Excellent maps indeed, Gandwarf. You must be THE city cartographer within the ProFantasy community. Since you are using CD3's standard symbol sets (except for the eagle mapping object on "Meerzicht"), is there any chance you can share those FCW files with us?
Yes, Gandwarf, please consider sharing some of your FCW files - I would love to go crazy in one of your maps with Info -> List and learn some new techniques, especially those rocky hills and cliff faces and your signature cultivated fields.
Well, I am pretty protective of the original FCW files. However, in this example map you can see most of my techniques.
Keep in mind that I am a very sloppy mapper and I am sure I am doing a lot of things wrong or less efficient. I taught myself to use this program and I am all about the final result. Also I am used to exporting my maps at huge dimensions and then resizing and sharpening them with Paint Shop Pro. This tends to hide some of the bad stuff, like the anti-aliasing (I don't think CC3/CD3 is really good at anti-aliasing or maybe I am doing something wrong).
If there's any questions I'll try to answer them. Or if you have any tips for me to improve my skills that's great also :-)
Thanks for sharing that sample file, Gandwarf. I'll definitely take a closer look at the sheet effects. Your "sloppy" mapping techniques lead to impressive results. And you seem to work very fast. I agree with Davaris. A tutorial would be great. Perhaps Simon or Ralph should kindly ask you to create a video tutorial for the Annual (similar to Joseph Sweeney's one but which focuses on city mapping) ;-)
I really like those two hills in the bottom right hand corner of the Meerzicht map. I assume you are doing those on multiple sheets. Are you using bitmaps or just a grey color for those?
Mogul: maps like Concetron and Meerzicht cost me over 30 hours to create (each!). I love to map though and I had a lot of spare time the past months. So it might look I map fast, but the bigger maps are a huge investment. Also, one other person has asked me for a tutorial, but I certainly don't feel I mastered CD3. And what's left to tutorial with my example map? :-) Right now I am kinda burned out, so no new maps for now.
Jaerdaph: if you want I can add the "hills" to my example map? Look at the number near the "hills", though... I wanted them to represent clay pits ;-) I used 5 sheets I think and some standard CD3 fills (dirt and stone). I added some effects and I got this result. But again, I can add them to the example so you can reverse-engineer them. They are a bit like the ridges I did in the example.
[cite]Posted By Gandwarf: Jaerdaph: if you want I can add the "hills" to my example map? Look at the number near the "hills", though... I wanted them to represent clay pits ;-)
I used 5 sheets I think and some standard CD3 fills (dirt and stone). I added some effects and I got this result. But again, I can add them to the example so you can reverse-engineer them. They are a bit like the ridges I did in the example.End quote[/cite]
That would be great if you get the chance. So those are pits, not hills. Yeah, there seems to be one of those "is it two faces or a vase" optical illusions going on. . I had a similar problem awhile back with a cavern map I did as seen on this thread at the Cartographers Guild: http://forum.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=840
Thank you for sharing Gandwarf. I have been following your work, here and at the Cartographer's Guild. It is very generous of you to take the time to provide us with some tips and with that sample map. I must admit that, while I am enchanted with the beauty and style of your maps, I am truly impressed with your sense of design. What I find most striking is the range and variety of your cities. Can you tell us what you use for inspiration?
Since 2001 I have been working on a fantasy world and a couple of novels. It started really small, but it has evolved a lot and nowadays I have hundreds of thousands of words on paper. So I have a great backstory for my cities. Also I designed most of the cities with some unique features in mind, making sure each map would feel unique. Concetron is the capital and the palace is very old and located on a cliff. I simple built the city around it. Meerzicht is a fortress town. Sirilion is the most populous town in my world and located on the (steep) banks of a river. Miston, another map I am working on, is located on plains and its economy is based on cattle.
I live in the Netherlands and that means I am used to seeing a lot of old cities, giving me inspiration. This is one of the towns I grew up in for example:
Mogul - Looking at your cavern maps can you tell me how you managed to display the grid only in the caverns and not on the rest of the sheet? I am trying to do this with DD3 and Monsen has given me a coup[le of ideas to try. I was just wondering if there was really simple way that I have yet to discover (I am new to CC3 and add ons).
Gandwarf - I do wish you wouldn't keep posting these wonderful towns and cities! Very intimidating. (Big smile and tongue in cheek here). The truth is having seen what can be done led me to buy CD3 along with CC3 and DD3. Profantasy owe you a comission methinks. I will also be downloading your tutorial from The Cartographers Guild as soon as I have time to digest it. I have been looking at the Clay Pits and Jaerdaph's comment gave me an idea. Would it be less of an illusion if the pits got darker nearer the centre rather than lighter? Most holes are gloomy near the bottom, while most hills are lighter nearer the top. Also, perhaps some murky water or a sheen of dampness? I have no idea how, but you're the expert!Just a thought.
Simply use the "Copy to Sheet" command on the floor. Target sheet: GRID. Then, change the fill style to one of the "Square Grid" overlays which you will find under "Fill Styles/Symbol Fills". Command: "Edit Properties". This technique is described in one of the 2007 Annuals. I strongly recommend you to get all of them. They are an excellent investment.
Thanks. I will see if I can post up some zoomed in shots tonight.
All the labeling has been done outside of CD3, the numbers also. Most of it can be done in CD3 I think, but it looks better when using other software :-) All the rest is CD3, including the estates and cemetery.
