how to use inkscape to make tabletop maps

#HOW TO USE INKSCAPE TO MAKE TABLETOP MAPS HOW TO#
#HOW TO USE INKSCAPE TO MAKE TABLETOP MAPS SOFTWARE#

Colour: You should select colours that complement each other, draw attention to the important parts of them map, and convey the intended message.Some more specific cartographic elements that you should consider when creating map layouts are: These offer up some principles that you can use to guide your design. Labeling and Text Hierarchy in Cartography.8 Basic Principles of Design to Help You Create Awesome Graphics.The following are a few links to articles on principles of design: Reading up on these will give you ideas of concepts you should consider while designing your maps. Principles of design and cartographic design have both been written on extensively.The cartographic community has quite a few online resources to share maps, receive feedback, and browse other creations. Some advantages of a well-designed map include: higher professionality, higher engagement with viewer attention, conveying of information more effectively, and invoking intended impressions from viewers. Not only will working on design improve the visual appeal of a map, but it can also help convey the information better. Often, attractive design will go hand-inhand with clarity of information. Although the priority when making a map is conveying the necessary information, improving the aesthetics of the map can significantly improve its quality. Here is detailed the importance of aesthetics and design in cartography, as it is both an art and science. In this context may be regarded as including all types of maps, plans, charts, and sections, three-dimensional models and globes representing the Earth or any celestial body at any scale” (Meyen 1973, 1)

The definition of cartography from the International Cartographic Association is “The art, science, and technology of making maps, together with their study as scientific documents and works of art. This introduction will attempt to answer those questions.

#HOW TO USE INKSCAPE TO MAKE TABLETOP MAPS HOW TO#

The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to edit the appearance of a map made in QGIS by importing it into Inkscape as a scalable vector graphic (SVG).Īfter reading the purpose you might be asking yourself “Why bother? Are the default settings in QGIS not good enough?”. 5.6 Improving the Legend and Finishing the Layout.5.3 Transitioning from QGIS to Inkscape.

There's nothing inherent in the JPG file that needs to be done to make it VT compatible, except for total map size. As long as I create content with recognizeable points of elevation (through the use of bevels in Xara), the user determines what blocks vision, based on the map. The user delineates what blocks for fog of war - walls, trees, etc.

#HOW TO USE INKSCAPE TO MAKE TABLETOP MAPS SOFTWARE#

Many VT apps have fog of war capability, but that isn't contingent on the map, rather its a software function.

So I generally create larger mapped areas at 100 ppi which accommodates most software, allowing users to rescale in Photoshop if they require a change in scale or resolution. So obviously, my current product isn't optimized for such a small size and wouldn't probably work for that software, however, most software, the sizes I create are appropriate.Īlso some VT apps vary in what resolution it uses, somewhere between 50 and 200 pixels per inch is the norm. I recently did map commissions for Legendary Games, and because their Kickstarter is working closely with one particular phone app VT software, I was required to slice the map into 2048 x 2048 pixel areas. For example Roll20 allows using 72 x 72 inch at 72 dpi JPGs, but most VT-apps are much smaller map areas, more 24 x 24 inches. Now they all work with JPG maps fine, but its the size requirements that are the issue, it varies from app to app. The issue with VT, is there are so many apps out there, and many of them use different parameters. I generally use JPG for whole maps and PNG files for map objects. RayI myself, don't use virtual tabletop rather a printed map with minis played at a live table, but I have regular contact with a number of developers and major users of vt-apps, like MapTools, Fantasy Grounds, Battlegrounds, etc. does this affect how you do your maps at all? I think I read some where that the software that operates the screen can provide fog of war for the maps. Having never seen a game played on virtual tabletop, I have seen picture which shows a large screen that the players can see. What type of file do you proved for the virtual tabletop? Do you have to do anything special for the tabletop use?

How to use inkscape to make tabletop maps