Designing Maps

[Bocko]

I am planning a new adventure in ASL. I decided to start making some of my own maps. I wanted to get some advice from experts so I thought I would submit this post.

My first question is what type of writing utensil do you use? color pencils, markers?

Please feel free to submit any other helpful hints.

Thanks
Bocko

 

[SamB]

Use crayons and then submit it for publication. Insist that they change nothing...

There's one publisher that will do it... :twisted:

:roll:

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose I should say something here..
All geoboards and most HASL maps are hand-painted using brushes and acrylic paint (Liquitex best) on thick, smooth, white 'artist board' found at all art supply places. Certain terrain features require clear, rub-on decals including Woods, Brush, Swamp (available through Letraset - a company that makes them). Hexgrids are superimposed during printing process, however a clear acetate hexgrid is required when painting in order to get terrain to conform to hexgrid. Obtaining the exact sized hexgrid is the challenge, but you might be able to get a printer to produce such if you give them the exact dimensions. Ask if you need more info. Hope that helps bud.

 

[Bocko]

Map Designing 101

I suppose I should say something here..
All geoboards and most HASL maps are hand-painted using brushes and acrylic paint (Liquitex best) on thick, smooth, white 'artist board' found at all art supply places. Certain terrain features require clear, rub-on decals including Woods, Brush, Swamp (available through Letraset - a company that makes them). Hexgrids are superimposed during printing process, however a clear acetate hexgrid is required when painting in order to get terrain to conform to hexgrid. Obtaining the exact sized hexgrid is the challenge, but you might be able to get a printer to produce such if you give them the exact dimensions. Ask if you need more info. Hope that helps bud.

Thanks for input and the information. I wasn't really looking to do this for any type of professional submission, but the informations does give me some motivation to produce some better types of maps so thanks.

I think I will avoid the crayons...I might start eating them like when I was in preschool.

 

[Anonymous]

All geoboards and most HASL maps are hand-painted using brushes and acrylic paint (Liquitex best) on thick, smooth, white 'artist board' found at all art supply places. Certain terrain features require clear, rub-on decals including Woods, Brush, Swamp (available through Letraset - a company that makes them).

BTW, Don, I'd pay some serious coin to own one of these original maps. Do they exist anymore?

And for Mr. Bocko, there's also the option of drawing the maps on the computer, particularly when the map could be used for VASL (www.vassal.org). Check out the VASLmapcabal group on yahoo.

Tom

 

[Chris Milne]

Damn, if they do, they should go into some public ASL museum somewhere.

Though I think they'd look odd without a hexgrid on them (although the pattern would still be evident).

 

[Anonymous]

The original art for the geoboards and HASLs resides with MMP - but thanks for the comment.
What is kinda interesting along those lines is that Charlie Kibler, the previous mapboard artist, had apparently produced a number of boards during his tenue with Avalon Hill which never were published. I have one of them in fact which Charlie sent to me years ago in order to show me how the boards were made. Call them the 'Charlies lost boards' if you will.
And if MMP doesn't pick up the 6 boards I have sitting at home, you can call those 'Dons lost boards' some day :wink: .