Map Request Thread

[Luxdonia]

Seeing as no-one has made a thread where people can request maps, I have made this one. I can't make maps so this more for other people to see.

[Eroda Saaniah]

Are you able to make a map of the middle-east, but with Iran and the eastern half or Iraq as a part of Eroda Saaniah?

[British Accia]

Are you able to make a map of the middle-east, but with Iran and the eastern half or Iraq as a part of Eroda Saaniah?

Is there any specific style of map you would like? Mercator?, Wagner, this regioned one or something else entirely.

[Republic-of-Italy]

I would like a regional map to be created. With my country controlling Italy(including Sicily), Southern France, Spain, and Switzerland. Thanks.

[Zeanobia]

A regional map that locates Zeanobia in the area between Aabenraa and Dannevirke

[Adainia]

Rise from the dead, my thread. This is thriller.

Frankly, this is long overdue. But I've been trying to get an RP rolling, I'm getting more active again on NS, and it turns out Summer is a lot busier than I thought it would be. But hey, better late then never right?

This is the third time I've had to type this out. The first time resulted in a locked thread, and the second time I did this my computer crashed. I've learned my lesson, I'm going to save this thing before it goes up. Someone needs to lay down the law of the land before this becomes a major request thread, if it does. Seems the burden has fell on me, but that's alright. To get things started,

This is a thread for requesting maps related to your nation or RPs

If you would like for someone to make you a seal, logo, or a flag, please take your request to the appropriate thread. I have taken the liberty to include links to some of the more prevalent threads. Below will be a basic outline of some guidelines that both requesters and artists should follow. But then again, this is a post, not a cop. If push comes to shove though, appropriate measures will be taken to maintain civility. Although I implore you all to read through the detailed guidelines at least once, they can be summarized as so:

Please keep things civil, be as specific as possible with your requests and communicate with your artist if possible. And even further, see if you can include a rough draft in your request. Artists: be sure to claim requests and communicate with the requester if possible. And to all of you, please be patient with each other and show some decency to your fellow nations.

Below all of this I will include some resources that may prove useful to all of you. I will include some useful sites, a program or two, some protips for the artists, and a basic example of how things will work between the requesters and the artists. If anyone has any suggestions of useful sites, programs, and protips, please feel free to suggest them — suggested resources will be credited.

Requesters!

• Be as specific as possible with your request
  
  There is no honest way to enforce this, but it is so important it is not even funny. Personally, I take this very seriously. So much so that I have thrown a child (that to be frank probably did not deserve it) under the bus for it. Although it might seem obvious to you, the fact that an artist cannot read your mind does not necessarily stand out to you until you request for an artpiece, make a request that is rather vague, and get something that is completely different from what you wanted. Being specific is a win-win for both you and the artist. It's a win for the artist because the artist has confidence that what is being made is what the requester wants, more or less down to the pixel. It's a win for the requester because the requester gets a product that is at (or at times exceeds) the set expectations. And more importantly, it saves time. It's faster to take time in the initial request and get a satisfactory job from the get-go than to rush through that first request and go through a few revisions. To expand on this point, there are a few questions you should perhaps ask yourself before you post:
  
  
  1. What type of map do I want?
     
     You may know there are many different maps out there. Physical maps, political maps, natural maps, map maps. This should be one of the very first things you specify.
     
     
  2. How do I want the map to look?
     
     Related to the type of map you want is how you want the map to look as a whole. The type of map you want may have a variety of styles it can look like. For example, do you want your political map to have strong, vibrant colors, or would you rather it have soft, dulled pastel colors? Do you want your physical map to look like it is from an encyclopedia, or from a fantasy novel?
     
     
  3. What information do I want in the map, and how do I want it displayed?
     
     Almost every map has some sort of information to show. Do you want your map to have a title? If so, what and where? How about a legend? A reference scale? Do you want the artist to color code biomes, perhaps? And your cities, capitals, etc. — how will they be displayed? And more importantly, where are they?
  The point is that you have to think everything through. The artist has only your word and artistic license to go by, and unless you literally want surprises, you would probably rather have your word over artistic license. If there is one way to wear down an artist, it is to enforce revision after revision. For the sake of everyone — be specific the first time around so you do not have to correct them three times.
  
