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This is a step by step guide to designing a
small map using the elements and fonts of the MapMaker
package. This tutorial was done using Adobe Photoshop, but
the same tools and commands are available in every good
graphics program, including less expensive ones like PaintShopPro and ColorIt.
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To start your map off, use the
text tool to type in a piece of coastline that you like using the
Ortelius font.
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Continue to use the text tool
to pick additional coastal outlines and add them to your
map, rotating or repositioning them as needed to form the
shape you want. Do this until you have made a complete
coastline.
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In this case we've completed our
coastline with 7 different coastal outline characters from
Ortelius to form a simple island.
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Using the Magic Wand tool, click
inside the island (or on the landward side of your coastline).
Open the Elements1.jpg image in your MapMaker folder and
use the Select tool to select a square area of the background
texture you like. Use the Define Pattern option to make this
into a pattern. Return to your working map and use the
Fill command to fill the
area you selected with the Magic Want with this pattern.
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While that land area is still selected,
use a Beveling tool to add a colored bevel inside the coastline to help
define the area. This is a technique used universally in hand-tinted
antique maps, and works very nicely.
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Use the magic wand on the sea area
of the map and repeat the process you just used, going to the Elements2.jpg
file to get a sea pattern you like and using it to fill the area.
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While the sea area is still selected
use the Bevel tool to add a blue or purplish bevel on the seaward
side of your coastline. You might use the sampling tool to pick
an appropriate shade of blue from the sea texture you used.
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Now, go back to the Elements1.jpg
file and start importing terrain features. You can do this by
selecting a box around the bits you want, pasting them into a new file,
using the Magic Wand to select everything around them and
the Inverse command to switch your selection to the objects
instead. Then copy them and paste them into your map. Here we
added a few mountains first.
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Repeating
the process in the previous steb we now add some trees.
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Continuing that process we now
also add a town.
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Now we do the same
thing to add features to the se areas, following the process
above using the Elements2.jpg file we import a Sea Horse.
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Next we add a compass - a key
element of any antique map.
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Finally we add a cartouche in which we will later
put our map's title.
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Now we move on to adding text
labels to the map using the type tool. For the label on the sea
area we select the Platthand font and title the sea area The Sea of
Dreams.
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Next, because our island is small
and already crowded with terrain, we use the Text tool to
add the island's name in the sea next to it using the Brandywine font.
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There isn't enough room to add
the town name in the land area of the island, so we add it overlapping
the coastline and into the sea using the Walsingham font. Then,
so that it doesn't get too muddled, while the type is still
selected we use the Bevel tool to add a 2 pixel buff-colored
bevel around the type to help set it apart from the background.
This is almost invisible on these sample images, but really
makes a difference in print.
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Our final text goes in
the cartouche, which usually has a map title or description,
sometimes along with a designer credit and date. In this
case we added a small description using the buccaneer font.
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Finally we finish the map off by adding a
darker colored frame around the outside, smaller in thickness
than the outer bevel of the sea area to give the border a layered
look. Now our map is finished.
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