[Sweitir]

A year or so ago I discovered a nice way of making world maps in Photoshop. I can explain when I am more awake/alive just how to do it. Until then, check it out here:

link

It's a combination of a cloud filter, gradient map, watercolor filter, and some custom-hand pixel tweaking! More later though.

Cheers!

[Dthclaw]

Interesting. Can tell right off the bat that this was a more complex result than the MapMaker2 action returns; any information on how the author did this would be appreciated.

And welcome to the site.

[Edit]: D'oh. You're the author. Still, any information on how you did this would be nifty.

[ladyofdragons]

Very nice! I use CC3 myself, but your results are very pretty. Perhaps some of your finish work will help me do finishing touches on my CC3 maps. I'd love to know what settings/etc you used.

[Sweitir]

STEP 1 - The Land and Sea

First off, higher resolution is always better. You can practice using a lower image size (such as 800x600 or so), but when you're making a final map make sure your resolution is high - I'd say at least 1600x1200. Now that you have your new file created, make sure your colors are set to default (by hitting D). Now do a clouds filter (on a new layer, or double-click the "background" layer.) Now do a Note Paper filter [sketch - note paper. relief: 0, graininess: 0]. This can be a little tricky. Every cloud filter is different, therefore the setting for your "image balance" of the note paper filter will be different. You'll have to experiment with this option to get the landforms you like best.

When you decide which color (white or gray) you want to be your 'land masses', use the magic-wand tool to select the opposite color and delete it. Then create a layer beneath this current layer, and fill it with a blue color, I used 2C4E86. Here's what I have, yours should look something like it:



STEP 2 - Imitating the Topography

Now select the land layer (ctrl+click on the layer in the layers palette). With it selected, do a clouds filter (with default colors again). Now add a gradient map (at the bottom of the layers palette click the circle with half dark and half light, then select Gradient Map). Use the following colors: (feel free to tweak the colors as you see fit!)

495746 | 3F473A | 4F6340 | 43513A | 5F7252 | 7C8449 | E5D5C5 | FFFFFF

You may have to move the sliders around to get the desired effect. Now to add a more realistic and rustic look, do a Water Color filter (with the land layer active!!!) [artistic - water color. Brush Detail: 14, Texture: 1] Shadow intensity is up to you, however 1 or 2 works the best usually. You don't want too much of the gradient map to be black, it'll make the map look unrealistic. Here's what I have, you should have something like it:



STEP 3 - Touch-up

See those blobs of that light green? It makes the map unbalanced, tacky, and unrealistic. What you have to do is copy and paste pieces from the landmass that has multiple values. Like this: (how did I make it black and white so I can see the different values? just turn the gradient map layer invisible by clicking on the eye next to it).



Now you need to use the dodge and burn tools to even out the values to look good.

...

I know this is a very vague run through the process, so don't be shy to ask any and all questions or ask for helpful advice/critiques. I do have a number of .PSD files of my Eldennon map, however I did lose the original which had the gradient map and whatnot.

[Dthclaw]

Cool. I'll have to give that a shot sometime.

I'm guessing this could theoretically work with masks, too, right?

[3dom]

Hot [WOMBAT] like burn almighty. A winner is you. Now all I need is photoshop.

[Jimp]

I would like to propose the motion that this thread be sticked for future reference.

(so ends this month's viewing)

[Axel]

Forgive me, I'm a novice with Photoshop and my knowledge is largely based on limited trial and error, but what exactly does the clouds tool do?

[Sweitir]

It basically blends your two selected colors together into faded blotches, which somewhat resemble fluffy clouds (hence the name). It is of course never used to create clouds for landscape images, but rather for use in creating effects for digital images.

In our case here, the cloud effect acts as a generator. Each time you run the cloud filter, it randomly creates the black and white blotches, which determine your landmass and coastlines.

[Dthclaw]

Hopefully will have time to give this a shot tonite...

Did you basically use the same technique for the oceans? Working on a different layer with different colors?

Also, could one theoretically use pre-existing shapes (i.e. more crudely done maps) as a mask for creating this type of map?

Lastly, how did you add the rivers/national boundary lines in the original photo you provided?