  
• Provide a rough draft of what you would like, if possible
  
  Although this may not always be practical, having a rough draft or a sketch of what you would like would make the artist's job much more easier. After all, it is easier to visually show where the locations of cities are than to attempt to use words for it. Your rough draft does not have to be anything fancy — you are having someone do the final map, after all. Just try to provide the artist something that can help him or her get started.
  
  
• Communicate with your artist, if possible
  
  Communication can go a long way with commissions. Like with rough drafts, communication may not always be practical for multiple reasons. However, communication between the artist and the requester can sometimes make a difference. Artists should perhaps send their requester a work in progress screenshot of the map to you for critique and feedback. Doing this before the rough draft's completion can make the difference between a small edit and another revision. Feel free to communicate with your artist through telegraph or other means. If you choose the latter, just be careful what means you share. Do not pressure your artist to give means that they are not comfortable with.
  
  
• Be patient, thankful, and kind to your artist
  
  Unless there is some sort of underground payment that I do not know of, keep in mind that every artist in this thread does not have to be here. The artists are working pro bono, and there will probably be cases when there is only 1-2 artists working on this thread at a time. I will be honest — there will probably be times when things get clogged up. There will probably be times when it seems as if there is not even anyone working on here. The artists working on this thread will probably be, in some way, stressed out by the volume. Again, let me stress that no one is forced to be here. I hate to be one to beg for a thank-you, but it really does make an artist's day when someone sincerely thanks them for putting in their time and effort — it is the least you can do.

• Be vague in your request
  
  I am pretty sure I have stated all of the reasons this is not kosher. Read the "Do's".
  
  
• Be disrespectful to the artists
  
  Again, read the "Do's".
  
  
• Constantly bump your request
  
  I have never seen this to be a problem elsewhere, but I am going to have it down so I have an "Exhibit A" to point at when someone inevitably rushes a bump. Maps can take a fair amount of time to do, and depending on how many artists there are working in the thread, it can take a fair amount of time before your request is gotten to. Show some patience.

Artists!

• Claim requests you intend to do via. reply on the thread
  
  Maps can take a fair amount of time to do. What happens when two artists at once, without knowing, work on the same request? They post their results, and oh the agony. At least one of them wasted their time. I have never seen it be a problem elsewhere, but I especially want to avoid it being one on here. To avoid confusion here, quoting the original request is essential in your claim. This also gives you a good chance to clear anything up that may not have been cleared in the original post.
  
  
• Communicate with your requester, if possible
  
  Communication is a two way street. You should communicate with your requester and get some work in progress critique at least once. I have said it once, I will say it again: It is easier to do a small tweak in the middle of the creation process than it is to do a whole new revision later on. To make things simple, I suggest you take a screencap of you work in progress to send to your requester for this. I have had good experiences with Gyazo and Lightshot. The same thing from the requester's perspective applies to you, artists, as well — if you choose to communicate outside of Nationstates, be careful with what means you share. Do not pressure your requester to give means that they are not comfortable with.
  
  
• Be patient and kind to your requester
  
  Just like communication, respect is something that both parties need to share. I am going to be honest here: there will be times when requesters may get on your nerves. There is going to be at least one requester that did not at least skim through these guidelines. That requester might give you a vague request, have the cojones to spit on you, and not know that saying "The quick Adainian fox jumped over the lazy Tangaliroan drake" in their request instantly earns them brownie points in my book because it now acts as the clause that confirms that requesters have bothered to read the guidelines thoroughly. Sure they may have been disrespectful in a way, but guess what? There is a diplomatic way to frame "You're an asshole." Please, for the sake of stability and for just keeping this thread clean — refrain from starting any fights. Be kind to your fellow man.
  