I looked at your example file last night & it was full of red "x"s, so I'm missing (or moved) some of the symbols. Are you using anything beyond the standard CC3 stuff (Core and add-ons)? And is any of it in a non-standard place?
If you want to do numbering like in the last map but do not want to use anouther program, there was a set of markers done for a syblol chalange back in 2003 that do this quite nicely. The symbols are all vericolor so you can make then any color you wish, IIRC they come in 7 shapes, and can have one two or three characters in them. The file is downloadable from the map library on the Profantasy site. Use the key word sc2 when searching.
downloads/map and catalog library
Oh and since they were done for CC2 you will have to move them to the right sheet and layer after you place them.
sdavies2720: I just downloaded the example file and I had no trouble with red crosses. I opend the file on my new computer, with a fresh install of CC3 and CD3. Everything in there is standard stuff I think.
It's true that the surrounding lands look empty, but the city lies in an area that has a very harsh climate. It's effectively winter during large parts of the year, so farming is not an option. Most of the trees near the city have also been cut down.
I assumed that was the reason. You might wish to experiment with something that breaks the monotony a bit though, such as perhaps small hills, or maybe a few structures, or a (fenced in) cemetery, or something. Perhaps barren patches in the snow if appropriate, and (dirty) tracks in the snow, as people probably travel outside the city walls.
Comments
Keep in mind that I am a very sloppy mapper and I am sure I am doing a lot of things wrong or less efficient. I taught myself to use this program and I am all about the final result. Also I am used to exporting my maps at huge dimensions and then resizing and sharpening them with Paint Shop Pro. This tends to hide some of the bad stuff, like the anti-aliasing (I don't think CC3/CD3 is really good at anti-aliasing or maybe I am doing something wrong).
If there's any questions I'll try to answer them. Or if you have any tips for me to improve my skills that's great also :-)
At the very least if you wrote a tutorial, I think it would deserve a place in the annuals.
I really like those two hills in the bottom right hand corner of the Meerzicht map. I assume you are doing those on multiple sheets. Are you using bitmaps or just a grey color for those?
Right now I am kinda burned out, so no new maps for now.
Jaerdaph: if you want I can add the "hills" to my example map? Look at the number near the "hills", though... I wanted them to represent clay pits ;-)
I used 5 sheets I think and some standard CD3 fills (dirt and stone). I added some effects and I got this result. But again, I can add them to the example so you can reverse-engineer them. They are a bit like the ridges I did in the example.
I used 5 sheets I think and some standard CD3 fills (dirt and stone). I added some effects and I got this result. But again, I can add them to the example so you can reverse-engineer them. They are a bit like the ridges I did in the example.End quote[/cite]
That would be great if you get the chance. So those are pits, not hills. Yeah, there seems to be one of those "is it two faces or a vase" optical illusions going on.
Jaerdaph, were you trying to achieve something like this when you created your cavern map?
If yes, I can probably help (I used an "optical illusion" here, as most sheet effects are applied to the FLOOR instead of the WALL sheet).
Also, as stated in another thread I am creating some tutorials. They are hosted in the tutorial section of the Cartographer's Guild, as the files are too big to post here:
http://forum.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=3983
Many thanks,
~Dogtag
Since 2001 I have been working on a fantasy world and a couple of novels. It started really small, but it has evolved a lot and nowadays I have hundreds of thousands of words on paper. So I have a great backstory for my cities. Also I designed most of the cities with some unique features in mind, making sure each map would feel unique. Concetron is the capital and the palace is very old and located on a cliff. I simple built the city around it. Meerzicht is a fortress town. Sirilion is the most populous town in my world and located on the (steep) banks of a river. Miston, another map I am working on, is located on plains and its economy is based on cattle.
I live in the Netherlands and that means I am used to seeing a lot of old cities, giving me inspiration. This is one of the towns I grew up in for example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brielle_vesting_20050518.jpg
The Concetron map has canals like a lot of old cities in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Leiden, etc).
Gandwarf - I do wish you wouldn't keep posting these wonderful towns and cities! Very intimidating. (Big smile and tongue in cheek here). The truth is having seen what can be done led me to buy CD3 along with CC3 and DD3. Profantasy owe you a comission methinks. I will also be downloading your tutorial from The Cartographers Guild as soon as I have time to digest it.
I have been looking at the Clay Pits and Jaerdaph's comment gave me an idea. Would it be less of an illusion if the pits got darker nearer the centre rather than lighter? Most holes are gloomy near the bottom, while most hills are lighter nearer the top. Also, perhaps some murky water or a sheen of dampness? I have no idea how, but you're the expert!Just a thought.
Bonzer
Would love to see some zoomed in shots of the cementery and the estates.
And how did you do the numbers?
I will see if I can post up some zoomed in shots tonight.
All the labeling has been done outside of CD3, the numbers also. Most of it can be done in CD3 I think, but it looks better when using other software :-)
All the rest is CD3, including the estates and cemetery.
I fear I've munched my install again...
downloads/map and catalog library
Oh and since they were done for CC2 you will have to move them to the right sheet and layer after you place them.
I just downloaded the example file and I had no trouble with red crosses. I opend the file on my new computer, with a fresh install of CC3 and CD3. Everything in there is standard stuff I think.
Bows hat.
Looks a bit empty with all the white around though....
A cemetery is probably a bad idea in these kind of circumstances.