Conquer Club

[Tutorial] Cool HAWAII map (Photoshop)

How to make a map. Official Handbook, Guides, Tutorials and more...

Moderator: Cartographers

Forum rules
Please read the Community Guidelines before posting.

[Tutorial] Cool HAWAII map (Photoshop)

Postby RjBeals on Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:43 pm

Image

I've had a few people ask me questions about how I create my map borders, what blending options I use, or certain elements in my maps. I decided to create this sample map to demonstrate some examples.

  1. First of all, I use Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, but all of the techniques I use are basic and found in most recent PS versions. Sorry gimp users - but the thread and screenshots may inspire you anyway.
  2. Second of all - There are many many different ways to achieve the same results. And there are many different personal styles to add along the way. That's the beauty of art. I am not saying my methods are the best. My work flow is much different than DiM, cairnswk and Widowmakers (and all the others) - but we all make pretty maps.
  3. Third - this is not a real map, and not intended for game play or critiquing. I made this map quickly, with not much thought, in order to demonstrate key map building skills.
Download PSD HERE: HAWAII.PSD (2.1 MB)
Download compressed PSD HERE (RAR): HAWAII.RAR (1.1 MB)

===================================================================================================
Image
I started with this Hawaii map I found on the internet.

===================================================================================================
Image
I pasted it to it's own Layer in Photoshop. I took the Opacity down to 27%. I will use this map as a reference for my borders.

===================================================================================================
Image
I create a new layer for my main continent border. I set my brush to 3 pixels, 100% hardness. Then I zoom in close and start outlining. A tip when outlining zoomed in is to use the spacebar to turn your brush into the "hand" tool. This will quickly allow you to move your canvas around while not having to go to the tool bar and change off your brush tool.

===================================================================================================
Image
I create a new layer for my territory borders. I use a 2 pixel brush, 100% hardness for these. Notice the "Main Land" layer. Thats created so I can apply drop shadow & outer glows to the entire mainland layer. I just used the magic wand and selected inside the borders, then wend to Select > Modify > Expand by 2 px. Then created a new layer and filled with red.

===================================================================================================
Image
Then I use the brush to paint in my region colors. Each region (color) in it's own layer. Use the left & right bracket keys to increase or decrease the brush size on the fly, while your painting. Notice how I use folders to keep my layers neat and organized. ;)

Some may think painting the regions by hand is not efficient - but I found it's the best way for me to put the pixels where I want them.

===================================================================================================
Image
The borders will be the top layers.

===================================================================================================
Image
Next I added a new layer above my district color layers, and called it lighting effects. I selected my Main Land by holding ctrl and clicking on the layer thumbnail picture (not the word Main Land). Then I selected my new Lighting Effects layer and filled the selection with a white to black gradient. Then I chose the layer blending mode as darken. This gives the land a little more depth.

Then I also added a inner bevel to the Lighting effects layer, and an outer glow to the Main Land layer. This also makes the map pop a little more.

===================================================================================================
Image
I create my ocean in the back with 3 separate layers. A base light blue layer, a floral pattern, and another gradient layer. The gradient layer has an opacity of 20%, the floral pattern is 16% and then the light blue is 100%. I also added my territ names here. I used a "Sharp" plain style font, and gave it a 2 pixel white stroke with a blend mode of "Lighter Color" and an opacity of 31%. This simply makes the names stand out a little more from the backgrounds.

===================================================================================================
Image
The Title and Legend were then added - in a style trying to keep with the Hawaiian theme.

And there you have it. The Basics. If you have Photoshop, download the psd and really look at the layer blending settings. Thats the key. Good Luck - and feel free to post alternative suggestions or shortcuts in this thread.
Image
User avatar
Private RjBeals
 
Posts: 2506
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby t-o-m on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:29 pm

this is really great RJ,
i will edit this in a mo, i wanna be the 1st 2 comment :P
rite edit:
-
im glad youve done this, now i know that i am doing things right :D
one thing that pisses me off is that ive been using the darkening tool on my terits to make that bevel look, that took me forever and now you have a quick way - you b*tch!
thanks,
its good that youve done this and put the other one to shame, this one is thurer (sorry i really have no clue how 2 spell that!) and this one shows you how to do things well,
-
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> thank youuu!!!
User avatar
Major t-o-m
 
Posts: 2916
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:22 pm

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby InkL0sed on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:43 pm

This looks great; I'll read it when I get home (instead of during class... :? :geek: )
User avatar
Lieutenant InkL0sed
 
Posts: 2370
Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:06 pm
Location: underwater

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby Ruben Cassar on Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:16 pm

Interesting stuff RJ. I bookmarked this thread! ;)
ImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
Colonel Ruben Cassar
 
Posts: 2160
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:04 am
Location: Civitas Invicta, Melita, Evropa