  And before anyone says otherwise, yes I know I am a bad example for this.

• Neglect to claim a request you're working on
  
  Because it wouldn't be too fun to be working on a map only to realize someone else has finished their version an hour before you refreshed the thread.
  
  
• Be disrespectful to the requester, fellow artist, and hell — yourself
  
  I feel the need to be a bit more detailed on this part for artists than I do for requesters. Don't disrespect the requester, and I'm pretty sure I stated why. Don't disrespect your fellow artists, either. No one is being forced to do this, and that man you diss may very well leave because of a few toxic words. That means a larger workload for you, and thus a bigger pain. But that leads me to my next point — don't force yourself into this thing. I can tell you for sure that it feels demoralizing when you're the only artist catering to requests on requests. My advice: It's better to only do a few requests over a long span of time than to go through quick surges of constant work. Personally, going through a quick surge of constant work only results in me wanting to quit after a few days. Space out your requests, and you'll find yourself fine with working for longer. But more importantly, don't feel bad about taking breaks. It's a tough job, and something tells me you probably deserve that break you're thinking about taking. Treat jo self.

Everyone!

• Types of Maps: This list is by no means a list of all the various types of maps there are, but it includes a few of the more major ones that will probably be most relevant to people here.
  
  
• Map to Globe: Don't let the name full you, this site has a lot to offer. Want to see your map as a globe? How about see your map as a Waterman butterfly? This site is pretty flexible, and pretty reliable. I swear by it.
  
  
• paint.net and GIMP: I'm going to be brutally honest here. MS Paint is usable, but it's simply inferior. Photoshop is fantastic, and I personally enjoy it, but it's horrifically expensive (unless you have your eye on the seven seas, but that's dubious. And I should probably mention that if you sign into an Adobe ID, you can download the entire CS2 suite for free. Hell, you should probably go for those instead.) When it comes to image editors, it seems like it may be a rock and a hard place when it comes to choices. What if I told you there are alternatives to MS Paint that are actually pretty damn good and are absolutely free? Paint.net and GIMP are where its at if you're looking for good image editing on a dime. I would suggest Paint.net for beginners or for people who simply want to get something done fast. GIMP is more for people who want a bit more control at the price of a bigger learning curve.
  
  
• Inkscape: To be fair, you probably wouldn't be working too much with vector graphics if you're doing maps. However, there are indeed times when using vector software may be preferable. I personally use Illustrator, but Inkscape is the next best thing for someone on a budget.

• World maps are a tricky thing. The most essential thing to keep in mind is that landmasses on any map projection may experience distortion on the right circumstances. (Seriously, check it. Try dragging Greenland over Africa.) When drawing a world map, try to keep distortion in mind. The map to globe site I suggested is useful for finding any unwanted distortion in your maps. Which leads me to my next suggestion: when used in conjunction with Map to Globe, equirectangular maps are the most flexible projection. That's because you can take that equirectangular map and change it to dozens of different projections at the click of a button, like my personal go-to Winkel Tripel or the aforementioned Waterman butterfly.
  
  
• Vector vs. Raster — which one is best for the job? Ultimately it falls down to a matter of resolution vs. customization (and of course what you're comfortable with). Vector graphics allow you to scale up or down to ridiculous resolutions and still maintain a good looking picture. However, vector is not without its limitations. Although you can do a lot in both a vector editor and a raster (pixel) editor, raster ultimately has more capabilities and support in the long run. So basically, it comes down to this: would you rather have a map you can scale up or down infinitely but perhaps lack in details, or would you rather have a map that is stuck in its resolution but may potentially have more detail?
  
  
• Aside from Vector vs. Raster is the argument of PNG vs JPG filetypes. In almost all cases, PNG will be the superior filetype. The thing(s) about JPG is that its compression type (lossy compression) is susceptible to some nasty effects, if not careful. For comparison, here's the same cat with lower compression. The difference in artifacts is staggering. But it doesn't only come down to compression, it also comes down to transparency. PNG supports transparency in pictures, while JPG does not. JPG images will convert any transparency you attempt to have in your image to white (at least the last I checked). The only thing JPG has going for it is filesize, which is probably not going to be a problem for most people. So in summary, compare these two pictures of the Adainian seal.
  
