Geography Help
I've been trying to copy a portion of Southern China and particular provinces. This part of China is very mountainous and hilly, and I'm finding it difficult how to map it using the CC3 Overland Pro template. I've tried making just Contours to show the terrain type, but that only is the beginning of the process. The next would be to add the many mountains using Symbols, and I think it starts to just look far too cluttered.
Any advice for this undertaking? I'm Attaching the map thus far and the provinces I'm mapping.
Any advice for this undertaking? I'm Attaching the map thus far and the provinces I'm mapping.
Comments
Ok - if I'm getting you correctly - then how I would tackle it is to either rescale the mountains to a much smaller size (listen to me talk about scaling, considering the scaling issues that I'm currently trying to tackle myself - hypocracy at it's finest), OR - and this seems to me to make a lot more sense - just use the mountain symbols sparingly, and to just "represent" where a mountain range "should" be. Just have a simple line of mountains instead of covering the whole map - because you are not going to be able to accurately represent EVERY land feature using just symbols anyway, for that you would have to forego using the symbols altogether - and just go with using a satellite map, or a DEM generated map from Fractal Terrains Pro.
In China - In most places - you can't spit without hitting a mountain somewhere. It's like almost nothing but mountains and hills.
From what I've come to understand from focusing into the CC3 manual until my eye sockets dry out (recent research that I have yet - been too dense to completely grasp) - the symbols represent the general location of a given entity or group of entities. If you try to place a mountain literally EVERYWHERE that there is a real mountain in China - then of course - yes - your map will look like an L.A. traffic jam, or the line for the restrooms at Shady Acres Retirement Center, Lol.
And I was also wondering how his style is related to Photoshop? Am I intended to use it in Photoshop? Or are these symbols for Overland maps?
And while I appreciate much of the advise given, I still seem unable to accomplish what I'm looking to do. So I'm hoping perhaps someone might help with a small amount of collaboration or more in depth drafting of the map design?
I first traced the provinces of china as I thought it would allow me to easily look up province geography and create terrain accordingly, but I'm finding I'm biting off more then I can chew by wanting to follow the geography exactly. This is just too much for me to do, and my perfectionist side is frustrated that my skill isn't up to par.
What I'm really looking for is any general island shape with the basic terrains of China, so I'm trying to think of a method to simply make the landmass change terrain by elevation. The highest point will be high mountain passes covered with snow, mountains give way to narrow gorges with flowing rivers deep below and penetrate the ground into vast caverns, above these caves is a plateau of sharp pinnacles (karsts) with sheer cliffs acting as massive walls surrounding this terrain, next are steep hills covered in massive forests gaining immense rainfall, after this are less steep hills made into rice paddies with a large rivers as the valley floor, where the water flows down great falls onto a vast plains dotted with a multitude of tall rotund hills, this plain is also fed by the underground cavern rivers that spew forth a torrent into extremely wide slow moving bodies of water, eventually the water reaches the coast where a rock shelf drops off into the ocean.
This is the terrain I'm looking to recreate on a map, and I'm slightly considering just making a large circular island as the shape starting with the high mountains in the center and the different terrains moving outward, OR the exact opposite could be interesting.
Anyone care to do a little hand holding and help me along with this? I really appreciate all the advice, but I think I might need some hands on help with where to begin with my undertaking.
Found the nifty little feature "Symbol Along" and am thinking it might be able to make the mountain ranges I'm trying to do...however, I'm wondering if it's possible to create custom Symbols and if it's possible to do something to fill these symbols?
www.patoumonde.com/Maps/Valedalewalkthrough.pdf
You may be able to adapt some of the contouring techniques to suit your requirements. It looks very complicated but the effect is stunning, and I am sure that once you have defined all your bases settings it would become progressively easier with practice.
Alp
color chart for my surface maps
link on that page to my template, and the bitmap fills provided by another CC2/CC3 user.
Here's what I've got so far. I'm happy with the mountain region, and I think I may either add more sheets to continue with the layering effect, or go on to symbols.
I could really use some help with the region that's Forested Mountains/Hills. Having trouble picking colors to get a good layering effects. I started at 108 and worked my way down by one each time and that was shockingly neon green, then went down by 2 each time and still didn't like it, I've also gone towards the darker end of the spectrum. Any suggestions?
I'm slightly tempted to try something else, so tell me what you think with what you see. Instead of having the many lines progressively extending out from the river (these are polygons that I FILL to get a layering effect like with the mountain) and to instead simply do one "outline" around the river, then go to random areas and create polygons in a rotund/round shape, progressively building up and outward with this same style?
What I'm doing right now looks like it will work awesomely for the Rice Paddie Steps I want to do, however I don't think it is working quite as I'd like to give the feel of "tons of hills" in this region now.
Some detailed help would be wonderful!