Thank You!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here on the ProFantasy Community Forum.
Besides posting here, I also post on the Cartographer's Guild and post my stuff up on Pinterest.
Since posting on the Cartographer's Guild, I have found that there is some bias against ProFrantasy created maps with some referring to it as being "cartoonish".
As such, when I got a great review from a person that is not a big fan of the ProFantasy Software, I knew that I had to share it.
From Alturax,
"Let me start by saying I am not a big fan of Campaign Cartographer.
However, I really, REALLY like what you've done with it! It's quite aesthetically pleasant, the shape of it is pretty good and fantasy-ish, and it has a pretty distinct style, which I quite enjoy!
Keep up the good work! And have some rep for all the hard work"
The reason that I wanted to share this is to say thank you to everyone on this wonderful forum. This is not a "rep" for me, it is "rep" for the great people that make this product and every member of the forum! I have not made these maps by myself. We made these maps. It is the great support, feedback, and mentorship from everyone of you that makes this such a great place to come to and explore our hobby. I have learned so much from all of you since I started posting back in May of last year and I know that all of you have a lot more to teach me.
Sincerely,
Charles W. Robinson
Besides posting here, I also post on the Cartographer's Guild and post my stuff up on Pinterest.
Since posting on the Cartographer's Guild, I have found that there is some bias against ProFrantasy created maps with some referring to it as being "cartoonish".
As such, when I got a great review from a person that is not a big fan of the ProFantasy Software, I knew that I had to share it.
From Alturax,
"Let me start by saying I am not a big fan of Campaign Cartographer.
However, I really, REALLY like what you've done with it! It's quite aesthetically pleasant, the shape of it is pretty good and fantasy-ish, and it has a pretty distinct style, which I quite enjoy!
Keep up the good work! And have some rep for all the hard work"
The reason that I wanted to share this is to say thank you to everyone on this wonderful forum. This is not a "rep" for me, it is "rep" for the great people that make this product and every member of the forum! I have not made these maps by myself. We made these maps. It is the great support, feedback, and mentorship from everyone of you that makes this such a great place to come to and explore our hobby. I have learned so much from all of you since I started posting back in May of last year and I know that all of you have a lot more to teach me.
Sincerely,
Charles W. Robinson
Comments
You are correct that many out there do not like the PF style. I, on the other hand, do not like the PhotoShop style. It always looks like a poor imitation of google maps to me. *shrugs* We all have a style we like, and though I haven't been commenting on other's maps because of real life time constraints, I just want you to know that I love your maps. In fact, I have a continent on my world that I want to use your style on some day.
Keep mapping because you do beautiful work!
ProFantasy makes a great product. You can do so much with it. :-)
(And your maps really are cool.)
I have seen it on other peoples threads, and I had one other post on mine that did not like Campaign Cartographer.
"I have to say I'm not keen on Campaign Cartographer - it's a great tool for creating D&D roleplaying maps, but they're very clearly identifiable as created in CC3, ending up with maps that aren't very aesthetically pleasing imho.
Also, your landmass is a rather too reminiscent of Tolkien's Middle Earth or Beleriand."
I point to my new maps. One guy told me that couldn't have been done by using CC3. I forgave him.
I about bet that a lot of people have not revisited the software and do not know what it can now do.
I think I have also had a few people tell me that they don't like cc3.
But I watched a video series on youtube about how to make maps in photoshop. You know what was striking? The fact that the process being used is not that different than what cc3 does.
They were using a technique where they just have a black and white color, then they touched a few buttons, and next thing I know there is a whole pre drawn continent.
To me, that's no different than us choosing a style, then drawing it out, and the space for land being pre filled for us . It is effectively the exact same thing.
Then I saw this person load up a few brushes, and use the same techniques we do with our symbol placement to draw mountains and trees and plants.
Then they loaded up some fills and made deserts and swamps.
Sound familiar? It should, because we do the same thing.
The only differences I saw were that we can't draw our own symbols.but we CAN outside of cc3 and import them in as png symbols.
People who say they don't like cc3 just have to realize that it is a powerful fastCAD program, and can do awesome stuff, but you just have to learn how.
Tonnichiwa and Dkarr,
There is s learning curve for CC3+ but it is not hard at all.
It was easy for me to switch from "windows" to CC3+
I guess some just don't want to make the effort.
What do you think of the "cartoonish" charge?
I like the style that I am using for my Fantasy world a lot.
Maps from the medieval time period tended to be highly stylized and were nowhere near as accurate as what we tend to draw.
I believe that the styles provided are a great fit for Fantasy realms and they have made several "related" styles as well.
I love the new Asian style from January!
I never did understand why people would make a "satellite view" of a Fantasy world with realistic mountains and all.
I know that I would want to use a very different style though for a Science Fiction world such as for my Traveler campaign that I used to run.
This would be more of a "satellite view" with realistic land features.
