# Mapping Resources > Tutorials/How-To >  [Award Winner] A medieval town map tutorial in Photoshop

## pyrandon

My purpose in this tutorial is to show how to create a Photoshop map of a medieval town containing a great deal of flexibilitymeaning it could be either used as a photorealistic map or (with the help of one or more Photoshop filters) an artistic map.  Above and beyond this, I also tried very hard to streamline the process so the map could be created exceedingly quickly.  Flexibility and speed:  two cartography goals worth pursuing, I think, if a high degree of quality can be maintained.

I am assuming you know the basics of Photoshop, such as selecting items, layer manipulation, brush use, etc.  The most advanced techniques I'll use are layer masks and layer styles--so nothing out of this world.  However, if these seem exotic to you I'd suggest you perform a quick Internet search and follow a few simple PS tutorials to become acquainted with the program.   :Smile:  

The program Ill use is Photoshop CS2, but I think everything I do works in both older or newer versions as well.   For this tutorial I also use an "Rolepalying City Map Generator" program which can be downloaded free of charge from the developer's website (see below)--but you need not utilize this application if you choose to work by hand.

Attached below is the basic map I'll create.  At the end of this tutorial I will also show "artistic" variations of this basic image created in mere seconds.

Finally, let me say I am a PS and cartography amateur, completely self-taught in both areas.  If you note any suggestions, improvements, or corrections in my work, I would be grateful if you let me know!  I write tutorials to teach myself more than for any other purpose, and I'd accept any and all assistance you can kindly offer.

On we go!

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## pyrandon

To create the basic layout of Koppollex, our medieval town-to-be, I am using the "Roleplaying City Map Generator", a free program available here:  http://www.drachenzahn.de/city_map_g...city_maps.html    This small application quickly creates the basic layout of hamlets, towns, and cities.  

[NOTE:  If you do not wish to use this application, you could alternatively create the map by hand directly into Photoshop;  if so, skip this step and move on, below.]

Once you've opened the Generator, create a town map with any settings you prefer.  One suggestion I have is to set the "Trees" toggle to zero (the trees the program generates do not gel well with the process we'll follow)  [see the image, below]

After you create a map which intrigues you, click the Export Selection as an Image;  in the screen that pops up
	retain the 1 x 1 divide section  
	select a larger file (I chose 2000 px in size, but this is really big, so be forewarned.)
	Choose Colors, and in that screen select colors for the major elements that will be easy to distinguish.  These need not be the colors you will finally use, but I created a palette in the program that closely resembles the final colors I will use;  I then saved this palette & now use it whenever exporting.  (I also suggest setting all streets & street outlines to the same color, plus squares, parks, and the background set to another color.)  [see image below]   When youre ready, save, etc., then click Take This Time.
	When ready, click Create Image and save it!

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## pyrandon

Now open Photoshop, then File->Open the .bmp file you just saved from the City Map Generator.  

Next isolate the map elements.  While there are many ways to do this (the most versatile way being in saved Chanels) let's stay simple and direct:  choose Select->Color Range, click on the background color,  play with the fuzziness to be as exact as possible, then hit "ok."  Then, with the “ants marching,” delete the background.  

Repeat this Select->Color Range process with the buildings, the river, etc.--although instead of deleting, copy-paste each element into its own, individual layer.  

•	You'll notice I did not cut & paste the walls or towers:  I found in tests it was easier to simply add them manually, later, if I choose to use them at all (for Koppollex I will not be adding walls or towers at all)

When I'm done creating layers for each element, I rename the imported image's layer "Original bmp file," then hide it by poking out the eye.  I could, in fact, delete this layer altogether, but I'm a "layer pack rat" and so I save it just in case.

Now I have the exact same image as was imported, except with no background.  So below the lowest layer I create a new layer ("background"), then use the paint bucket to fill a new layer with a solid green.  [I've pasted a screenshot image, below.]

NOTE:  If you decide not to use the Roleplaying City Map Generator, you should basically start with this step:  create a "background" layer and fill it, then draw on your roads, buildings, etc., each in its own layer.

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## pyrandon

While the Generator is a really neat program I highly recommend, remember that it is a "dumb machine"--meaning it produces roads that lead nowhere, houses in the middle of streets, odd shapes here and there, etc.   So the first true step is to examine the map and "correct" any anomalies by erasing &/or adding elements--each in their respective layers, of course.  