  
  
  
  
  Trust me when I say that people can tell the difference, because I'm sure as hell one of them. You are three letters away from giving your requester something more professional.

Hey!

I was wondering if someone can do a quick and hasty map for me. I'll go ahead link to my rough draft first, then I'll explain what I would like.

http://i.imgur.com/bXzsZGj.png

I would like a map that's a bit road map and a bit thematic, as you can see. The gray areas are supposed to represent urbanized areas (towns, villages, that sort of thing). The light green represents farmlands and rural communities. The dark green represents forested areas, and the blue represents the sea. The red roads are supposed to be major highways, while the orange ones are more freeway/rural roads. I'm going to go ahead and grant the artist to have liberty on this one. I would like something that looks similar to what I have, but I encourage the artist to build on it as he sees fit. For reference though, I'm laying down a few guidelines. The color scheme doesn't have to be exact, but it should be a bit close to what I have. The black borders do not have to be black — feel free to make them what seems more artistically pleasing. The map should include a title, a compass rose, a distance scale, and a legend. For reference, see the forest that's inside the farmland? It's about ten kilometers long. The title may be on either corner, but since it shouldn't obstruct anything important, I'm going to make the call that it should be on the lower right (I acknowledge that this isn't entirely kosher in design, but it's the only location that really fits). The title should be "Maxtopian Coast — Road Map". Try to put the rose, scale, legend, and title all in the same area if that's possible. I'll admit the next part is going to be a bit nit-picky, but see where the major highways intersect with the smaller roads? I want you to make sure that the highway is always above the roads. As for the more technical details, make sure that the map itself is at least 1000px. wide. An SVG is preferable, but if it's not possible, it's understandable.

Thank you in advance for putting in your time! Take as much time as you need to make it perfect.

Hey!

I was wondering if someone can do a quick and hasty map for me. I'll go ahead link to my rough draft first, then I'll explain what I would like.

http://i.imgur.com/bXzsZGj.png

I would like a map that's a bit road map and a bit thematic, as you can see. The gray areas are supposed to represent urbanized areas (towns, villages, that sort of thing). The light green represents farmlands and rural communities. The dark green represents forested areas, and the blue represents the sea. The red roads are supposed to be major highways, while the orange ones are more freeway/rural roads. I'm going to go ahead and grant the artist to have liberty on this one. I would like something that looks similar to what I have, but I encourage the artist to build on it as he sees fit. For reference though, I'm laying down a few guidelines. The color scheme doesn't have to be exact, but it should be a bit close to what I have. The black borders do not have to be black — feel free to make them what seems more artistically pleasing. The map should include a title, a compass rose, a distance scale, and a legend. For reference, see the forest that's inside the farmland? It's about ten kilometers long. The title may be on either corner, but since it shouldn't obstruct anything important, I'm going to make the call that it should be on the lower right (I acknowledge that this isn't entirely kosher in design, but it's the only location that really fits). The title should be "Maxtopian Coast — Road Map". Try to put the rose, scale, legend, and title all in the same area if that's possible. I'll admit the next part is going to be a bit nit-picky, but see where the major highways intersect with the smaller roads? I want you to make sure that the highway is always above the roads. As for the more technical details, make sure that the map itself is at least 1000px. wide. An SVG is preferable, but if it's not possible, it's understandable.

Thank you in advance for putting in your time! Take as much time as you need to make it perfect.

Don't worry guys, I've got this one. Claimed.

It all seems pretty good, nothing that confusing. I'll TG you a WIP screen when I've got the main map done.

Meanwhile, in Adainia and Maxtopia's telegrams...

Heya!

Didn't take me too long to get something satisfactory to me. Here's what I have done so far. I encourage you to give me any feedback you have.

