Drawing map. How to draw a beautiful territory map. The card doesn't have to be pretty.
Long gone are the days when it was enough to indicate the address and phone number on the contact page. Today, any company that values its customers must place a location map next to the address. This is very convenient, including in terms of UX. Create a simple card You can get directions using the Yandex.Maps constructor or Google Map. But sometimes something more complicated is required - for example, a map may be needed for a presentation or for creating infographics. In this case, you can use special online tools to create custom maps. Some of these tools allow you to create interactive maps that present information in the most user-friendly way. FreelanceToday brings you 10 free map creation tools.
Animaps service expands functionality Google Maps, allowing you to create maps with animated markers. Markers move around the map, showing, for example, the route of movement. A very useful service for creating interactive infographics. With the help of Animaps, you can create a whole story about any event, accompanied by text blocks and illustrations.
The easy-to-use Scribble Maps service has many tools for creating almost any kind of map. You can make a regular route map, but at the same time, the service can be useful for designers who would like to create colorful infographics. Scribble Maps has the ability to add text, images, draw and paint over various geometric figures, place markers and much more. If you need a map-based infographic, there is no better tool. The finished map can be posted on a website, blog, or sent to a client, saving it in PDF format.
The creators of the MapTiler service made sure that the maps created by the user are displayed on any device. MapTiler is one of the most convenient applications for preparing tiles using the Google Maps API. Unfortunately, the free version of the program has very limited functionality, with which you can create only the most basic maps.
HeatmapTool is the best online service for creating very accurate heat maps. With the help of such a map, you can quickly visualize data using different colors. The service allows you to control the radius, scaling and opacity of heat spots. Information can be updated in real time. What was it created for? this service? First of all, for the visual display of any statistical data in a pre-selected region. You can make fairly complex maps, for example, using the service, you can show the coverage of the cellular network, the population density in the country, and much more. The service is very powerful, with its help you can quickly process even very large amounts of statistical data.
Since the acquisition of Nokia, Microsoft has significantly improved its mapping service Bing Maps. Nokia maps have always been highly detailed and have good coverage, so you don't have to worry about accuracy. The functionality of the service cannot boast of diversity, but tracks, markers and geometric shapes are enough to create a fairly informative map. It is also possible to add images and text comments. After the work is completed, the result must be saved, after which Bing Maps will generate a link and code for embedding the map on the site.
The friendly user interface of the Click2Map service will help you quickly and easily create interactive maps of any complexity. The powerful functionality of the service will allow you to create professional cards as soon as possible. With the help of a large set of icons, you can personalize the map if you want to talk about a particular field of activity. Thematic markers will allow users to easily navigate the map. Markers can also be used to locate a specific point. Marker supports different kinds content - text, images, HTML code. To get access to all the features of the service, you will have to subscribe to a paid subscription, however, if you register a free account, you can create maps with a limited number of markers, a maximum of 10.
Mapping service ZeeMaps makes it easy to create, publish and share interactive maps. The service works on the basis of Google Map and with its help you can create even a very complex map with a lot of data. Statistics can be imported from Excel, Access, MS Outlook and other programs. There are no restrictions on the number of markers, information can be changed at any time at the request of the user. You can add pictures, text, audio files, and YouTube videos to markers.
The UMapper application allows you to create embedded flash cards. The UMapper visual editor is intuitive and can be used to add markers, draw shapes, and add interactive elements to the map. The service takes map data from Microsoft Virtual Earth, Google, Yahoo, OpenStreet, which makes it truly universal. With the help of the application, you can even earn money - if the created card receives 50 thousand views in a month, the service will transfer $12.50 to the user's account. The disadvantages of UMapper include a watermark that appears on the map when using free version and showing embedded advertisements on the map.
GmapGis is a simple online application for drawing on google maps. You can place markers, measure the distance between two points on the map, draw lines and geometric shapes. All the functionality is presented at the top of the page, so there will be no problems using the service - everything is very clear. The result can be saved as a file or as a link. When using GmapGIS, a problem may occur - the user cannot draw a line or draw a shape. In this case, the developers recommend closing and reopening the browser. After that, you will have full access to all functionality.