In the image below you can see that I added some buildings, roads, and water features, plus erased a few of the same.  As the wonderful Guild members here pointed out in a works in progress (WIP) posting I used to quality check the finished map, I could have done much more to this--especially if Koppollex is intended to be a newer, more purposefully designed city--such as either eliminating meandering roads or adding more buildings to give them a purpose, but for my purposes I worked quickly and basically.  (By the way, make sure to post your maps in the Guild's WIP forums;  you'll get very useful advice!)

The rivers and roads were added with a hard-edged brush of the required size, using the color picker ("eye-dropper") to find the right color.  The buildings were added freehand and by dabbing with a square edged brush (see image, below, for how to get to those brushes--and don't worry when it asks you to replace brush sets, you can always get back to the default brushes in the same way).  

And by the way, if you want to get really technical &/or plan to do a lot of this sort of thing, I suggest creating a set of custom "building shape" brushes that are rotated, multi-shaped, etc.  Creating custom brushes is amazingly quick & easy in Photoshop (do an Internet search & you'll learn how in about 2 minutes.)

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## pyrandon

RIVER & LAKE DETAILS
Now in a new layer just above “rivers” called “river details”, touch up your water using lighter blues (even whitish-blues) with a soft-edged brush set at a low opacity.  

•	Hint:  Before beginning, you may wish to ctrl-click the “rivers” layer (or use the magic wand on the blue);  this will select the rivers and thus prevent you from accidentally coloring outside the lines.

•	When done, you may wish to smudge the rivers to simulate a flow.  You also may wish to use Filter>Distort>Ripple filter on it.

•	Set the layer blending mode of "river details" to Lighten & play with opacity

•	Remember that deeper water is always darker


ROCKY TERRAIN
In a new layer above “background”  create a “rocks” layer—if you plan to have rocks/cliffs/mountains, etc..  

•	With a large, soft brush set at medium-low opacity & flow (30%?), draw in rocky areas in a tan/brown color.  

•	Then, with a smaller, harder-edged brush, draw in details in a darker brown (or even black);  set your brush to a more stark opacity & flow (60% or so).  It helps to draw mainly in the direction of the slope (i.e., draw "downhill" lines), with a few crosscutting them for variety!  When done, set the opacity of this layer down to around 50%    [see image below]

•	Finally, add a layer style of “Bevel and Emboss”—inner bevel, smooth.  Also play with the highlight mode (I turned mine to overlay to cut on the glare!).  Finally in that layer style box, add texture (one of the stock ones was used for mine) & contour (my range was dropped to 40%)   [You can see my settings, below.  Note from the uppermost screen that I already determined the angle and altitude of the shading;  this will be explained below, but it's time to decide from which direction your light source will shine.)

If, after applying, you can still see the lines you drew, either lower the layer's opacity OR run a Gaussian Blur on the layer.


HINT:  Once you like your settings in the layer style window, click the "New Style" button & give it a name.  Next map, after drawing your squiggles, pull up the layer style menu, click "Styles" and you'll see yours listed.  Click it and BAM!  Instant style!  [see image, below]

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## pyrandon

The construction of this map is not 3D, although the end result hopefully shows some slight illusion of such.  While there are a few ways of achieving a 3D "height map" in Photoshop (such as displacement maps), and while cartographers often demonstrate elevations by color (hypsometrically), I chose instead the extremely simple method of darkening lower elevations, then adding shadows.

Create a new layer above all others called elevations, and set the layer blend mode to multiply.  

Choose a large, soft-edged brush of your choice (I like to use a textured one), set to around 10% opacity & 10% flow.  Then...

	Color with black all elevation areas EXCEPT the highest "peak(s)" of the hill(s).  [see image, below].   HINT:  keep your mouse/pen held down for the entire painting of the dark color;  this will maintain consistency with no darker overlapping.  You can also run a Gaussian Blur on the layer if you notice overlaps or edges.

	Create another new layer above "elevations", set its blending to "Multiply", and repeat the darkening process, darkening everything but the next highest peaks of hills.  Do this over and over so the lowest valleys are the darkest.  [see image, below]    

	Dont be afraid to go dark!  Later you can always lighten up with the opacity of the layer--or even play with the brightness adjustments, levels, and such.