Thanks man! It looks amazing! I never would have thought of giving the roads that subtle outline, but it's perfect! I have nothing to say about the rest of the map, it's looking great so far. Keep it up and let me know when you're done.

And back on the forum...

All done!

Unfortunately the title in the SVG had to be rasterized. There seemed to have been some problems that only rasterizing could solve. I found that to be a shame, but it should be high res enough to where it won't normally be a problem.

All done!

Unfortunately the title in the SVG had to be rasterized. There seemed to have been some problems that only rasterizing could solve. I found that to be a shame, but it should be high res enough to where it won't normally be a problem.

That's alright, I love it! It turned out perfectly. Again, thank you so much for your time.

Well, I'm blanking out. Nothing is really coming to mind at the moment. That should all be more than enough to set up shop for now. And before anyone asks, I'm not doing any requests at the moment. I'm going to be busy for the next few days and I have an RP coming up next week that I've been planning out for a while now.

I may get on later on when August rolls around, but no promises. That's my last bit of advice kids: No promises on the internet.

[Corindia]

I might be interested in making a few maps here and there so I'll tag this

I've done this topo for myself. It's not too fancy but it works for me

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=corindia/detail=factbook/id=661052

[Thoresway]

Tagged, example of work: https://i.imgur.com/FaL88ro.png

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

Tagged, example of work: https://i.imgur.com/FaL88ro.png

That's a map of Kerbin, the main planet from Kerbal Space Program. I don't think that counts as original work.

For reference

[Thoresway]

Tagged, example of work: https://i.imgur.com/FaL88ro.png

That's a map of Kerbin, the main planet from Kerbal Space Program. I don't think that counts as original work.

For reference

Your funny. There was no other map previously of a grey map of kerbin (and for that, at this scale) and I made it myself. If you'd like evidence telegram me.

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

That's a map of Kerbin, the main planet from Kerbal Space Program. I don't think that counts as original work.

For reference

Your funny. There was no other map previously of a grey map of kerbin (and for that, at this scale) and I made it myself. If you'd like evidence telegram me.

Well, I'll take your word for it. Since I have no further place in this thread I won't try to continue.

[Camura]

Would love to see a request here...

[Polosnia]

Would love to see a request here...

kek

much anger

[Camura]

I might be interested in making a few maps here and there so I'll tag this

I've done this topo for myself. It's not too fancy but it works for me

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=corindia/detail=factbook/id=661052

This is very good!

[Camura]

Would love to see a request here...

kek

much anger

At least you posted

[Polosnia]

kek

much anger

At least you posted

Hah

do you do maps btw?

[Fadriotho]

Can someone please shade Congo-Brazzaville (country west of green), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (small countries east of green) and Tanzania (east of Rwanda and Burundi) the same shade of green as green, and remove the borders? Thanks very much, have a genuinely nice day!

[Almonaster Nuevo]

(Image)
Can someone please shade Congo-Brazzaville (country west of green), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (small countries east of green) and Tanzania (east of Rwanda and Burundi) the same shade of green as green, and remove the borders? Thanks very much, have a genuinely nice day!

[Camura]

At least you posted

Hah

do you do maps btw?

Occasionally, but I am better at editing maps.

[Fadriotho]

Just another request passing through... fill in Brazzaville-Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania with the same shade of blue as Kinshasa-Congo. Make sure to also fill in the bottom left circle. You do not have to modify the circle. Thank you very much.

[Almonaster Nuevo]

Not Uganda this time?

[Polosnia]

[Fadriotho]

(Image)

could u just please add uganda this time? thanks

[Camura]

(Image)

could u just please add uganda this time? thanks

Here you go

[Urazawa]

http://i.imgur.com/dACzfc8.png

Would someone be able to make a nicer version of this for me please, I do not know how to get rid of borders or shade out the other lands or how to make it look bigger and nicer. Seeing as there were no other threads like this and that there were people here who have made maps before I figured this would be the best place to ask.