15 Jan 2013 4 Comments
The Next Step
From now on I have decided to switch my workflow from CorelDraw to Illustrator. Its something I had planned to do for the final map a long time back , but I have decided to switch now rather than waiting. I realized that instead of making the small area maps until I get them all done will save me a bit of time now, but it will be a huge operation to convert everything later. I decided to convert what I’ve done so far and then do the rest in the “new” way. That will mean a week or so of conversion work before I can move on to new things.
So now you probably wonder why go to all the trouble of changing to a new set of tools. Several reasons, first and foremost I want to be able to have everything in one master map, one place to keep updated and corrected. That way I can much easier just define an area I’m interested in and export it to make a special map with very little work. Everything from local maps with extra details to large area overview maps can be made in a couple of minutes. I can also make them look much more polished with text and symbols having the final look.
It will also be much easier to add overlays with hexes, range circles or other grids and such. Plus I can export them with a much improved style over all. You will be fed updated symbols and map styles that I want your input on. My goal is for the Greyhawk community to have a set of campaign maps that are as good as the best both in style and in content, with your critique I hope I can start delivering that withing a couple of weeks.
Thanks again for all your support!
Jan 16, 2013 @ 05:52:41
So … I think that it’s a really great idea to convert – you’ve been planning it for years, and it’s really something that you ought to do. I’m surprised that you’re going to Illustrator, though. I know that Corel and Adobe are very, very similar – but, there *are* key differences. Personally, as a sort of different type of artist, Corel Painter is really tops for me, but, I imagine in more technical images like yours, the Adobe Creative Suite is probably more in line with what you need.
And hopefully you won’t have to use 19 different programs anymore! LOL!
Jan 16, 2013 @ 21:23:11
Illustrator is a bit more technical I agree, vector art have a tendency to have that feel when you work with it. But you can do artistic things with it too, within the realm of vector art that is
Now I will be down to 3 programs to make my Flanaess maps. In the future it will probably be, lets see. A 3D object creation tool, Hexagon, Silo or 3D Studio Max I haven’t decided yet. FilterForge for texture and materials. world Machine for terrain generation. Vue for 3D composition, scenery and rendering. Photoshop for post editing. Illustrator for vector art and layout.
That make it 6 applications and I’m sure there will be need another from time to time!
Jan 21, 2013 @ 00:49:58
I wondered about that actually… I noticed some of the “new” PDF’s that the blue in the oceans and lakes were abit brighter…. with the change in softwares, Will this effect how you have been “layering” in the PDFs?
Jan 23, 2013 @ 22:23:45
The change in color are from CorelDraws revamped color engine, so the PDF’s that I have exported from the latest version look different than the older ones. The move to work with Photoshop and Illustrator as well as have the map in one document will make it consistent. When I started this project in the late 90′s I was using Win98 and I forgot what version of Corel 5 or so, so its a miracle that I’ve been able to work across applications and versions and still be able to open it!
When it comes to layers I will still be able to create layered PDF’s. I’ve made a set of maps to test my workflow as a way to see if moving to Illustrator was the way to go, and the layers worked as well as before. What layers there are and the names might have a few changes and might also vary between different maps.
As soon as I’ve made the graphics for the new header and footer I’ll publish some new PDF’s here.