Drawing symbols for use in CC3
Loopysue
ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
I have decided to draw a set of symbols for my maps (primarily trees, tents and boats) to compliment the built in sets available in CC3 and its add-ons.
This thread is about how these symbols were made, and shows the thinking process, all the experiments (whether they worked or not - including the mistakes), and also the resulting png files.
Most of the graphics present here will be draft versions in various stages of 'build', but there may also be a few that are complete and 'as-is' ready to go in a map. All will have perfectly good transparent backgrounds, because it is easier leaving the settings set for transparency than messing around making some of them transparent and others not. If you think my work is good enough (and please remember that I am only an amateur and not a professional artist), you may copy them and keep them as yours if you wish
I will start the ball rolling with this one:
[Image_6440]
My first ever tree - The 'Disjointed Spaghetti' tree. Its really bad, and on top of all that its a most horrible colour, but its a starting point to improve on.
This thread is about how these symbols were made, and shows the thinking process, all the experiments (whether they worked or not - including the mistakes), and also the resulting png files.
Most of the graphics present here will be draft versions in various stages of 'build', but there may also be a few that are complete and 'as-is' ready to go in a map. All will have perfectly good transparent backgrounds, because it is easier leaving the settings set for transparency than messing around making some of them transparent and others not. If you think my work is good enough (and please remember that I am only an amateur and not a professional artist), you may copy them and keep them as yours if you wish
I will start the ball rolling with this one:
[Image_6440]
My first ever tree - The 'Disjointed Spaghetti' tree. Its really bad, and on top of all that its a most horrible colour, but its a starting point to improve on.
Comments
I have another one now and this time its better...ish
In order to correct the bad points of the Spaghetti tree they must first be pointed out:
1. The branches of a tree will appear to cross from any angle, but where I have crossed them on the same layer they have been melded together by the bevel effect. The bevel works like a sheet effect on the objects on that layer, and so the bevels on each of the three layers I used to create the tree are separated. I just need not to cross the branches on the same layer.
2. The colours are different because I was messing around with each layer differently, so it would be best to stick to monochrome for now while I'm trying to sort out a proper technique
3. Its all a bit stick like, so I'll do my footpath thing and jiggle the lines a bit
This is the second draft:
[Image_6442]
* Because the background is transparent a mask is automatically applied during export to create a png file with a transparent background, ready for use in CC3/+
I still have a way to go yet though. Its slow going because I'm having to think my way through everything - never having been taught any of this. Hopefully things will get quicker as I learn from my mistakes
I'm hoping also to encourage others to have a go, as I'm sure there will be plenty of CC3 users who have a basic understanding of a Photoshop or GIMP like programme that they can use to do something similar. You just need a programme that's capable of giving you a transparent background to your drawing, and exporting to png format when you've done.
I haven't got very far yet, but I'm seriously enjoying myself here
Maybe I will draw trees as quickly as you can draw maps one day! LOL
And hey again (in a different sense) - I worked really hard to separate them, because they were joined in one big mass. LOL Its pretty difficult knowing how to sort the top of a tree out, really. Since I don't have a friend with a helicopter I will have to look again at a few more photos on Google to see if I can't work it out for draft 3.
Most of the time (in living trees) I expect this part would be hidden by the canopy, but you're right - its not quite right at the moment is it
The bevel is also a bit OTT - making the tree look rather cartoonish. I need to work on that as well (although it might be caused by the fact that my software is 15 years old, and bevels back then were rather primitive compared to what you can do with modern software).
Uh-oh. Looks like I might have to pause again to get into GIMP and see if I can grasp the controls to do things in a more refined fashion
I am looking forward to seeing all the fantastic symbols your going to make.
Are you going to make tutorial?
:-)
I don't know about a tutorial. I'm hopeless at instructions. Well have to see if there's anyone who could help me maybe?
The original hoax was done by the BBC in 1957.
Thanks for doing a field test for me Lorelei
I think Storm's right about that top bit being wrong - it really doesn't look right. That's going to be my next project - coming up tomorrow now, because its nearly midnight here
I am already thinking graveyard, zombies, and dead (Spaghetti) trees. LoL! :-)
Thanks Charles
Hmmmn.... there seems to be part of it missing - the top left branch? Or is this a blurred drop shadow?
In your opinion how do the shadow casting properties measure up against the other trees and objects in your map?
I think the transparency may be at fault, but only in as much as it is actually so clear that the light is getting right down to the ground between the branches and the blur on the shadow is then vanishing the branches by blending the light patches together. If I'm right, then the dislocated blob is the relatively chunky trunk, and the only solution is to add leaves and give the tree more 'body'. That means the trees that I make that are meant to be dead will have to be rather more carefully thought out to avoid this problem.
Thinking about it, of all the dead tree symbols I've seen in my 5 short months as a mapper, quite a few of them have had prefabricated shadows built into the symbol. I often wondered why that was, but put it down to the fact that not all pieces of software have the capacity to cast wall shadows or drop shadows. Now I think at least some of these symbols were actually designed to get over this problem, but I think with a bit of nifty redrawing it can be cancelled out. There is no reason, for instance, that the trunk needs to be so fat and clunky. I could just draw rosettes of branches around a relatively slender trunk illusion (and it is an illusion when the trunk is made of slices (layers).
Aaaah.... I see... so it would probably be best to do about five versions of each dead tree to take account of the fact that some won't need a shadow where they are placed among other trees in a woodland, where a built in shadow would be out of place, and at least four versions of the same tree with a built in shadow on the four points of the compass to allow people to rotate each of those four versions to suit the direction of their sun.
That could prove to be a very large collection of dead trees alone - 5 variations for each version of dead tree (and that's without considering any variations on shadow length or blur). Maybe it would be possible to create a separate shadow to fit in the catalogue beneath each dead tree that you can rotate to suit (bearing in mind that the tree would need to be fairly regular in shape for the same shadow to look approximately right in all directions). I'll think some more on that.
When we get to the stage where I'm beginning to build catalogues of symbols, the dead trees would probably be better in a separate sub catalogue of their own.
We should be all right with leafy trees, since their shadows are very much more general - not being separated into individual branches. Those will be all right without any additional built in shadow options.
That was an extremely useful piece of information, dropped into the conversation at just the right point - before we got side-tracked too far from the main purpose.
Thanks Monsen
I had better make it clear before anyone decides to upload any drawings of their own to this thread that anything amounting to a usable symbol appearing right here should be regarded as free to all, for any use - the same conditions under which my own graphics are uploaded.
That will keep things nice and simple for everyone.
If you have a few of your own symbols that you would like to gift to the forum (and remember this is a public forum), you are very welcome to post them here on this thread as part of the general discussion, but please remember that anything you post MUST be 100% your own work, and must never be traced from, or contain any part of anyone else's work, including artwork that has been found just lying around the place online.
Thank you
I'm quite happy with CC3+ shadows. I was just thinking aloud... but without really thinking, if you see what I mean