1) We drive the cat and take a sheet of drawing paper (it’s good when it’s not just whatman paper, but paper with some kind of texture, such as watercolor). 
2) To make it convenient for us to draw, and the pictures were even and did not warp, we stretch the paper on the tablet. To do this, we soak it well with water, put it on the tablet and smooth it so that there are no air bubbles left. 
3) We bend the edges of the paper and glue them to the tablet with PVA glue, Moment-crystal or Titanium. First we glue one side, then the opposite side (slightly pulling). Then, in turn, glue the two remaining sides. 
4) We carefully bend the corners and also glue them. 
5) The tablet is stretched and now it needs to be toned in a pleasant shade of old parchment. 
6) To do this, we go to the bathroom so as not to spread dirt on the desktop. Again we drive out the cat, which managed to get over there and is thrilled on the warm floor. 
7) We dilute a concentrated solution of coffee in any container. The cheaper the coffee, the better (there is more dye))) 
8) We can take a sponge and gently blot all the coffee paper, but we are real artists, so we just splash the coffee on the paper and smear it with our hands. Doctor, in this spot, I see... 
9) The paper on the tablet will go in small waves, but do not worry about it - after drying, they will smooth out. Our coffee can flow into these waves, so from time to time you need to tilt the tablet in different directions, dispersing these puddles. 
10) I was too lazy to do it, so the coffee dried up with drips. Sometimes they are even beautiful, but this time I don’t need them and I smear them with a wet piece of cotton wool. 
11) Haha! then we draw the tablet into rectangles (I chose the size 85x125 mm) and draw maps (for example, you can take real maps and copy from them, anyway, you won’t get exactly the same and you will have your own author’s interpretation!) First, the most difficult thing is pictures. We draw with black ink and pen, paint with pencils (or paints, as you like). With a white pencil, you can lighten some areas a little (it looks very advantageous on tinted paper). Draw freely and calmly, do not be shy if it seems to you that you are drawing some kind of nonsense. Believe that neatly made, even cards will look good with ANY pictures, as long as the king can be distinguished from the lady))) Although in this case there is a letter designation in the corner of the card. 
12) In order not to suffer with the second half of the cards, I photographed them and printed them out. Next, transfer them to the tablet known way: reverse side shade the pictures with a soft pencil, and outline with a pen on top. The pencil leaves an imprint. 
13) For greater effect, draw a golden stroke along the edge of the card (with acrylic paint, marker or gel pen). Pencil drawing MUST be fixed with a special aerosol varnish. 
14) After the varnish has completely dried, cut off the paper from the tablet. 
15) And the sheet is perfectly even! 
16) We stretch the tablet again, we need to draw cards with numbers. I am sure that you have never paid attention to how the suit icons are arranged in tens-eights-sixes and other small things))) We are studying this issue, drawing diagrams for memory. 
17) We create a kind of modular grid to help ourselves. Here, by the way, all the peaks are drawn in the same direction and this is a mistake. One half of the spades should be turned in the opposite direction (clubs and hearts too, but with tambourines it's all the same, they are symmetrical))). 
18) Again we take out black and (mmmmm!) - warm red carmine ink and draw all digital maps. 
19) Next, using a knife and an iron ruler, we separate all the cards from each other. No matter how we measure - they will not work perfectly even, do not strive for this. 
20) For a card shirt, you can either draw a picture (then scan and reproduce it) or pick up a suitable one on the Internet. I found a suitable picture in the patterns on the wallpaper of my kitchen))) 
21) We print it on the printer in the amount of 36 pieces (it fits four pieces per sheet). 
22) Let the size of the shirt be slightly larger than the card itself - this way we can better glue the edges. Easy to stick with glue stick. But it is better to use glue from a more expensive company, so that over time the glue does not dry out and the backs of your cards do not fly around like autumn leaves. We cut off the extra edges with scissors, at the same time rounding the corners of the cards. 