I had an Aliens based Traveler campaign where the company sent in mercenaries to retrieve high value items and research, from both the colony and the crashed alien ship, before requesting the Colonial Marines.
They even have a "Satellite" style and one for making solar systems.
I can hardly wait for them to update the annuals - LoL!
:-)
Rarely do you see a "fantasy" map that isn't cartoony either. The biggest complaint I have heard about cc3 is that it always looks like somebody elses style. Well, that's because it is...but you want to know what is funny? none of the people that have actually made those styles we are using are the ones that are saying they don't like it.
Personally I love that I can make a map that looks like Mike Schley's artwork, and John Roberts, and T J Vandel, and Herwin Weilink and the others. I have to ask myself, what am I making a map for anyway, just to make a map? No. I do it because I want to make dungeons and dragons worlds. And some of those worlds I want to look like the artwork in the Dungeons and Dragons books, so enter Mike Schley style. Others I want to look dark and gloomy, enter the Herwin Weilink style.
Now, when I am making maps just to make maps, it is actually because I am practicing with cc3, 3+, and all of the add ons. Eventually my goal is to have my own style that I can use for my own maps, and who knows, maybe even someday sell a style to Profantasy when my artwork improves.
Something funny about the cartoony comment is that cartoony is the exact reason I fell in love with the cc3 product in the first place. What drew me to it was the picture of the Pete Fenlon style on the front page of the Profantasy website. I grew up looking at his maps and loved them, along with all of the other cartoony stuff Dungeons and Dragons put out there back in the day.
But DKarr is right, there are a few style's that cannot be called cartoony at all. The reason the guys over at the Cartographer's Guild really don't know this is because honestly I have seen very few users of CC3 over there that are active and I have seen virtually no non cartoony maps being made by anyone with cc3 and being posted to their site. I was tempted to get a map of Seattle and do it in a modern style just so they can see what CC3 can do but I've just been lazy.
Since I use a mixture of styles for my map - I guess I am just a mutt instead of a pure-breed - LoL!
:-)
I am constantly amazed by people's ability to do things with cc3 on this site. I'm always learning things, even thought I have the Tome of Ultimate Mapping. It is so big that I often don't have time to read it.
I could understand the "catoonish" look criticism (even if I don't share the dislike) when we were on CC2 Pro and early CC3. But nowadays? You can do almost anything in CC3/CC3+ with a huge number of styles available - especially if you take the Annuals into account. Oh well, there is no pleasing some people.
I've got a friend who bought CC2 a few months after I did who hates it - but loves every map I've done with CC. He purchased every mapping program ever developed for gaming for about a decade afterwards, and hated all of them, too, because he wasn't able to use any of them to do what I was doing in CC2 and later CC3. He finally admitted he just doesn't want to take the time to master any program well enough to get the results he wants, so he's back to good ole' pencil and paper. They're no better than his efforts with other programs, but using a pencil doesn't cause him hours of frustration. Every now and then, I take one of his pencil maps and create a CC map for him.
People tend to go with what they are comfortable with and develop bias's.
There is also the concept of brand loyalty.
Plus - some people simply have .... strong opinions.
:-)
CC is the first program I've found that allows someone that lacks the artistic talent to make amazing maps and artwork. Okay, so my pieces aren't amazing...yet... but I'm getting there! lol
And I think part of the problem with the learning curve... is how it works with the way they think. The CAD engine goes against what they are used to... but it may also be that this product works better for people that are used to thinking differently. I mean... I know there is a lot of things about this program I'm yet to understand... but every time I learn something new, something snaps into place in my brain, because it MAKES SENSE to do it the way the cad engine does. A lot of those programs, even after I learn how do use a particular function, I'm still scratching my head because the function doesn't make sense.
Of course, it could also be a jealousy factor.... those people that don't like cc3/+ because they have been making maps the other ways for a long time, and are 'accomplished' artists, and here we are 'young upstarts' that are making maps through cc3+ that can rival theirs with their painstaking processes! lol shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone I said that!
;-)
I know that's definitely the case for me - while I have a pretty decent visual arts background, I am much stronger with math.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What first drew me into cc3+ was Joe Sweeney's tutorials. Because I watched them FIRST, when I look at the manuals now, I have that visual reference to go by, so the stuff makes sense.
And Charles... don't you dare! lol... I already have a hard time getting people to comment on my stuff! You, Tonnichiwa and Chickpea are the only ones that acknowledge me over there!
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't still try to be friendly and post over there. I still do, even though at times I have felt that no one was interested in anything I was doing. That is just the way of things. Sometimes people just don't know what to say, or maybe they don't really know how it could be improved. Or someone else may have said everything that needs to be said so they would just be repeating it if they said anything.
I cannot draw, much to the exasperation of 3 different art classes instructors who tried to teach me at community college.
So I was delighted to find CC2, and now up to CC3/+. I had hoped when I retired to have time to spend one day or more on a map. But I just haven't had time to do so.
I'm glad the software, and Profantasy, is around.
Thanks !