First Map
KaHi
Newcomer
I recently bought the HumbleBundle and started with Campaign Cartographer. As a first map I created a small Battle Map. Would like to hear your comments on it.
Comments
That's a pretty good first map :)
The next stage is to start playing with the sheet effects like the shadows to see what different results you can get. For example, those smaller shadows are a lot sharper than the taller ones on the trees. Maybe they could do with a little more blur on them?
That sounds good. I used the sheet effects "as is" and just moved symbols around to reduce oversized shadows etc.
When you open the Sheets and Effects dialog
and pick a sheet you will see the effects listed on the right hand side of the dialog. If you pick one of those effects, there is an Edit button to the right of that again. You can edit the way each effect works to adjust the way things look.
Thank you, I will certainly play around with this to get a feel for it. At first sight it is a bit overwhelming, but it definitely seems worth doing.
For new users the learning curve is pretty much a straight line up :) There were times, early on, I'd be saying to myself "Okay I understand, now what do I do?". There's alot of great 'how to' videos on YouTube, and the forum is full of helpful folks happy to share. Good luck!
That's definitely true. I've already watched some of the videos from Ralf Schemmann and Josh Plunkett and learned quite a few things. But there is still a way to go. Which is good, kind of...
@jonasgreenfeather Is there anything you especially recommend for beginners (besides the "official stuff" from ProFantasy)?
Nice first map.
One thing I've noticed in my own progression from first map to around 10 or so is that I try not to let the ground textures have too much repeating. There are different shades of grass and dirt that can blend in to throw in some differences, and sometimes even shading from hills or other symbols to break things up. The ground is rarely one sort of grass without any discrepancies, even in modern lawns there tend to be areas that get more sun and look a little different from other areas that get too much shade where the dirt starts to show through.
It's pretty nice concept otherwise, I like it.
To quote 'Finding Dory', "Just keep swimming" 🙂. I'd suggest doing smaller, county or regional sized maps (or medium towns/dungeons, etc.) first; this'll allow you to discover your own style, play around with sheet effects, make and correct mistakes quickly, and be less disappointed by errors.
If you try and draw your world sized 'dream map', or build a massive city, or giant castle as your first serious effort once you feel comfortable with the application, well like DoubleDouble said, every map is a learning experience, and it can be frustrating when what you have in your head isn't what you see on the screen.
One of the things I still do is create a 'test map'. I plonk down all the symbols, etc. so I know what I'm working with then just start to play around with building little sections. It's a 'sketch book' that allows me to try out ideas I have in a map of no consequence...
The one below was my blending cliffs with other geography and structures to see what worked and what didn't.