	If you havent already, decide from which direction the light source is shining (in mine its upper-right) & then shadow on the opposite sides of hills, etc.  This will add to the a sense of 3 dimensionality.  [see image, below]

	Once done, merge all elevations layers.  You may wish to play with the opacity of the "elevations" layer &/or run a final Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

	To create even more depth and interest, copy the final elevations layer on top of the original, then set the copy to a different blending mode (such as darken, color burn, etc.)

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## pyrandon

BUILDINGS
Let's give the buildings some life now.  Ctrl-click (or Apple-click) in the Buildings layer to select the buildings, then add some random color variations with a small, soft brush;  since the buildings are selected you should be able to draw quickly without leaving the lines.  

Then apply a couple layer styles:  Drop Shadow first, then Bevel & Emboss.  [You can see my settings in the image, below.  The texture I'm using is simply a pattern I created out of a picture of a brick wall.]

Now copy this "buildings" layer on top of itself.   Gaussian Blur the new layer, then drop the opacity way down to reduce the sharp edges slightly.  

I also copied the buildings one more time on top of the other two, then set the layer blend mode to "multiply" & played with opacity.


ROADS
To create eye interest in the roads set the "roads" layer's blending mode to "overlay" and then Gaussian Blur it ever so slightly.   

Then run Filter>Texture>Texturizer, with sandstone texture set to the smallest scaling (50%) and verrrrry shallow relief.  I also ran Filter>Artistic>Paint daubs on the roads to break the monotony of the sandstone.   

Copy this layer on top of the original and set the upper's blending mode to "multiply";  play with the opacity to taste.   [see image, below]

With a darker brown I also drew in lines for bridges, which turned out fair.

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## pyrandon

GRASS
Because our green "background" layer is a bit too flat, give it some life by creating a new layer above it called "grass".  Fill that layer with an almost-white gray color, then run Filter->Artistic->Sponge, with settings around:  brush size 3, definition 15, smoothness 4  (play with these to taste, of course).  

Next set the "grass" layer's blending mode to "multiply" & down the opacity to 60-70% or so.  (you may also wish to run a Gaussian Blur on it very lightly to downplay the edges.)   [see image]


TREES
Of the many ways to add forests, I chose to use a seamless tile I previously created from a picture of some trees.  And may I say that creating that one pattern was an amazingly useful project--I highly recommend you do the same!   (You can easily be taught how to create both a seamless tile and how to define a pattern in about 10 minutes by doing an Internet search).

First click Layer->New Fill Layer->Pattern, and name it "trees";  in the next screen, choose your tree pattern at whatever scale you deem best.  The entire image will instantly be covered with forests.  Then use the paint bucket to fill the "trees" layer with solid black--all the forests will disappear.

Now with a white brush of your choice, draw wherever you want trees, and the trees will appear!  I used a large brush to create forest areas and smaller brush to dab in individual trees;  I also used some of the spotty brushes to break up the solid edges.

Now, your trees are placed, but they probably look very flat next to the other 3D-ish details of the map.  So add a Drop shadow, Inner shadow, Bevel & Emboss (inner bevel, chisel hard) + texture set to the same tree pattern with which you filled the layer.

There you have it!  [see image, below]


GROUND COVER
Finally, let's add some random shrubbery and ground cover.  Create a new layer above the "trees" layer called "vegetation".  Set layer style settings close to your "trees" layer [see my settings in the image, below].

Then choose a smaller stipple brush set to 40-50% opacity and fill.  With various greens, browns, etc. either dab or draw in ground cover.  Change brush tips, colors, and opacity/fill often for more detail and realism.  (One note:  the harder the brush & higher the fill/opacity, the taller the vegetation will appear, for the shadows and such will be more pronounced.)

You can even draw on top of the trees you just placed to lend them further dimension.   
[see image below]

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## ravells

Superb tutorial Don! [delete this message if it interferes with continuity]

Ravs

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## pyrandon

The bulk of the grunt work is now done, so time to step back and assess.  Most likely the first thing you'll notice is that the entire map is quite dark.  The best way to lighten it up is adding an adjustment layer as the top layer in your stack (Layer->New Adjustment Layer);  which type you choose is up to you:  Brightness/Contrast is easiest, Levels allows a little more control, and Curves boasts most control but can be tricky.

