# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Board Game Mapping >  Hexmaps

## Paracelsus

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around this fantastic web site for a while now, taking to me all kinds of good advice which I have been using making different kind of maps, mostly for fun.

Now I have come to the point where I would like to make my own strategy games mostly based on rules from already existing board games e.g. the Europa Series.
I would like to make my own boards from either computer crafted maps or from hand drawn maps. The question is how do I "hexmap" these?

I would like to make two different kind of boards:

- A board with a hexmap overlay (both numbered and un-numbered)
- A board where all borders, shorelines, rivers etc. follow the hexgrid

Does anyone know how to make this in e.g. Photoshop?

/Paracelsus

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## Sapiento

There's a small program called DrawHexGrid. Works perfectly and you have a lot of options when you create a hex grid.

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## Paracelsus

Thank you, Sapiento.

I'll see if it's what I'm looking for.  :Smile:

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## timallen

That's the one I use if I need a hex grid.  When you do a save, it even copies to the clipboard so I can paste it directly into Photoshop, which is nice.  Mind you, that is All it does; create a hex grid.  You will need Photoshop or some other similar software package to add anything onto, into, over or under it.  And learning how to do That is the hard part.

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## Lilltiger

I would recommend Inkscape (open source) for things like this, you load the image into a layer and then make a new layer on top of it and use the vector-drawing tools in inkscape to draw the grid.

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## RobA

> I would recommend Inkscape (open source) for things like this, you load the image into a layer and then make a new layer on top of it and use the vector-drawing tools in inkscape to draw the grid.


There is an Inkscape extension that can generate hexes (labeled and unlabeled, with center dots, and without): https://github.com/lifelike/hexmapextension

Project site is here: I Boardgames Extensions

-Rob A>

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## jezelf

hi 

there's also this Hex PS action that I posted on another thread if it helps

I've not tried it, from the picture here, doesn't appear to generate numbers, so perhaps the solutions above are better for you. But it might be worth checking out if you're still stuck.  on the 'other thread' there's also a link to a map generator. We had some problems getting that one to work, though.



"HexGen is the answer to all your tabletop wargaming wishes! Generate a hexagonal grid over any image. HexGen makes three different sizes of hex...small, medium, and large. Use HexGen with MapMaker(TM) Photoshop action for ultra-detailed tabletop gaming!"

You'll need to register to download, but it's free.

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## arsheesh

Also, here is a link to a script that allows you to create a Hex-Grid in GIMP.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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