23) ALWAYS put our cards under the press. Preferably all night. 
1) We drive the cat and take a sheet of drawing paper (it’s good when it’s not just whatman paper, but paper with some kind of texture, such as watercolor).
2) To make it convenient for us to draw, and the pictures were even and did not warp, we stretch the paper on the tablet. To do this, we soak it well with water, put it on the tablet and smooth it so that there are no air bubbles left.
3) We bend the edges of the paper and glue them to the tablet with PVA glue, Moment-crystal or Titanium. First we glue one side, then the opposite side (slightly pulling). Then, in turn, glue the two remaining sides.
4) We carefully bend the corners and also glue them.
5) The tablet is stretched and now it needs to be toned in a pleasant shade of old parchment.
6) To do this, we go to the bathroom so as not to spread dirt on the desktop. Again we drive out the cat, which managed to get over there and is thrilled on the warm floor.
7) We dilute a concentrated solution of coffee in any container. The cheaper the coffee, the better (there is more dye)))
8) We can take a sponge and gently blot all the coffee paper, but we are real artists, so we just splash the coffee on the paper and smear it with our hands. Doctor, in this spot, I see...
9) The paper on the tablet will go in small waves, but do not worry about it - after drying, they will smooth out. Our coffee can flow into these waves, so from time to time you need to tilt the tablet in different directions, dispersing these puddles.
10) I was too lazy to do it, so the coffee dried up with drips. Sometimes they are even beautiful, but this time I don’t need them and I smear them with a wet piece of cotton wool.
11) Haha! then we draw the tablet into rectangles (I chose the size 85x125 mm) and draw maps (for example, you can take real maps and copy from them, anyway, you won’t get exactly the same and you will have your own author’s interpretation!) First, the most difficult thing is pictures. We draw with black ink and pen, paint with pencils (or paints, as you like). With a white pencil, you can lighten some areas a little (it looks very advantageous on tinted paper). Draw freely and calmly, do not be shy if it seems to you that you are drawing some kind of nonsense. Believe that neatly made, even cards will look good with ANY pictures, as long as the king can be distinguished from the lady))) Although in this case there is a letter designation in the corner of the card.
12) In order not to suffer with the second half of the cards, I photographed them and printed them out. Next, we transfer them to the tablet in a known way: we shade the reverse side of the picture with a soft pencil, and outline it on top with a pen. The pencil leaves an imprint.
13) For greater effect, draw a golden stroke along the edge of the card (with acrylic paint, marker or gel pen). Pencil drawing MUST be fixed with a special aerosol varnish.
14) After the varnish has completely dried, cut off the paper from the tablet.
15) And the sheet is perfectly even!
16) We stretch the tablet again, we need to draw cards with numbers. I am sure that you have never paid attention to how the suit icons are arranged in tens-eights-sixes and other small things))) We are studying this issue, drawing diagrams for memory.
17) We create a kind of modular grid to help ourselves. Here, by the way, all the peaks are drawn in the same direction and this is a mistake. One half of the spades should be turned in the opposite direction (clubs and hearts too, but with tambourines it's all the same, they are symmetrical))).
18) Again we take out black and (mmmmm!) - warm red carmine ink and draw all digital maps.
19) Next, using a knife and an iron ruler, we separate all the cards from each other. No matter how we measure - they will not work perfectly even, do not strive for this.
20) For a card shirt, you can either draw a picture (then scan and reproduce it) or pick up a suitable one on the Internet. I found a suitable picture in the patterns on the wallpaper of my kitchen)))
21) We print it on the printer in the amount of 36 pieces (it fits four pieces per sheet).
22) Let the size of the shirt be slightly larger than the card itself - this way we can better glue the edges. Easy to stick with glue stick. But it is better to use glue from a more expensive company, so that over time the glue does not dry out and the backs of your cards do not fly around like autumn leaves. We cut off the extra edges with scissors, at the same time rounding the corners of the cards.
23) ALWAYS put our cards under the press. Preferably all night.
