep and front loaded learning curve.
How did you find it? Did you have some graphic design experience that helped you get into it? Cause I sure don't. If I could be sure to achieve the result you have on my first real effort, I'd probably dive into CC2, but if your graphic design skills outrank mine (which shouldn't be a problem, mind you!), would you still reccomend CC2?

Thanks, and once again: great maps!

 

[Eternalknight]

Thanks everyone.

Eben: I personally didn't have a problem with CC2. I use the good old method of trial and error, as well as reading the help files. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, these maps have undergone tweaking to the extreme... I guess what I'm saying is the learning curve is as steep as you make it. I'm not very graphically minded normally, but if you take the time to sit down, play with the program, and read the help files, you shouldn;t have too much difficulty. I've learnt how to do layers etc in a short period, so if I can do it anyone can!

 

[D'karr]

Eben, that is a very good question.

I'm not cartography inclined at all. I bought CC2 before they had the Pro version. I started using it without going over the tutorials. It was frustrating. I was trying to use the software as a paint program and it just wouldn't cooperate.

So I turned to the user manual. The user manual is actually a series of tutorials that teach you how to build a map from beginning to end and how to take advantage of some of the great features of CC2. After that I was able to get what I wanted done in a pretty short time.

The new version of CC2 - CC2 Pro, is a lot more user friendly. I still recommend doing the tutorials since the software is based on a CAD program, not on a paint program. The learning curve will be nil if you do that. Post production work like the one done by EK can be done in any software that can read BMP, PNG or JPG formats. Since CC2 exports to any of those.

I highly recommend CC2 and its add-ons.

 

[Eben]

Thanks for these replies, very useful. (Sorry for hijacking your thread, EK)

Actually, your comments put most of the negative reactions to CC2 in perspective. Not being intuïtive enough is the most heard comment, followed closely by "real men don't need manuals else the product is flawed."
I think I'll jump in the deep end at a moment I can invest some time to learn it. (Which is unfortunately probably still a few months away )

Hey, EK, any chance we'll be seeing some more of your work? Have you tried adding roads to your map? Or do they just clutter the design? Have you made this map by just using the basic set or did you use add-ons?

 

[Eternalknight]

Hey, EK, any chance we'll be seeing some more of your work? Have you tried adding roads to your map? Or do they just clutter the design? Have you made this map by just using the basic set or did you use add-ons?

Yep, hopefully either tonight or tomorrow. I'm working on some close up maps of the Borderlands at the moment, and will post them as soon as I'm happy with them.

As for roads... I added roads several times, but was never happy with the way they came out. I may try again; we'll see what happens.

I used City Designer with the Border Keep, as well as some of the additional files that can be downloaded from ProFantasy. I find that a mixture of difeerent sets works best.

 

[Eternalknight]

As promised, a map of the Eastern Borderlands: