u/Dubolom1980

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A small mapmaking tip: scan your map at every stage

Maybe this is obvious, but I thought it might be useful to someone.

Whenever I draw a map, I make a scan at every major stage. I just use my phone camera, though obviously a proper scanner works too.

Coastlines and basic outlines — scan.

Terrain — scan.

Settlements and roads — scan.

Names — scan.

And so on.

This means I can always print an earlier “clean” version and modify it without worrying about ruining the original. I can also use the same base map to make political, strategic, physical, or pretty much any other kind of map of the same area.

It’s probably not very useful if your map is meant to be a finished piece of artwork (not that I know how to make those anyway), but for maps that are actually used in a game, I find it really handy.

You might say, “Hey, man! You know you can just do all this on a computer, right? You can use layers! It’s much easier!”

And you’d be right. But I still like doing it by hand.

Sorry for the machine translation — I don’t speak English

For 15 years, I resisted building a permanent staircase to the attic. I really didn’t want the women in my family (my wife, mother-in-law, and daughters) to fill the attic with old, useless stuff.

You might say, “Hey! You can just throw old, useless stuff away!”

I think so too! But I’m a deeply married man. And therefore, my opinion doesn’t count.

So the women started piling up junk right under the attic hatch and demanding access to the attic...

I had to surrender.

Built it from whatever I had on hand, using my own crooked hands.

Sorry for the machine translation — English is not my first language.

Это несколько рисунков из моего ваншота. Казалось бы, не стоит заморачиваться для простых локаций, но мне проще водить когда я смотрю на фиксированные объекты. Да, это не для игроков, это для меня. Если я описываю всё просто из воображения, то есть вероятность (близкая к 100%), что через час напрочь забуду что где стояло. Да и нравится мне рисовать, хоть и не умею.

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I posted these drawings and paper miniatures here before, but for some reason my old account got banned.

There are countless amazing works by talented artists online, and the selection is huge. But I enjoy making my own. They're far from perfect, but they're exactly what I wanted.

Here are some inventory cards for players (I redrew one of them at the request of an English-speaking acquaintance) and a few paper miniatures.

This text was machine-translated because I don't speak English.

I posted these paper miniatures here before, but Reddit somehow banned my old account.

Some of these miniatures were made for a specific game, while others were just for fun. Most of them never ended up being used.

This text was machine-translated because I don't speak English.

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I like drawing simple paper maps for tabletop RPGs that players can actually hold in their hands. They're not really necessary, but I think they add to the atmosphere.

They aren't perfect, but they show exactly what I need them to.

I redrew one of the maps at the request of an English-speaking acquaintance.

This text was machine-translated because I don't speak English.