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby DiM on Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:33 pm

great work rj.
may i also add a couple of thoughts? basically the same result but in a different way can be obtained using the following points:
1.a. instead of brushing each region with a different colour brush them with white and then go to blending options>overlay and choose the colour you want. this way you can change the colours on the fly, swap regions etc.
1.b. this just came to mind but i don't have photoshop to test if it really works. once you draw the borders and want to fill a certain terit with colour it might be worth trying the magnetic lasso tool to select and then use the bucket to fill the area.
2. instead of adding the light layer to give land depth you can do the following thing: create the water layer and bevel it in a downward direction. then when you want to create the land simply take the eraser and cut the island shape. then proceed with creating borders and terits and colours. this will create the illusion of a raised island.
3. just like the lighting effects layer you can also create other layers below it with all sorts of effects. use a grain filter, or a clouds filter. it gives even more realism to the land


edit// and now that i think about it the magnetic lasso tool might also be good for borders. simply move the mouse around the original map of hawaii on it's layer until you've encircled the island. with the proper settings for the magnetic lasso it should be pretty smooth. then click new layer. the selection should still be valid. then go to stroke (i think it's in the edit menu or somewhere in a menu) and add a 2px stroke. you should have a fully traced outline of the map.

could somebody experiment the magnetic lasso thing? cause i don't have photoshop at work and i'm actually very curious. :D
“In the beginning God said, the four-dimensional divergence of an antisymmetric, second rank tensor equals zero, and there was light, and it was good. And on the seventh day he rested.”- Michio Kaku
User avatar
Major DiM
 
Posts: 10415
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:20 pm
Location: making maps for scooby snacks

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby TaCktiX on Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:53 pm

No need to use the Magnetic Lasso. Put up a 1-5 tolerance Magic Wand on the empty area, select Contiguous, and bam, instant territory painting. That's how Citadel has gotten all of its painting done.
User avatar
Corporal 1st Class TaCktiX
 
Posts: 2392
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:24 pm
Location: Rapid City, SD

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby oaktown on Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:48 pm

TaCktiX wrote:No need to use the Magnetic Lasso. Put up a 1-5 tolerance Magic Wand on the empty area, select Contiguous, and bam, instant territory painting. That's how Citadel has gotten all of its painting done.

I've recently discovered the easy and beauty of adding a color fill layer as a clipping mask over the layer of the territory you want to change the color of... one step color changes forever!

Prior to that I would create an individual path for each territory, and just clear the layer and refill the path with the new color I wanted to use. Works beautifully, but has that extra step. I've found that the Magic Wand always picks up just a bit more or less of the edges of the area than I would like, so my territory is never the exact same size with the new color.
Image
User avatar
Captain oaktown
 
Posts: 4451
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: majorcommand

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby DiM on Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:00 pm

i agree with oak on the magic wand thing. it never catches the exact location. however it might work good on a map with rectangular terits rather than random shape ones.
“In the beginning God said, the four-dimensional divergence of an antisymmetric, second rank tensor equals zero, and there was light, and it was good. And on the seventh day he rested.”- Michio Kaku
User avatar
Major DiM
 
Posts: 10415
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:20 pm
Location: making maps for scooby snacks

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby TaCktiX on Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:02 pm

It's worked very well on my maps so far. Anything it misses I touch up by hand using a small-pixel brush. I'll look into using Fill Layers on my next map, though.
User avatar
Corporal 1st Class TaCktiX
 
Posts: 2392
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:24 pm
Location: Rapid City, SD

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby t-o-m on Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:16 pm

DiM wrote:then go to stroke (i think it's in the edit menu or somewhere in a menu)

me thinks its in the layer style menu, at or near the bottom
User avatar
Major t-o-m
 
Posts: 2916
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:22 pm

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby DiM on Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:38 pm

t-o-m wrote:
DiM wrote:then go to stroke (i think it's in the edit menu or somewhere in a menu)

me thinks its in the layer style menu, at or near the bottom


could be, all i remember is that it's the third menu and it's in the middle.
“In the beginning God said, the four-dimensional divergence of an antisymmetric, second rank tensor equals zero, and there was light, and it was good. And on the seventh day he rested.”- Michio Kaku
User avatar
Major DiM
 
Posts: 10415
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:20 pm
Location: making maps for scooby snacks

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby yeti_c on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:48 am

I'm not sure about the bonuses on this map? Surely whoever went first would stand a better chance of winning?!?

<ontopic>
Nice RJ - loving the Sea!!

Have you any tips for non geographical areas where you don't have a base image to start with?

C.
Image
Highest score : 2297
User avatar
Lieutenant yeti_c
 
Posts: 9624
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:02 am

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby pepperonibread on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:17 pm

yeti_c wrote:I'm not sure about the bonuses on this map? Surely whoever went first would stand a better chance of winning?!?

<ontopic>
Nice RJ - loving the Sea!!