Greetings. In the card video, I promised to translate the article as soon as we get 150 likes. It happened in 3.5 hours… I had to rush and keep my promise. Below is a full translation of the article, according to which I myself drew the world.
Creating a world from a map (How to draw a map)
This article was originally written for those who build own worlds for books, but in general the process is useful for anyone who wants to create a world and draw a map.
Let's state one thing from the very beginning.
The card doesn't have to be pretty.
I understand what you're thinking - these Middle Earth posters are great. Of course, the map must be beautiful. However, in terms of creating worlds, a pretty map is a Very Bad Thing. Beautiful things seem precious and we strive to leave the jewels intact. When we building worlds we need to break something, and often. So forget what we do nice card. We are making a functional map. In fact, we will make many maps, one after another. Much like notes and ideas are not a finished manuscript, a map is not a final representation of the world. This is a visual notepad and we will have to cross out, erase and rebuild everything from the very beginning.
Therefore, today we do not need Photoshop. We need a pile of paper and a pencil.
Let's create our own world
First of all, think about the "world" that you need to build. In most cases, this is a certain territory, which is much smaller than the planet on which the events take place. Very few stories really stretch all over the globe, so let's start by highlighting the zone where the events of the story take place. This will allow us to focus, and it also means that there will always be some uncharted and distant land to explore in the future.
Your story will have nations, city-states, or other forms of centers of power. Begin by briefly outlining the relationship between them. Do they howl? Or are they acting aloof? Butting for resources or close allies? Think about what makes them special. Are they known for their rich wheat fields? For iron? For the fleet? I'm sure you see the point here. Nations are defined by the geography they live in, just as we define geography by nation. A nation with a large fleet needs wide access to the sea, but it must be protected by mountain ranges, which will allow it to reduce its dependence on other troops for the fleet. The two warring parties must be close and must be able to attack each other.
Pay attention to the main types of terrain at this stage - the length of the coastlines and mountains. Make notes about other types of terrain that come to mind - these will come in handy later.
Rough forms - there are 6 interconnected nations
Now it's time to start our map. Take a pencil and draw circles at the location of your nations. Nations that are in an alliance or are at war with each other should be nearby. Those that rarely interact are further away, or there are difficult natural obstacles between them. Drawing circles sounds easy, but the step may take several attempts to build relationships between nations correctly.
Coastline. Avoid straight lines, draw a broken random line
As you understand, circles are not a map. It's time to draw the coastline. Consider which nations require a long coastline and which will be purely land based. Then let your pen dangle. Literally, avoid straight lines. Shores are usually twitchy, broken lines. If your line doesn't look drawn by a drunken ant, then you're doing something wrong.
Mountains don't have to be beautiful. Inverted triangles will do the job just fine.
Now let's add mountains. Mountains tend to form ridges. Avoid wanting to fill an entire block of land with mountains. Instead, arrange them in wavy lines. Often they follow the coastline (remember the Andes). In terms of history, they form obstacles for heroes and create natural barriers between nations or between nations and the Great Unknown. Mountains also serve as a boundary between climates. So if you want desert in one place and jungle in another, it's better to put a mountain range between them, which will stop rain from the jungle on the way to the desert.
As the rivers flow towards the shore, they only join, never branch.
Rivers are next. The rains fall on the mountains and run down to the sea. Rivers always flow to the lowest point - and there's always that lowest point. This means that the rivers, as they move towards the sea, do not break up, but only unite. Therefore, there are no rivers that flow from one bank to another, because at some point this will require the river to flow upwards. Therefore, there are no lakes from which two rivers flow and flow into the sea - there is always only one point with the lowest height. Imagine that the river is a tree. There is only one trunk that flows into the sea and many branches that touch the mountains.
Rivers are also a strategically important element. It is almost impossible to find the mouth of a river without a city, and virtually all great cities are built on the river. If you know where the city should be, then draw a river of sufficient size through it. Rivers also provide excellent protection. It's hard enough to build a wall across a country's borders, but it's almost as hard to move troops across a well-fortified river.
