Jason Payne from the CC3+ community has documented the overland mapping for his Realm of Aquilae fantasy setting in a terrain mapping guide, which you can get as a “pay what you like” product on DriveThruPG.com. It can be a useful resource for anyone creating their own terrain setup in CC3+. Check it out!
I’ve been mapping with the software for about around 5 years, so rather than follow the tutorial, I figure I’d just supply an overland map using the Mike Schley Overland style in my personal style.
[Download the FCW file]
First, after deciding I would do a smaller environs map of a valley, I quickly established I would do a map set in the season of autumn. I had done a commission some time back for Pelgrane Press, Shards of the Broken Sky, and did a small regional map where I had adjusted the hues in the map for place with red, clay colored soil. That map is so simple, yet one of my favorites I’ve ever done, and it’s all because of the palette. So, for this map, I decided I would do the same in picking autumn.
Since this is a smaller regional map, I wanted to do a wide more natural looking river by separating the landmass on either side with it’s own poly. Normally, I would use the Color Key effect for this, but since I’ve made changes to the Hue and added an RGB Matrix to the Land Sheet, the Color Key will not work, as I am yet to figure out so far, as it cannot adjust your color to the effects on the sheet.
As my usual suggestion, chose the varicolored symbols so you can go back later, if you want, and change this map simply by changing the symbol colors, to a different season. When creating my mountainscape of the valley, I soon realized I wanted more muted leaf colors for my palette and began altering the colors by using the Define Color option, where you can then create your own custom colors. After creating a custom color you should then save and attach it to your map. This can be done by going to the Drawing Properties tab or following File>Drawing Properties and click the attach to drawing tab under Custom Palette. Be sure to do this last step or when you close your map and reopen, it will revert back to the default palette for that style.
Once I had my custom palette set, I am able to place my symbols down, starting with mountains first and using the various shades I created for my autumn them = this gives the mountains, in my opinion, the illusion of them being covered with multicolored trees and grasses in lovely greens, oranges, yellows and reds. Then I do the same for forests, using individual trees or the smaller groups of trees in varying colors, landmarks and finally settlements.
Labeling has always been an issue for me….i just can’t ever seem to be happy with how I label my maps (which is why I am so very excited for Sue’s annual with banners coming up in 2021) – but, since I was going for a fall theme, I decided to stick with the same hues for labels, as well.
So, here’s my version of the Overland Tutorial annual, hope you like it and can use it or alter it for you own mapping needs 😊
So ProFantasy has provided yet ANOTHER overland style to work with. No matter what style map you prefer, I feel there is something for everyone here, and this Myrklund style has done just that. Now, I may have mentioned how I am not a fan of overland mapping outside of my personal campaign – since I can explain any geological aberration I install in the map as “it’s a magical, fantasy world”, so with this map, I just decided to see what I could come up with without any concern. No pressure, no cares, just started plopping down things wherever I felt like it. 😊
(Download the FCW file)
I decided to keep this map as simple and minimal as possible…..so placed some mountains, then rivers, cities, forests and any other exploration areas I thought might be interesting and easy to incorporate into a homebrew one-shot. I also lightened up some of the fills for a more wintery look.
As someone who recently got a puppy, that takes up an immense amount of attention leaving little time for mapping, this was a simple, easy, delightful annual to work with.
About the author: Lorelei was my very first D&D character I created more years back than i’d like to remember. When I decided to venture into creating maps for my and others rpgs, I thought I owed it to her to name myself Lorelei Cartography, since it was her that led me to the wonderful world of tabletop gaming in the first place. Since then I have been honored to have worked with companies such as WizKids, Pelgrane Press, and ProFantasy.
The November issue of the Cartographer’s Annual 2020 has just been released. It expands on Sue Daniel’s Spectrum Overland (from July) with more than 200 new symbols, giving you tons more options to build your maps in this beautiful bitmap style. Let your players explore new cultures, venture into blazing deserts and the freezing ice, and scale imposing cliffs and fissures across the landscape.
If you have already subscribed to the Annual 2020, you can download the October issue from your registration page. If not, you can subscribe here.
The July issue of the Cartographer’s Annual is now available for all subscribers. Create wonderful sprawling and detailed overland maps with Sue Daniel’s new style “Spectrum Overland”.
More than 150 highly detailed symbols of mountains, hills, trees and towns make each map a little masterpiece to explore. We will expanding the style with another set of gorgeous symbols in a second issue later this year to give you even more options.
If you want to see a Spectrum Overland being created, check out this Live Mapping session from last Thursday, where Ralf goes through the whole map creation process, just as if following the pdf mapping guide.
If you have already subscribed to the Annual 2020, you can download the July issue from your registration page. If not, you can subscribe here.
Welcome to part 4 of the Shore and Ocean Effects for Overland Maps series.
The example map for this part may already be familiar to you, since it is Arumnia, which was used in Part 3 to demonstrate Rhumb lines.
This time I will use the same map to show you a fast and easy way to add beaches, and a couple of alternative ways of using a drop shadow effect. The FCW file for this version of the map will be available at the end of the article. Continue reading »
Welcome to the third part in the Shore and Ocean Effects for Overland Maps series.
In this part we well be focussing on adding rhumb lines to beautify a relatively smooth ocean texture.
Arumnia, the example map used in this tutorial, was drawn in the John Roberts overland style, which was recently included with the core CC3 app as part of Update 25. If your software is up to date you do not need to own any of the annuals or add-ons to make use of the FCW file included in this blog. Continue reading »
We’ve live-streamed two more mapping sessions with CC3+ over the last couple weeks, as announced on our Facebook page. The videos are archived on YouTube, so you can watch them at your leisure.
Mapping with the Jon ROberts Overland style from Update 25
Introduction to CC3+ and the Mike Schley Overland style
Welcome to the second part of the Shore and Ocean Effects for Overland Maps series.
The example map for this tutorial is Arokan and Demorak, and was created using the Herwin Wielink overland style.
Creating ocean contours will take you a little longer than applying the edge striping sheet effects described in the first part of this series, but I hope you will agree with me by the time you have completed your first contoured ocean that the process is still very much worth the time spent creating them. Continue reading »
The Shore and Ocean Effects for Overland Maps article series covers a range of techniques that can be used to modify the appearance of the open water in an overland map to make it work in greater harmony with the rest of the map.
The example map, the Allaluna-Meloa Isles, was created using the Mike Schley overland style that comes with CC3. Links to the different versions of this map have been included in this article for you to examine at your leisure.