Have you any tips for non geographical areas where you don't have a base image to start with?

C.


I'd suggest drawing it out by hand first... even with geographical maps not all of your borders will align with the actually political boundaries.
RJ: Any chance of adding a quick note here about the pen tool? Not all the curves and stuff, just the basic point by point and then stroke. It's really helpful for people that can't draw well by hand or don't have a pen mouse when drawing borders.
Image
User avatar
Corporal pepperonibread
 
Posts: 954
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:33 pm
Location: The Former Confederacy

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby RjBeals on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:25 pm

pepperonibread wrote:RJ: Any chance of adding a quick note here about the pen tool? Not all the curves and stuff, just the basic point by point and then stroke. It's really helpful for people that can't draw well by hand or don't have a pen mouse when drawing borders.


The pen tool / bezier curves are definitely an essential part of map making as well. Good point pepperonibread. I created my borders in Dustbowl with this tool, and made the smooth outline of the legend in this Hawaii map with that tool. I may post some basic screen shots - but a quick search on google will give you the same info.
Image
User avatar
Private RjBeals
 
Posts: 2506
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby RjBeals on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:27 pm

yeti_c wrote:Have you any tips for non geographical areas where you don't have a base image to start with?


Not really. Just the basic advice to keep everything on separate layers. My maps end up with 100's of layers.
Image
User avatar
Private RjBeals
 
Posts: 2506
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby DiM on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:46 pm

RjBeals wrote:Not really. Just the basic advice to keep everything on separate layers. My maps end up with 100's of layers.


and for the fact there are hundreds of layers also always use folders and subfolders.

for example my main layer view on maps shows 8-10 folders. and inside each folder there are 1-10 other folders.
otherwise you go insane searching for something :lol:
“In the beginning God said, the four-dimensional divergence of an antisymmetric, second rank tensor equals zero, and there was light, and it was good. And on the seventh day he rested.”- Michio Kaku
User avatar
Major DiM
 
Posts: 10415
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 6:20 pm
Location: making maps for scooby snacks

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby Telvannia on Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:52 pm

DiM wrote:
RjBeals wrote:Not really. Just the basic advice to keep everything on separate layers. My maps end up with 100's of layers.


and for the fact there are hundreds of layers also always use folders and subfolders.

for example my main layer view on maps shows 8-10 folders. and inside each folder there are 1-10 other folders.
otherwise you go insane searching for something :lol:


Try using Gimp, you dont get layer folders, my maps begin to look a bit messy after awhile.

Talking about gimp, Rj any objections to me trying to convert this for gimp users if any are interested?
User avatar
Sergeant 1st Class Telvannia
 
Posts: 1331
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:19 am

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby RjBeals on Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:06 pm

Be my guest!
Image
User avatar
Private RjBeals
 
Posts: 2506
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby edbeard on Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:36 am

so RJ

we've talked it over and you're actually going to have to make a Hawaii map now

Either all the islands or just the main one is ok.

chop chop
User avatar
Lieutenant edbeard
 
Posts: 2501
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:41 am

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby RjBeals on Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:52 am

Hmm.. Have volcanoes in the center with neutral regions around it - first one to the top of the volcanoes wins ! Naa...
Image
User avatar
Private RjBeals
 
Posts: 2506
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby t-o-m on Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:08 am

lol
Last edited by t-o-m on Fri May 23, 2008 1:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Major t-o-m
 
Posts: 2916
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:22 pm

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby gimil on Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:15 pm

t-o-m wrote:lol


t-o-m you seem to be quite the spammer dont you?
What do you know about map making, bitch?

natty_dread wrote:I was wrong


Top Score:2403
User avatar
Corporal 1st Class gimil
 
Posts: 8599
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:42 pm
Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby yeti_c on Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:47 am

RjBeals wrote:Hmm.. Have volcanoes in the center with neutral regions around it - first one to the top of the volcanoes wins ! Naa...


Sounds a bit like my Everest idea!!

C.
Image
Highest score : 2297
User avatar
Lieutenant yeti_c
 
Posts: 9624
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:02 am

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby t-o-m on Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:27 pm

gimil wrote:
t-o-m wrote:lol


t-o-m you seem to be quite the spammer dont you?

dont threadjack ;)
User avatar
Major t-o-m
 
Posts: 2916
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:22 pm

Re: Photoshop Tutorial: Cool HAWAII map

Postby gimil on Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:31 pm

t-o-m wrote:
gimil wrote:
t-o-m wrote:lol


t-o-m you seem to be quite the spammer dont you?

dont threadjack ;)


t-o-m dont push your luck ;)

[/thread jacking stops here]
What do you know about map making, bitch?

natty_dread wrote:I was wrong


Top Score:2403
User avatar
Corporal 1st Class gimil
 
Posts: 8599
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:42 pm
Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)

Next

Return to Tools & Guides

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users