The art of mapmaking...?

[wowie]

There is plenty of information on the subject of making a map PLAY like a dream. However, it's harder to find resources on how to make your maps LOOK like a dream. What have you done to enhance the appearance of your maps? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this engine when on the subject of visual quality? What can be used to aid the development of a map's aesthetics? I want input, and (hopefully) lots of it.

[fawstoar]

A lot of it's up to you. I'm not an experienced mapmaker by any means, but mostly I think it's just some experimentation with the tools at hand, the documentation of which can be found on the wiki. Artistic license, man. Go nuts.

[ctdabomb]

this might be slightly off topic, but it would be nice if there was a good(preferably written) tutorial for making maps.

[wowie]

The wiki tells how to use the tools... but knowing that pressing on a paper with a brush covered in pigment makes a line doesn't mean you can paint a pretty picture. Many people can make crude looking stick figures, but only a few people can paint a Mona Lisa. Both a stick figure and a Mona Lisa are obviously pictures of people, but let's face it: people only want to look at the Mona Lisa. How do you go from drawing stick figures to painting Mona Lisa's? Sorry for the extended analogy but I don't know how else to describe it...

[jadwight]

The wiki tells how to use the tools... but knowing that pressing on a paper with a brush covered in pigment makes a line doesn't mean you can paint a pretty picture. Many people can make crude looking stick figures, but only a few people can paint a Mona Lisa. Both a stick figure and a Mona Lisa are obviously pictures of people, but let's face it: people only want to look at the Mona Lisa. How do you go from drawing stick figures to painting Mona Lisa's? Sorry for the extended analogy but I don't know how else to describe it...

Apples to Oranges...

If you have some Photoshop skills and some basic know-how... making your own textures is not that hard... Painting? Well yes, and no, there's tons of textures floating around out there... it's more comparable to clipping out what you want and piecing together a scrapbook of things you like into a map that can fit one theme. One could make their own textures from scrap, but it's not necessary because you can take preexisting textures and export them out of Photoshop and right directly into the map editor. I've stuck our clan logos on parts of a map I'm working on. 1st map I've ever made was rough, but within a couple hours I pretty much had the basics figured out, and I've never mapped before.. It only takes a few mistakes before you finally break through and realize what works and what doesn't work... you get a feel for what is too big, what's too small, and the equal balance required to make a great map.

I am a mediocre drawer myself, but i've photoshopped graphics for Album Covers, Flyers, and Banners.. Mapping is more comparable to playing with legos in photoshop with the cube engine then it is to painting a mona lisa or drawing stick figures.

On another note, I'm a self-taught graphic designer, webmaster, music producer, maintenance man, computer repair man, and cell phone repair techie and the list goes on. Education is out there for the know-how, knowledge is power, and anyone who is willing to learn the know-hows can do it if they put their brain up to it. Anything that simply states "I could never do that" is merely an incompetence, and someone who truly doesn't believe in themselves. Mona Lisa is a true piece of work and is fantastic, but walk into a tattoo parlor and see who else can draw like that... lol these are self taught people for the most part, and people get degrees by being taught...

I've seen Good maps, Bad maps, mediocre maps, but they always get better with trial and error...