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Creating Cave Maps with Illustrator: Maximizing the Power of Brushes

Discover how to use Illustrator's brush tool to effortlessly create detailed and realistic cave maps. Learn how to create and customize brushes for different symbols, and utilize scatter brushes for a more natural and efficient floor design. Take your map drafting skills to the next level!

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Creating Cave Maps with Illustrator: Maximizing the Power of Brushes

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  1. We all know how powerful the computer is as a map drafting tool. The ability to accurately portray cave maps makes it indispensable Programs like Illustrator push our skills and abilities even farther

  2. We know how to do the fundamentals, such as draw in cave passages

  3. And add basic symbols

  4. In fact there are many different groups of symbols available on the internet for use They are drag and drop – easy to make and easy to use

  5. But I want to talk about brushes Brushes are simply strung together symbols Instead of dragging and dropping a lot of ceiling drop symbols We can create a brush and string them along automatically

  6. Making brushes is simple Choose a symbol you have drawn or taken from another source And open the New Brush Menu We typically use Pattern Brushes

  7. Which Brings up the Pattern Brush Options I usually only play with the Scale And spacing control

  8. Varying just the spacing can make the difference between a ceiling symbol and a floor symbol

  9. Think about what you are trying to create. Just this symbol: when joined together with no spacing makes a great train track

  10. Make up symbols to use if necessary – I used this symbol to denote rocks purposely gathered into piles

  11. Flowstone

  12. Dirt/ Cobbles/ect The hardest thing to make look natural as a symbol Use of a symbol for a floor is often repetitive and eventually obvious, as it is used many times and often in close proximity

  13. Solution #1 – Use a Brush! Instead of using a symbol – use a specifically set up brush! Use the same kind of base as a symbol – but make it a scatter brush Randomize the size and rotations to have it slightly change each time

  14. Because of these minor differences, it is much harder for the eye to pick up the repeated use of the same symbol As a result, you can fill in a lot of floor space efficiently and quickly. But you must take care not to place any part of the symbol within any other type of symbol (such as rocks)

  15. Solution #2 – Use a tablet and a Brush!

  16. Set the tablet up to work with Illustrator! Make sure the pressure sensitive Settings are active

  17. Use a calligraphic brush Set a small Dot (1-3 pts) Set pressure variation Set the amount of variation to the diameter

  18. This technique allows for easy variation of cobble size, in tighter passages, or smaller maps

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