You could also play with the color scheme in this same way by adding an adjustment layer for Color Balance.  Even the Photo Filter can offer some interesting, subtle color effects.

Also, if colors look a bit too neon/pastel for your tastes, add an adjustment layer for hue/saturation.

This is really just the "play" stage, so try a few things to near your vision for your map.

Below is the before & after version of my map, showing the adjusted colors and brlightening.

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## pyrandon

FIELDS
First, I decided last-minute to add farm fields.  I created a new layer called "fields" just below the "elevations" layer, set its blending mode to "overlay," and filled it entirely with a dirt-brown color.  Then I ran Filter->Texture->Texturizer on it, set to canvas with high scaling (125%) and low relief (10).  Then place a layer mask on it and fill with black so all the "fields" disappear.  

Then use a white color to paint in fields where you want them.  To finish them off, blur the mask a bit (make sure the mask is highlighted in the layers display, not the brown!), and play with Image->Adjustments settings such as brightness/contrast, levels, and color balance.  If you wish, you can also blur the fields themselves, plus use stippling brushes to enter tiny little rows of crops, etc.  Opacity of the layer could be adjusted too, to blend with the rest of the landscape a bit.


TEXT
Next choose a font and label your locations.  When you're done, ctrl-click them all and Layer->Merge Down.  Then place a layer style of drop shadow, making settings fit your tatses.  I also placed a very slight guassian blur (3 px.) to soften the hard edges.

If you wish, you can also increase the canvas size (Edit->Canvas Size) and frame the map by creating and filling a new layer as the lowermost of the stack.


IMAGE SIZE
If you plan to print this map, size really will not matter:  you'll print it to the largest size you can manage.  If working in a digital environment only, think about how closely you'd ideally want the viewer to zoom.  This style of map is not intended to be looked at through a microscope, thus I scaled my image down to 900px square;  this way 100% zoom is the perfect, closest distance I'd like someone's eye to get a clear shot.


For all intents & purposes this is a finished, usable, "realistic" map!  [see image, below]      In the next post, though, I'll give some other ideas for post-production filters and fun tweaks to transform "Koppollex" into a more "artistic" map.

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## Joshua_101

Forgive me, but what font did you use to label your map? It looks great!

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## pyrandon

Now, the above style is perfect for a finished map, but I myself prefer to utilize the power of Photoshop's many filters to create a somewhat more "artistic" appearance.  With filters the sky is the limit as to which look you choose for your finished map.

PRE-FILTERING
Before filtering do the following:

1.  Group all your text (if in more than one layer) by ctrl-clicking them all, then clicking the "create a new group" folder in the layers window

2.  In the same way also group the entire map ASIDE FROM your matte/frame.  I named my new group "map elements".  

3.  Drag the group containing your map elements to the  "create a new layer" button, which creates a new group.   Then Layer->Merge Group.  I renamed mine "map".   This layer will serve as your copy-able map upon which you can run multiple filters;  you will not change this layer.

4.  Copy the new "map" layer and rename it "filtered map".  This layer will be the actual layer you will filter.

5.  Hide both "map elements" and "map", and lock all layers other than "filtered map".

[see image, below, for how your layers window should end up.]


FILTERS

The first is one of my favorites:  poster edges.  The layers are, from top to bottom:
1. Dry brush--very smudgy, set to 30% opacity
2. Poster edges, set darker/thicker.  This was then Gaussian blurred up, & set to 30% opacity
3. Poster edges, thin & clean

The next is basically the same, but using the watercolor filter.  This one is too smudgy to be used as a detailed location map, perhaps, but I think it has a pleasing appearance.
1. Watercolored with medium shadows & high detail, then blurred slightly.  Layer set to "lighten" & 50% opacity
2.  Watercolored with 0 shadow & high detail.  Blurred only about 3 px.

These are two of a million varieties, my friends.  You could even go back and filter individual elements or combinations of the original elements, such as I did with the third map.  For that one I chose the basic roads, homes, elevation, river, rocks, & trees, copied them onto one layer set to "multiply", then Filter->sharpen->sharpen edges about 5 times.  Then I ran the cutout filter.  For the background I changed my black frame to brown & ran the texturizer filter as canvas.  I also messed with opacity and doubled up a couple filters, but you get the idea.

