How to Make a World Map With CS2

World maps can be very useful when writing novels, creating a game, and for many other uses. Many people simply create a sketch of a world map, but a much more effective way to create one is using Photoshop CS2. Even those with little artistic skill can create a beautiful map.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop CS2

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop and create a new image with the dimensions of 1024x1024.

2. Click on the paintbrush tool. Set it to the color black, and adjust it to the size you want for the borders of the land edges and the nation boundaries on your map.

3. Use the pen tool to draw the outline of the land on your map. Then use it to draw the national borders or territory boundaries on the map. When you are finished, right-click on the lines you just drew and click on "Stroke With Paintbrush." Then right-click on the lines once again and select "Delete." This will only delete the pen line and not the strokes you just created.

4. Create a new layer under your newly created outline. Use the magic wand to select the inside of the boundaries, then fill the selection with a color of your choice. These will be the different colors of the land masses. Then select the ocean, or click outside of the nation, and fill it with a color of your choice.

5. Right-click on the color layer and click on "Blending Options." Here you can apply inner shadows, glows and other things to the color layers to make them look more professional.

6. Use the text tool to label different territories and areas.

7. Save the file in any format you wish.

Tips & Warnings

• Sketch up a small plan of your world map before you begin creating it in CS2.
• Always use your own work when creating publishable content.

[tdjprj]

on 7/28/2009 If you need a world map for website navigation purpose, check out iMapbuilder (http://www.imapbuilder.com), which comes with easily editable world map templates.

[c-to-the-m]

on 5/30/2009 I suspect the author of this article is not a cartographer. The usage of spatial data, geographic reference, or GIS is not even mentioned. This is mostly a how-to guide for using Photoshop to create lines and polygons, thus creating an illustration.