5 ms·

Fantasy Cartography: Just Add Something Blotchy

100 points by polm23 5y ago

elipsey 5y ago
Interestingly, I think I recognize the background tile on the page as a member (or slight modification of a member) of my favorite wallpaper package propaganda-debian. In any case, author is clearly a connoisseur of textures.
Grakel 5y ago
That's a lot of words for an entry level Photoshop tutorial.
- _Microft 5y ago
  On the one hand, you are not wrong. On the other hand, the idea to use a texture like that of a pizza to modify a completely different image, like a fantasy map, might not have occurred to everyone. The value of the blog post might be rather in telling others about this idea than the actual steps how to implement it.
  - SeriousM 5y ago
    Context is king. A tutorial is just a steps-to-reproduce guide, but the story helps you to remember it. Except for food recipes...
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - ValentinPearce 5y ago
    As a fervent fan of the author, I can confirm that definitely was the idea.
- Zanni 5y ago
  Yeah, but it's on an RPG blog, not a Photoshop blog, so think of it as a fantasy map tutorial with an unfamiliar tool.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  Knowing how to use Photoshop is one thing. Knowing what tricks you can use to make effects work is another. How many high level Photoshop tutorials have you been publishing recently? Do share.
BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
My favorite example of food texture is the fried chicken explosion: https://i.imgur.com/UhAODHB.gif https://i.imgur.com/UhAODHB.gif
hoseja 5y ago
Nothing to do with cartography specifically, just "parchment" effect.
Folcon 5y ago
Finding good fantasy mapping blogs is hard, I don't know too many, to anyone else interested in this Here Dragons Abound[0] is really good resource. Any others people really like? -[0]: https://heredragonsabound.blogspot.com/ https://heredragonsabound.blogspot.com/
- tmjdev 5y ago
  I really like them as well. I enjoy them as a digital art form. From what I understand, Scott Turner (Here Dragons Abound) got his inspiration from Martin O'Leary[0]. Lots of interesting reading on his site. Another one in current development but as far as I know doesn't have a devlog quite like Scott Turner's is Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator[1]. He did keep a devlog until 2018 sometime though[2]. Watabou's Medieval Fantasy Map Generator[3] is really good. I'm sure I've seen more over the years but these are the ones I can remember. [0]: http://mewo2.com/notes/terrain/ http://mewo2.com/notes/terrain/ [1]: https://github.com/Azgaar/Fantasy-Map-Generator https://github.com/Azgaar/Fantasy-Map-Generator [2]: https://azgaar.wordpress.com/ https://azgaar.wordpress.com/ [3]: https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator/devlog https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator/devl...
  - Folcon 5y ago
    Thanks for the suggestions :)... Going to dig into these!
Kaibeezy 5y ago
Now, as a metaphorical example, this has much wider application. - What sound texture can I add to my ambient tracks? - What flavor texture can I add to my cock-a-leekie? - What philosophical texture can I add to my pitch deck?

100 points by polm23 5y ago

Interestingly, I think I recognize the background tile on the page as a member (or slight modification of a member) of my favorite wallpaper package propaganda-debian. In any case, author is clearly a connoisseur of textures.

Grakel 5y ago

That's a lot of words for an entry level Photoshop tutorial.

_Microft 5y ago
On the one hand, you are not wrong. On the other hand, the idea to use a texture like that of a pizza to modify a completely different image, like a fantasy map, might not have occurred to everyone. The value of the blog post might be rather in telling others about this idea than the actual steps how to implement it.
- SeriousM 5y ago
  Context is king. A tutorial is just a steps-to-reproduce guide, but the story helps you to remember it. Except for food recipes...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- ValentinPearce 5y ago
  As a fervent fan of the author, I can confirm that definitely was the idea.
Zanni 5y ago
Yeah, but it's on an RPG blog, not a Photoshop blog, so think of it as a fantasy map tutorial with an unfamiliar tool.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
Knowing how to use Photoshop is one thing. Knowing what tricks you can use to make effects work is another. How many high level Photoshop tutorials have you been publishing recently? Do share.

BugsJustFindMe 5y ago

My favorite example of food texture is the fried chicken explosion: https://i.imgur.com/UhAODHB.gif https://i.imgur.com/UhAODHB.gif

hoseja 5y ago

Nothing to do with cartography specifically, just "parchment" effect.

Folcon 5y ago

Finding good fantasy mapping blogs is hard, I don't know too many, to anyone else interested in this Here Dragons Abound[0] is really good resource. Any others people really like? -[0]: https://heredragonsabound.blogspot.com/ https://heredragonsabound.blogspot.com/

tmjdev 5y ago
I really like them as well. I enjoy them as a digital art form. From what I understand, Scott Turner (Here Dragons Abound) got his inspiration from Martin O'Leary[0]. Lots of interesting reading on his site. Another one in current development but as far as I know doesn't have a devlog quite like Scott Turner's is Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator[1]. He did keep a devlog until 2018 sometime though[2]. Watabou's Medieval Fantasy Map Generator[3] is really good. I'm sure I've seen more over the years but these are the ones I can remember. [0]: http://mewo2.com/notes/terrain/ http://mewo2.com/notes/terrain/ [1]: https://github.com/Azgaar/Fantasy-Map-Generator https://github.com/Azgaar/Fantasy-Map-Generator [2]: https://azgaar.wordpress.com/ https://azgaar.wordpress.com/ [3]: https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator/devlog https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator/devl...
- Folcon 5y ago
  Thanks for the suggestions :)... Going to dig into these!

Kaibeezy 5y ago

Now, as a metaphorical example, this has much wider application. - What sound texture can I add to my ambient tracks? - What flavor texture can I add to my cock-a-leekie? - What philosophical texture can I add to my pitch deck?