Zombie Nirvana Games

Just wanted to let you all know that I’m still alive here… I’ve got a number of projects going right now, and I’ve had the chance to create some really fun maps lately, particularly for the guys over at Tricky Owlbear. I’ve also been putting a lot of time into improving my own artwork as well as writing some cool new M&M Superlink material that I’m really looking forward to releasing!

In the mean time, I’d just like to say thank you to all of you who, even after all this time, continue to subscribe to and comment on my Fantasy Cartography podcasts. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get an email or a comment on them. Thanks so much for all your support!

The 11th episode of Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop, the podcast where I share my favorite tips, tricks, and techniques to help you make cool maps for your roleplaying games, is now available!

In this episode, we’ll take one last look at the Displace filter before bringing one of Photoshop’s most powerful but least used tools to bear on our map.

You can check out all the FCAP episodes at Revver, YouTube, or via iTunes or Miro.

Don’t forget to visit ZombieNirvana.com for this week’s show notes and for more information on my upcoming Fantasy Cartography book.

Until next time, thanks for listening, and happy mapping!

Show Notes

• I’m endlessly fascinated by the many different ways Photoshop uses the 8-bit grayscale value system to manipulate images. When you start digging around and really looking at how it accomplishes certain tasks, you start to realize just how much of Photoshop’s magic relies on it. Displace and Emboss are really  just the tip of the iceberg!
• Wow, I used a lot of keyboard shortcuts in this one! Within a minute or two, I think I used at least 8. They’re real time savers, though. This page has a collection of shortcuts from Photoshop 5 all the way up to CS3; I really need to print out a copy of the CS3 version and keep it next to my laptop for awhile.

Show Notes

• Not my best episode, I think. I was flustered a bit because I’d spent some time adding in the extra buildings and text, then lost all that work in a crash before I had a chance to save it. You’d think I’d know better by now. If I had only two words of advice to give for Photoshop, they’d be “Save often.” You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache.
• Depending on what font you pick and what sort of look you’re going for, you might want to use the Text Warping tool to make it more interesting looking. You can access it by clicking on the “T with a curved line under it” button on the Options bar while you have the Text tool selected. Something to keep in mind with the Text Warping tool: the styles look worse the further down the list you go. Try the Arc style limited to just +/-5 the next time you’re making a map; it adds a bit of nice visual interest to your text. Check out the Veiled Islands or the Western Lands for some examples.
• Why doesn’t Photoshop have an Autosave feature? I suspect it’s because that, particularly with big files, it takes a bit longer for PS to save a file than, say, MS Word, because it has to prepare the file before saving it. Still, it’d be nice if it were an option.
• Before I started watching Bert Monroy on The Screen Savers, I always pronounced Wacom “way-com”. But Bert pronounces it “whack ‘em”, and he’s actually met the folks at Wacom, so I just assumed he knows what he’s talking about. Plus, “whack ‘em” is just more fun to say.
• When I mentioned I reset the click on my Wacom stylus, I meant specifically the front-click on the button, the one that’s normally a right-click.
• Speaking of Wacom, they’ve got a pretty decent selection of Photoshop tips on their website. It’s definitely worth checking out. And if you don’t have a Wacom yet, they’re really worth every penny. I’m using the same Graphire I bought back in 2000, and it still works like a charm.

The ninth episode of Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop, the podcast where I share my favorite mapmaking tips, tricks, and techniques, is now available! In this episode, we’ll add some text and make a few finishing touches as we head into the home stretch on our first map.

You can view this and all the other episodes at Revver, YouTube, or at the iTunes Music Store! And don’t forget to stop by ZombieNirvana.com to check out this week’s show notes, my weekly Photoshop tips, and for more information about my upcoming Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop book.

Until next week, thanks for listening and happy mapping!