Sorry about the deluge of questions, but inquiring minds want to know, and knowing is half the battle

[Sweitir]

No no, don't worry about asking questions, ask as many as you can come up with!

Dthclaw said:

Did you basically use the same technique for the oceans? Working on a different layer with different colors?

Yes, pretty much the exact same technique was used for the oceans. Where the ocean touches the coast, simply highlight those areas to make it appear more "shallow" than the deep areas of your seas. I think I added a final filter, perhaps Texture -> Canvas.

Dthclaw said:

Also, could one theoretically use pre-existing shapes (i.e. more crudely done maps) as a mask for creating this type of map?

Yes, I imagine that could easily be done.

Dthclaw said:

Lastly, how did you add the rivers/national boundary lines in the original photo you provided?

This procedure is quite detailed, and may require its own tutorial. But here's the gist (I'll try to put together a tutorial at least by the end of this weekend). In a new file, you do follow the same steps as you do in the beginning of making your map to generate the landmasses. Then you use the Magic Wand tool to select the landmass, and then decrease your selection by 1 pixel (that option is somewhere in the Select dropdown menu). What you then do is delete the selected pixels, what is left over then is a one-pixel wide squiggly line, which can easily be used for a natural-looking river or political boundary. Again, this procedure is quite detailed and at times complex, so a more comprehensive walkthrough is in order I believe. Hopefully in the next few days I can do that.

[Dthclaw]

Awesome, thanks.

[Axel]

Anybody figured out how to get political boundaries and rivers to stay on land? Simply doing the clouds again puts most of them out in the ocean.

[Dthclaw]

Quote

Anybody figured out how to get political boundaries and rivers to stay on land? Simply doing the clouds again puts most of them out in the ocean.

That's a tricky bugger, but I figured out something that seems to work. If you're using Photoshop or GIMP or something similar, go to the clouds layer for the ocean and find a section that's appropriately jaggy but polygonal in shape. Relatively circular or 'peanut' shaped works good. Magic wand it until you have something that looks circular.

Now we're going to be stamping with that selection.

In a new layer, copy the selection. Apply a style that turns it pure black (Photoshop has a layer style that does it easy). Create a new layer above it, and merge the two layers; this tricks Photoshop into using it as a basic layer instead of a stylized layer. Copy the resulting shape.

SAVE THIS LAYER AND LEAVE IT ALONE FOR NOW

Now, go over where you want the regional boundaries. For each nation/region/what-have-you, paste your pure black peanut over the region. Keep pasting and resizing/turning the resulting layers (they should all be separate layers for now). It doesn't matter at this point if parts are over water or not. When you've got a nation or whatever figured out, merge the layers into one. For that nation, apply the 1 or 2 px outline style to the result. This gives you your boundary.

NOW, for cutting out the extraneous bits...

The reason to work in so many layers is this: it lets you select in one layer and cut from another. I'm going to assume Photoshop, so bear with me.

(Also, if you want to color in your nations or whatever, now's the time to do it. You may want to transparancy the nation, but I won't go over that for now)

Go to the layer holding the continent mask for the continent you're working on. Use the magic wand to select everthing that is NOT the continent. Now, go back to your mashed peanut outline layer. Your outline should cut off everything that isn't supposed to have a boundary of some sort. Hit delete, and your aquatic section of the peanuts disappear.

Now, you can keep repeating this technique for the other nations. You'll need a twist, though: in addition to grabbing and cutting based on the continent layer, you'll also need to grab and cut based on other boundaries (same technique, but go to other boundary layers in addition to the continent layer). Just remember to keep layers separate until you're done with everything in a given step.

You can do similar things for rivers, applying a blue color to the outline style and deleting sections that don't fit your river path.

Um... that's all I can think of offhand about that little subject.

[Axel]

I think I've found an easier method. What you do is, above your finished map, open a new layer. Ctrl-click your original landmass so that you are only working on this portion, and do another Clouds filter. Then do the same Notebook procedure to get a two-color selection. Magic Wand one color, then decrease your selection by 1 pixel through Select -> Transform -> Contract. Then delete the other color. Voila, a collection of single pixel wide, jagged lines that end where your landmass ends.
For the oceans, just select two different shades of blue. On the background layer do another Clouds filter. Then Blur.