There you are!  I hope you found this tutorial at least mildly useful!  Take care.

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## pyrandon

The font I used is called Aniron.  It's Lord of the Rings-type font available here:  http://www.thehutt.de/tolkien/fonts.html

 :Smile:

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## ravells

I love the fellowship font. Great find, Don!

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## Sigurd

I so appreciate you tying this back to a free random generator. Photoshop ability tied to Gaming Foresight!


Thanks a lot.

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## RPMiller

> I so appreciate you tying this back to a free random generator. Photoshop ability tied to Gaming Foresight!
> 
> 
> Thanks a lot.


Welcome to the Guild Sigurd! Always a pleasure to meet new folks and get feedback. Please feel free to hang out and look around, and post comments and questions. You'll find that we are a very friendly bunch and really want to help each other the best we can.

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## pyrandon

Hey thanks, Sigurd!  While that free generator is by no means awesome, I've really found it 1) saves me time on some grunt work, and 2) creates patterns that spark my creativity!

Welcome to the Guild, BTW--make sure to post a "hi" in the Member Introduction area!  Thanks for your comment, too.

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## delgondahntelius

Very informative tutorial indeed, Kudo's to pyrandon and such a thorough step-by-step walk through. When I grow up, I wanna be just like you  :Smile:

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## pyrandon

Hahaha--careful what you wish for!   :Wink:

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## Airith

I haven't had a chance to look through it too thoroughly, in a hurry here, but would that also work with GIMP?

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## pyrandon

I'm not a gimp user, Airith, so I can't speak directly to this--although some of our GIMPgurus (namely, RobA) have adapted successfully the procedures from PS, so it must be possible.  

I would suggest you give it a shot & whenever you get stuck, post either in this thread or start a new one and ask for help.  I can all but garuntee you'll get it!

Good luck, and sorry I'm not more help!

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## RobA

I've worked through it with GIMP.  Somewhere I have scribbled noted on the differences from PS at certain steps.  The biggest was in the use of layer effects (GIMP doesn't have them).

Like Don stated, plug through it and if you get stuck, post a question.

-Rob A>

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## nichollsr

Hello there,

Id really like to use the city desinger software but I keep getting this error message:-

Component tabctl32.ocx or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid


Im using a Windows Vista Home Edition on a 2.33ghz dual core process. Anyone know how i can fix this ? 

Regards


Roger

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## ravells

if it's a profantasy product, I suggest you go to their website and ask there. They're pretty good at getting back to people quickly.

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## nichollsr

No sorry i wasnt very clear - i meant the city designing software used for this tutorial "RPG City Map Generator".

Regards

Roger

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## ravells

Ah...it may not be vista compatible (I use XP, so I don't know). Is there a contact address on the website? Might be worth shooting an email to the developer.

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## Steel General

> Ah...it may not be vista compatible (I use XP, so I don't know). Is there a contact address on the website? Might be worth shooting an email to the developer.


Actually it does work in Vista, just bought a new PC and tried it for myself. You may need to run it in an XP Compatible window.

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## jezelf

Nice tutorial. Like your result!

I couldn't download the program - well I could, but I get 

" The compressed (Zipped ) Folder is invalid or corrupted "  then when I try to unzip, it'll tell me it's an empty zip file. 

I've sent an email to them (which you can find on this page )  I'm happy to wait. can't compain with these cool freewares!  :Very Happy: 

Looking forward to having a go!



<edit> It's fine now. Installed ok no problems - bit weird that. Anyway I got an email back from Christian with in minutes of my query.  I just shutdown Explorer and opened it again. then tried again. If anyone else had similar problems here's his response.

"I just checked, but it worked without problems. Maybe it helps if you clear your cache/temporary internet files etc., and try again? Probably an error occured during download, and when you try the download again, your PC just takes the corrupted file from you local cache."

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## nolgroth

Sadly, it appears that the host website for the Roleplaying City Map Generator is down.  I will have to rummage through the home system to see if I can find it later.

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## ravells

I think its the same generator, if you go to this thread you will find that someone has posted the programme in zip form for download until the the host site is back up again.

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## nolgroth

> I think its the same generator, if you go to this thread you will find that someone has posted the programme in zip form for download until the the host site is back up again.


