Propnomicon: Mapmaking Tutorial

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Mapmaking Tutorial

Artist "RobA" of the excellent "Cartographer's Guild" forum has produced an outstanding tutorial on using GIMP to produce maps for role-playing games. The step-by-step narration of the mapmaking process is easy to follow and allows someone with even limited graphics experience to produce excellent results. Best of all, GIMP is totally free open-source software that doesn't cost a dime.

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What's All This?

Propnomicon focuses on horror and fantasy props of interest to fans of H. P. Lovecraft and players of the "Call of Cthulhu" role playing game. That includes items directly inspired by Lovecraft's writing, DIY information for creating your own works, printable paper props, and source materials related to the 1920's and 30's, the "classic era" of the Cthulhu Mythos. Beyond that, the proprietor of the blog also enjoys pulp action stories, classic supernatural horror, mad science, and the occasional foray into more modern interpretations of the Mythos.

All of the original material here is free for the taking under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Propnomicon is an Amazon affiliate site. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn't cost you anything, and helps defray the cost of the goofy stuff I buy on Amazon.

DIY Propmaking Resources

A Fun Blog- Mike J's blog of prop references and projects. Lots of movie weapons and lesser known film and media props.
Blind Squirrel Props- the home of professional propmaker Mike Iverson. Detailed build logs for media and video game props.
Cartographers' Guild- a forum for fantasy cartography. Filled with great advice, mapmaking tutorials, and a library of free symbols, textures, and fonts.
El Dodo Albino- Spanish language site with a variety of prop projects.
Folkenstal Armory- amazing recreations of the arms and armor of the Elder Scrolls videogames.
Indy Gear- a site dedicated to Indiana Jones and the plethora of props found in all four movies. Be sure to visit the forum for advice, ready to print items, and inspiration.
MRX Designs- crafting some wonderful steampunk and horror props.
Props by Eric Hart- professional propmaker with New York City's Public Theater
Punished Props- Professional propmaker Bill Doran. Shares in-depth looks at his projects and techniques.
The Brass Goggles Steampunk Forum- The "Tactile" sub-board in particular is a goldmine of ideas.
The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society- the group that almost single-handedly revolutionized CoC prop creation. Free PDF's of prop documents, an amazing adventure archive, and great merchandise.
The Replica Prop Forum- heavily skewed towards reproductions of movie props, particularly "Star Wars". Still, the DIY material is priceless.
Volpin Props- video game props from Harrison Krix. Excellent craftsmanship and build logs.

Other Stuff

Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets- ol' skool gaming spells, magic items, and commentary.
CoastConFan- CoastCon, and some amazing Lovecraftian art and photography.
CthulhuWho1's Blog - Lovecraftiana and Dark Fantasy, including recordings of Lovecraft's stories.
Goomi's Unspeakable Vault- the lighter side of the Mythos.
Make - "Make" magazine's blog of DIY resources.
The Art of Darkness - a blog of horror art, and stuff.
The Skeptics Dictionary- debunking every flavor of woo-woo known to man.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Mapmaking Tutorial

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