| Bree Beadman |
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hi everyone,
First up, light spoilers for 'Strange Aeons' Book 1 (some map images included).
I wanted to create awesome physical maps for my players but did not have the funds, so I toyed around with some low cost map making ideas. My players have been pretty excited by the results. Thought this might help any DMs who want to try their hand at making maps on a budget too. A few tips on what to avoid and what's worked for me. Hope it helps.
Some neat pics of my maps included, one of which is pretty huge full map of Briarstone Asylum. Check it out in the link below.
| Azothath |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
okay - some advice.
Using a paint program, inkscape, corel draw, adobe illustrator, or similar tool - create a 1 inch grid of white lines about 5-7 points(5-7/72" or 1.76-2mm) wide, then select, copy, paste, and select black fill, 3-5 points wide. This will give you black lines with a white one behind it. If you can set transparency, set the white to 50%. This helps create some contrast for your line. You can vary it or used dashed black lines etc.
Print it and measure! See if you are actually getting 1" distance and squares. Often printer presets automatically shrink things to fit on a page and you don't want any scaling or margins etc. So fix that if needed and adjust the squares so the print a true 1*1 inch. Save that puppy as your square grid template!
If you want to print a picture, open a copy of the 'template' and import your picture. Make sure it's behind the grid. Stretch the picture so it all looks good. You'll have to zoom in and out to make sure things line up.
If it is bigger than 1 page, move it leaving a 1/2" border on 2 sides (usually top and left). Print, move the picture 8 inches to the left or 10 inches up and print.
this method allows you to compensate for wonky grids or where things got warped by imposing a new grid and stretching the picture for each print page if required.
I'd print on 60# paper or 24# paper. If you want high resolution you need plastic coated paper and it gets pricey but it does look beautiful.
Time to cut and paste/tape.
Spray 77 Adhesive is the go to 'permanent' glue that won't shrink or wrinkle the paper. You just need a light coating - don't wet the paper. It is a light tan color so expect that to be seen through 20# paper or less. You only get One Shot to position the paper, so start at one side and lay the top down as you smooth it out. It is >super sticky< and only spray it outside or in an enclosed box or you will be getting out mineral spirits or lacquer thinner to wipe up the over spray and wondering how did it get there!
Rubber cement is okay but will powder after 5-7 years.
White glue and glue sticks are unacceptable.
An exacto knife is good but Fiskars makes a holder that's ergonomic and will save your fingers. Otherwise some epoxy putty and a bit of sculpting will widen and flatten the pressing surface on the knife.
Use an 18"-36" metal ruler as your cutting guide.
Cut on a cutting board or spare cardboard.
Cut towards you. Like drawing a line freehand it'll be straighter.
Sealer - go to the automotive section and get high gloss clear enamel or acrylic spray paint. Give printing a light coat, let it dry (read the can for recoat times) then give it two more coats waiting as long as you can in between then let it fully dry (3 days is best). You can spray before cutting and then seal the edge of your product. If you need a matte(dull) finish, you can do it as a finish coat after assembly.