Map making tools for people who can't make maps (and for those who can)

[InspectorCaracal]

(Wyste, you know where I got the idea to post this.)

I love maps. I am not good at drawing maps. As such, I have been collecting and trying out map-making software for Literal Years now. Here's some of my findings!

Medieval Fantasy City Generator
If you need to make a map of a city, this one is my absolute favorite. It's got a super generic name but it's got a really great selection of options without being too overwhelming or too restricted. Click on the (Menu) button in the top right and then Generate to open the settings. It lets you choose what kind of features you want it to include (which you can make have whatever function you want) and some size ranges with easy button clicks.

Plus, if you have, say, a really particular sense of how big you want your city to be, you can also manipulate those things directly in the URL, because all of the options are handled with simple URL parameters. e.g. if size=25 isn't getting it big enough, you can throw in size=64 and bam, there it is. The Menu also lets you choose between map styles and set your own color scheme to get it looking just right for your setting.

Unnamed map generator
For larger regions, I love this one. Don't be alarmed by all the technical details, just scroll down near the bottom to the "Cities, Borders" section of the page and go down to the mini generator down there and click 'generate random heightmap', add a couple cities, then go down to the last one to pull it in and see the results.

What's good about this? Aside from it doing basically everything, you mean? It figures out the height map, erosion to shape the coastlines, traces out rivers, even figures out territorial boundary lines for you based on the cities that get dropped down.

It's got some downsides if you don't want to mess with the code itself - you can't control what names are on the map itself, for example, and it's hardcoded to one city = one territory (presumably they're intended as capitals), but if you just need something to lay out a regional map for you to work with or start from, it's amazing. And if you are the code-y type, it's all open source and you can dig into it to your heart's content to make it do what you want.

Inkarnate
If you have an idea of your geography but just need to put it into visual form that doesn't look like a five year old scribbled it on the bathroom wall, Inkarnate is genuinely really great. The interface is a little overwhelming if you've never used it before and I wish it'd been clearer about explaining the water/land tools, but the stamp tools make it absolutely worth figuring out, even in the free version. They've got a great free asset library and painting on mountains and dropping down city markers is painless.

Main downsides: unintuitive UI for people who aren't already graphic designers, complete lack of an erase button is very confusing.


I know there's other stuff out there, but those are the three tools I've liked the most. What've y'all got?

[corvabird]

I love Medieval City Generator and Inkarnate! I've used both before (i had a pro sub to Inkarnate while it was in alpha I think)

I use Other World Mapper (https://www.otherworldmapper.com/) a lot, which is pricey but has great functions if you aren't good at drawing (inkarnate does rely more on your ability to draw a good coastline, for example) and is great if you want something black-and-white or more simply coloured, but is not as good as Inkarnate for the more detailed maps. It's what I usually use for my books.

Also a recent favourite is Dungeon Scrawl ( https://dungeonscrawl.com/) for interior maps / dungeons, which is both free and extremely quick and easy to use and has some good generated options too

I've used other map-mapers as well but, MCG, Inkarnate, Other World Mapper, and Dungeon Scrawl are the only ones I found actually easy enough to use to bother with

For context, I didn't do maps for years because I hated making them and would be so dissatisfied with the outcomes, but nowadays they're a) something readers like and I'm publishing b) helpful when writing and c) very easy to edit

I found that following Mythic Maps (https://twitter.com/mythicmaps) on twitter also helped because the variety in detail and quality in published fantasy books (even from very famous and established authors!) is massive, and I realised that the maps I make fall somewhere in the middle of that and that's okay

[corvabird]

PS just noticed Cal's new sig and I love it

[corvabird]

Update: talking about maps made me go and play with map makers and generators to see if I could make extra maps for NPC and Kin. Is nice.

[InspectorCaracal]

PS just noticed Cal's new sig and I love it

Ed has the best expressions, I love him. 8)

[InspectorCaracal]

I found that following Mythic Maps (https://twitter.com/mythicmaps) on twitter also helped because the variety in detail and quality in published fantasy books (even from very famous and established authors!) is massive, and I realised that the maps I make fall somewhere in the middle of that and that's okay

If I'm being totally honest here, a big portion of my struggles with finding map making software I like is that so much of it is too good lol. Like, beautifully rendered full color maps are lovely and all but usually what I want out of a regional map image is like, the stylized ink look. Just, y'know. Without having to be good at inking or realistic river paths and stuff lol.

Oh and a major note about Inkarnate! I dunno if it was since you last used it but they've got a land mass generator tool now so if you don't want to figure out the continents yourself, you don't actually have to draw coastlines anymore.

I'm looking at the Other World Mapper website a bit and it kinda looks like it's the single-purchase offline version of Inkarnate? Not that I think they're made by the same company or whatever, just that it looks like it does a lot of the same things. Which is super appealing tbh, the online nature of Inkarnate makes it super convenient for doing quick things but I am definitely not a fan of needing an internet connection to use a piece of design or creative software lol

How does the UI compare between OWM and Inkarnate? Are they similar?

[corvabird]

Inkarnate and Otherworld mapper work very differently, and Inkarnate maps are more illustrated while OW Mapper maps *look* more digital, if that makes sense. Their interfaces are, from memory of Inkarnate, very different (but I haven't used Inkarnate recently and it's changed A LOT). You don't really freehand in OW Mapper in the same way, and you never paint. But it's a normal enough set-up; toolbar down one side, second toolbar with specifics of the tool you're using (choosing different map icons, choosing fonts, choosing textures, etc).

The interior mapper is frustrating imo, but the overworld mapper is great if you want more control (you don't generate a continent, for example, but you get a coast-line tool that when you are drawing gives you a generated stretch of coast to place, stretch, or ignore as you like, which makes shaping very easy).

Honestly I think OW Mapper is lacking a lot of options compared to something like Inkarnate (premium). I think the plan is that you can buy more styles from their shop eventually, and that artists can import their own (which is not ideal for me). But there's enough to work with quite happily and I've been very happy with it the last year or so. Earlier versions not so much!

It's also much better if you want a map that looks good in black-and-white or as lineart, which is one reason I use it so much. Much better for printing in a paperback than an Inkarnate map!

[InspectorCaracal]

It's also much better if you want a map that looks good in black-and-white or as lineart, which is one reason I use it so much. Much better for printing in a paperback than an Inkarnate map!

That's exactly what I want. 8) It's also nice to hear the interface is completely different because ngl while the features are great, I kinda hate Inkarnate's UX...

Oh and btw, when I was poking around on the OWM website it looks like they already have a bunch of extra art packs available to buy, you might wanna check that out at some point in case that's a recent development?

I think I'll download the OWM demo next time I'm on the big comp to try it out, it sounds great.

[corvabird]

It's also much better if you want a map that looks good in black-and-white or as lineart, which is one reason I use it so much. Much better for printing in a paperback than an Inkarnate map!

That's exactly what I want. 8) It's also nice to hear the interface is completely different because ngl while the features are great, I kinda hate Inkarnate's UX...

Oh and btw, when I was poking around on the OWM website it looks like they already have a bunch of extra art packs available to buy, you might wanna check that out at some point in case that's a recent development?

I think I'll download the OWM demo next time I'm on the big comp to try it out, it sounds great.

I mean I'm definitely getting on great with it. Wish I could show you some examples but I think the examples on the OW Mapper site are really good anyway.

Also eek! New art packs?? They didn't really have any before, I should get some!