Awesome.  Thanks.  :Smile:

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## Korash

I saw this tut and seeing as I already had the RPCG, I decided to give it a try in Gimp. This is the WIP thread - http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4331

Work is slow however due to the lack of serious time to work on it.

Any and all thoughts, comments and critiques welcome.

:edit: Oh, and repped and rated

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## Blaidd Drwg

I saw this tut and I really wanted to give it a try. Here's my first attempt. I'm not completely happy with it yet (but it's WIP, so), but hey, I never would have known how to do this without this fantastic tut.

Rep to you  :Wink:

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## LadyMerlin

Hey, I'm new.

I was trying to make some maps for my RPG game and this was fantastic!

Thanks so much, my map isn't great but it's my first go and I'll def. refer to this again! Thank you!

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## Korash

Well M'Lady, you should post up your work in the Wip threads so we could help make any inprovements in your technique. The C & C that you will get from the WIP threads will bring you forward by leaps and bounds. It is also THE best way to track you progress. In a very short time I am sure that you will have people asking how you did things  :Smile: 

Welcome to the CG and see you in the WIPs  :Very Happy:

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## bblackmoor

> Sadly, it appears that the host website for the Roleplaying City Map Generator is down.




It is mirrored here:

http://www.rpglibrary.org/software/r...map_generator/

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## shantedracule

lol I just tracked this down to post it here as well... Prolly should have read through to see if some one else already did it.

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## supertab

its very nice thanks for the post !!

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## PeterRJG

Thanks for the link to this. It's an amazing program.

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## shantedracule

ok So used this tut with gimp. Biggest problem I am having is the buildings, I cant get them to seem right. The WIP is listed here


So for those that have some experience with this tut and Gimp please help me out. You can see the steps to my product through the WIP.

Also if you want you can post the suggestions either here or in the wip

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## RobA

To be tru to the tutorial, you need to bevel the buildings.  You can do that with either the gimp layer effects plugin (two different variants are available - one in scheme/script-fu and the other in python, assuming you have python installed), my chisel script, or the manual way (1) make a selection of the buildings - hopefully just alpha to selection, assuming the buildings are all on their own layer 2) Create a new layer and fill the selection with a shapeburst (angular) gradient 3) emboss that layer at an altitude of 30 degrees 4) set the layer mode to overlay --- instant "roofs")

-Rob A>

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## icedsnake

just made a couple attempt with the TuT , NICE WORK really , after the 3rd i made it almost right ;P still i am not close to your terrain quality hehe , i might just need some practice or maybe a couple tips on how to make the terrain and mountain looks perfect ;0)

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## rhett.moeller

The Roleplaying City Map Generator application referenced above seems to no longer be available at the given URL.  I was able to find a clean, working, and free copy of it at http://www.megaupload.com/?d=xz9panj2.  I scanned my copy and found nothing, but won't guarantee anything beyond that.

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## Decarazor

great tut but I gots problems with the mountain/hills....the texture comes out way too bold and the dark lines on top of the hill for downhill accents are so apparent it's horrid....so I tuned the settings on the texture and it's just not the way yours looks. I realize it will take time to practice to get it right....but i'm waaaaaaay off base here. I can get the lines to sorta look okay. but if you could provide any more detailed help on just the hills I'd be very thankful!  :Smile:

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## Decarazor

I've attached a jpg of the problem i'm experiencing.....lack of knowledge i'm sure of it  :Wink: 

again, great informative tutorial.....i'm just missing something  :Question:

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## Decarazor

Yeah, never mind. Got it all figured out!  :Smile:

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## agresszor

Dear pyrandon i try make this but what you do after step 5 :



for this:



The houses and roads ok, but how looking soo good the second image?

A new lighter layer, or some light source?

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## ravells

Hi aggreszzor...Pyrandon hasn't been around the guild for a few years now (but we keep his glass full and his seat warm). I'm afraid you're not likely to get a reply from him. Looking at the question you asked, I think you probably need to apply a bevel/emboss to the houses to get the roof shading.

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## agresszor

Hi ravells!

I join becouse this map  :Smile:  when i found here.

When i said houses and roads ok i wanted to say i can do them. But i cant make this nice "3d, heightmapped" landscape.

Here my pathetic attempt:



I must make Pyrandon style landscape or...  :Frown: 

If Pyrandon make a youtube video from this tutorial i could learn all small detail. But if Pyrandon hasn't been here, i think it will never happen.

