Suggestions on making a good Symbol for Massive Tall Elven Trees
Axor
Newcomer
HI Guys,
I am finally learning the more intricate uses of this wonderful software but I am far from being great at it. I am making a map for my AD&D Campaign and I need to create some symbols (or find some) that would go well with my otherwise Mike Schley style map of Elven Kingdom. Specifically, the Elven forests contain some Caras Galadhon like trees (without the city in them yet) and I am trying to create a series of various trees that would stand out from the normal forest as about twice as tall, far wider trunks and with massive canopies. In real life these would be like a Sequoia or higher in height 400+ feet tall with the massive limb structure at multiple levels like that of a 250 foot across Live Oak.
I am following the tutorial from Annual Issue 14 on how to make symbols and add them to a Symbol Catalog so I can use them repeatedly. I found a bunch of great trees in images on the net and copied a couple into CC3 to trace them and turn them into a symbol.... but I just dont quite get how to make it look right. Any help from you wonderful folks would be appreciated.
Also, thanks to Mike Schley for the fantastic Elven stuff he has been adding here lately, it could not have come at a better time!
William
Comments
Hi William :)
It's great to hear that you are enjoying the software so much.
Could we please see a screen shot or two so that we can identify the problem in more detail?
So sorry I've been away so long since I posted... stupid Covid caught up with me and my daughter and just have not been of much use till today. I think I might have figured it out after extensive testing, reading the Tome, Annual 14, the Forums and lots and lots of other stuff. Either way I'm going to do my best to show you what I have done so far so I can learn even more!
I figured out how to make them automatically slightly change in size in the Symbol Manager Options, and I figured out how to make them turn fall colors and how to make them automatically change with each click. I have not figured out how to scale them to the same size as Mike Schley's trees, other than by holding Control and just resizing them (they start nearly microscopic hehehe). I was able to make my own Catalog in the User directory under symbols and I was able to add them to the bottom of Mike Schleys Monthly 1 overland style from the annual. I am going to experiment with mirroring and maybe some rotation, but I am still feeling puny from this stupid virus. Any help you can give me I am grateful! This is an excerpt of the main map I am working on... blowing up and custom creating "The Vast" area from Forgotten Realms for my current campaign:
William
I have learned a ton just reading Remy's, Loopy Sue's, Monsen's, Quenten's, JimP's and Wyvern's posts and answers to other folks. You guys and gals are a tremendous asset to this community and if no one else tells you but me - THANKS and You ARE AWESOME! So much information conveyed in clear, concise and logical ways with examples and suggestions. I bet I have learned more in the past week reading inbetween feeling blagh and fever than I have in a decade! I've owned Campaign Cart since the Dos days... but I never got the time to fiddle with it like I wanted and needed to in order to become truly proficient because of being a lawyer and simply being too swamped. Now, I am retired and I have nothing but time --- so the greatest thing I did was get all of the annuals and the Tome and suddenly the lights came on! All those how to's and examples and step by step explanations of why things work and how to do them and now I'm actually progressing. I am decent with CADD software as I am also a Chemist and a MCSE/CNE super overqualified computer nerd too who worked with Autocad for over 11 years. But, even Autocad pales in comparison to what CC can do because of its specialized functionality, the Design Wizards and so forth! Anyways that's me background - some knowledge of CC, decently versed in CADD, great with Computer software and especially hardware, and I am a crazy reader - I've read (on average) 10 -12 books a week since I was 5 years old, like a living Number 5 from Short Circuit. Yes, I'm wordy too, that's the stupid lawyer in me. Oh and I started Dungeon Mastering in 1978 on top of all that so I've run god knows how many games/campaigns over the years.
William
I have not figured out how to scale them to the same size as Mike Schley's trees, other than by holding Control and just resizing them
Bring up one of the Schely trees for editing from the Symbol Manager, and then use Tools -> Distance to measure the height of it.
Now, edit your own symbol, and just scale it up so the height matches.
Note that your symbols should be edited in the source symbol catalog where you have them, if you edit the symbol from within a map where you have used it, only the copy stored locally in the map will be changed. Also, when you change it in the actual symbol catalog, be aware that maps that already use the original smaller version will continue to use it (because symbol definitions are copied from the catalog into the map on first use) unless you first purge it from the map.
Me ? Awesome ?! Thank you.
Both of you are and thank you much Monsen!! That makes absolute sense I will do that and go edit the Symbol Catalog.
William