Hills and forests - add them where they seem appropriate. They are easy to remove
Add hills next to the mountain ranges. Place scaffolding and evaluate how it looks. Remember: it doesn't have to be wonderful and wonderful. If you don’t like something, take a new sheet of paper and start over. Sketch another coastline. Turn upside down.
When the drawn territory satisfies you, circle the necessary lines with a pen, erase the extra pencil - including the borders of states. Scan or take a photo of the card. Take a break from work and have a good snack.
After you come back, try the next experiment. Forget about previously invented nations and races. Look at the untouched world with an unclouded look. If you were to found a country in this world, where would you start? Where are the coolest strategic points? See the world as if you were playing Civilization. Where are the resources that need to be protected, what lands would you try to capture? Use colored pencils to sketch out the various states and their borders. Remake the rivers, if necessary, move other elements. You have many copies of the map - experiment!
After the general arrangement suits you, we will add the cities.
Cities appear for certain reasons. They cannot just appear in the middle of the void. The population needs food, water, trade and security. Rivers can provide all of this, and this is the reason why towns and cities have always grown close to river mouths. Locate capitals in places that are easy to defend and well connected by transport networks to other parts of the country. Place small towns in key positions, whether it be the heart of a mining region in the mountains, a strategic river crossing, or a trading town in the middle of cattle pastures. Also note the main fortifications.
Place cities, towns and fortifications
With all the elements listed, placing roads becomes a simple task. They will connect big cities with regions that produce resources and other important trade routes.
You now have a perfectly functioning map! But remember: this is not the final version, you can change it. Each time you run yourself through this process, you will make a better map. Each time you sketch, you will get new ideas. As you write about your world, the map will inevitably change. For example, between the two countries there should be a wild wasteland. Redraw the map - that's what it's here for. Creating text and drawing the world will help build the relationship between the story and the map.
And when your manuscript is ready to go from draft to final, your map is ready to go from sketch to illustration. But that's a topic for another article.
Hi all! Sorry for not writing for a long time. The disease has completely overcome. While I was sick, I had time to think about what else I want to write. This lesson is the result.
Every time I think about how to write a lesson - I try to show the techniques that I use in my work as a designer. For example, today I will try to show how this nice map is drawn.
Training
First and foremost, turn on the music! Personally, it usually helps me to draw a peppy drama (I really liked the latest release of Chase & Status - End Credits).
Second, make sure your computer is turned on. Seriously. Enough talking, let's get started.
Setting
No special setting is needed. Create a new web document, and just click OK.
Getting Started
First of all, you will need maps to use as a reference. However, if you have a crazy photographic memory, you can do without them. 
As a map, I used a screenshot with a road and a shopping center.
Coming up with a map legend
Before we start, it would be nice to figure out how we will represent the various roads and buildings.
Here's what I came up with:
This is a fairly simple legend, but depending on the complexity of the task, you can add or remove some details.
Roads are drawn quite simply. Select the Line Segment Tool [\] and draw segments to which we add a stroke of different color and thickness.
Create a brush
Select the road symbol and open the Brush window. Click on the Options button (small icon with three lines in the upper right corner). This will open Brush Options, select New Brush.
You will be presented with the following dialog box. Select New Art Brush and click OK.
A new window will open in which you need to configure the settings. O! Everything here is just as we need it. It remains only to enter the name of the brush.
Repeat this procedure for each type of road.
Road Drawing
Let's add our map to the chandelier document. I did it with the command File > Place... Then I blocked the card so that it would not interfere ( Object > Lock > Selected)
Use the Pen Tool [P] to draw the road. Just select a brush and start painting! Repeat this process for all major roads.
crossroads
As you may have noticed, the lines sometimes don't line up correctly at intersections. This is easy to fix.
In some cases, simply changing the order of the layers is enough. Use Ctrl + [ and Ctrl +], to adjust the order of the layers.
In some cases, things are much more complicated. Then I create shapes with a pen that I superimpose on top of the lines that go wrong.