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## Ascension

I think what you have looks pretty good.  The main thing that I think you would be happier with is if you could diminish the brush-tip feel to the strokes you're making.  To do that turn the opacity down a little further before painting the shadows.  It will take longer but the result will be nicer.

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## ravells

Ahhh I see. In addition to what Ascension has suggested try using and 'Burn' Brushes set to midtones.

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## Blaidd Drwg

Ik can't find the Roleplaying City Map Generator anymore. The link you provided in the second post now leads to a browser game  :Frown: 
Is it still available somewhere?

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## ravells

Yes! Here: http://roleplaying-city-map-generato...ormer.com/5.4/

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## Blaidd Drwg

That only seems to link to the same game, again. Unless I'm missing something.
Meh  :Frown:

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## ravells

Here you go

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## Blaidd Drwg

Wonderful! Thanks ^^

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## ZDPhoenix

> Now open Photoshop, then File->Open the .bmp file you just saved from the City Map Generator.  
> 
> Next isolate the map elements.  While there are many ways to do this (the most versatile way being in saved Chanels) let's stay simple and direct:  choose Select->Color Range, click on the background color,  play with the fuzziness to be as exact as possible, then hit "ok."  Then, with the ants marching, delete the background.  
> 
> Repeat this Select->Color Range process with the buildings, the river, etc.--although instead of deleting, copy-paste each element into its own, individual layer.  
> 
> 	You'll notice I did not cut & paste the walls or towers:  I found in tests it was easier to simply add them manually, later, if I choose to use them at all (for Koppollex I will not be adding walls or towers at all)
> 
> When I'm done creating layers for each element, I rename the imported image's layer "Original bmp file," then hide it by poking out the eye.  I could, in fact, delete this layer altogether, but I'm a "layer pack rat" and so I save it just in case.
> ...



I'm a lil lost with exactly how I'd go about putting each element into its own layer. Can anyone elaborate on this, or even just a few screens detailing this part? I'm an absolute newb to using photoshop in this manner.

For instance, I selected the color blue of the stream, changed fuzziness and while selected, deleted it. How is it supposed to have it's own layer after I deleted it?

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## Ascension

If you want to keep the blue river on its own layer you need to select the inverse of the blue that you selected.  So, using the select - color range function you can choose your blue but then you need to go to select - inverse then hit the delete key.  That will delete everything not blue.  Then remember to select - deselect (ctrl-d).

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## Midgardsormr

Or instead of deleting stuff, once you have what you want selected (before you inverse), use Ctrl-J to copy the selected pixels to a new layer.

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## ZDPhoenix

> Or instead of deleting stuff, once you have what you want selected (before you inverse), use Ctrl-J to copy the selected pixels to a new layer.


That's it!

Thanks. That made life a lot easier!

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## daftPirate

Has anyone ever managed to create an island/coastal settlement with this program? If so, how did you pull it off?

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## killermarmot

Hey guys, my first post here, I just wanted to say that I found this tutorial to be awesome! I came up with something fairly good on my first try, and I made it especially difficult on myself by making it coastal. So, here's my first attempt, and if you have any questions about the coastal work, daftpirate, I'll do my best to answer

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## Katto

Very good for a first map! I suggest to open a WIP thread for it.

Edit: Oops, you already did.

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## Ankalegon

very well done. i learned alot

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## Joubarbe

Hi, great tutorial, especially for the shadows. But unfortunately for me, this is the part that I don't understand  :Smile:  
When you say "add shadows" after darken areas, what do you mean exactly ? The difference between your two screenshots before/after are amazing (page 17/18 of the PDF) but I can't achieve that  :Frown: 

Thanks anyway !

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## anomiecoalition

This is a really great tutorial.  When working through these things, I have a much easier time with a printed copy...so, I copied the relevant posts and pictures into a pdf (attached to this post).

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## mindxing

I'm very new to all of this and I'm trying to do this tutorial using Gimp.  Was doing ok until I got to the rocks/mountains part.  But now I'm very much lost.  If anyone has the patience to help me with this I would greatly appreciate it.  This image shows where I'm at.  Do I even have the dark lines drawn correctly???

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## BanMedo

amazing tutorial  :Very Happy:  thank you, i learned something awesome.~

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