Proper way to create a background

darthjulian

Hello,

Complete newbie with probably a terribly simple question. I create my terrains/backgrounds in a range of other tools, from Photoshop, Illustrator to, lately, World Builder using real world data — some DEMs, some generated with my own software.

What's the "proper" way to enter this stuff into CC3 to begin the work of creating a CC3 map? Do I import it as a gigantic symbol?

Julian

Monsen

It depends on exactly what you mean with terrain/background. Are you talking about image tiles which are to be used for filling objects? If so, you can import them as fill styles (Tools -> Import bitmap fill styles).
Or if you are going to just use it as a background image, just do Draw -> Insert file (Make sure you switch to the appropriate sheet first, or move it afterwards)

darthjulian

Hey, thanks. Just for clarification — I create these backgrounds (actually, the baseline terrain without any symbols or other "man-made" structures, etc — so, it's effectively the geography. Then, I would like to use CC3, CD, etc., to enliven the maps with symbols, roads, etc. I create the maps from GPS tracks, through a "heat map" software of my own that creates simple gray scale masks. Then I import those gray scale masks into World Machine and run it through its paces to create fractal landscapes.

I would like to use FT3 to create the landscapes, but I can't seem to get it to pay much attention to scaling my gray scale masks, which really only cover about 20 - 30 square km and a limited latitude/longitude range. I've tried turning the masks into DEM terrains, but that too has not gone particularly well.

Monsen

Then you wish to use them as complete background images. In that case, use the Draw -> Insert file option, and insert it on a sheet low in the drawing order, so that everything you draw ends up on top of it.