By Allyn@darkleagues.com

When we think about hand drawn maps and what they look like, what do we think about? The first thing that generally comes to mind is parchment, but what is parchment?

Parchment, Vellum and Paper

Parchment is a writing material predating paper by perhaps 1500 years. It is made from the split skin of the sheep. The grain, or wool, side of the skin is made into leather. The flesh, or lining, side of the skin is converted into parchment. Equally common for the period is vellum, though the term doesn't conjure up images of old world paper like the word parchment does and in many cases the terms parchment and vellum are used almost interchangeably.


Vellum is usually calfskin prepared using lime, scraped with a knife and finally rubbed smooth with a pumice stone. Unlike parchment, vellum is usually made from the entire skin, and is also made from goat, lamb, and deerskin. It can usually be distinguished from parchment by the grain and hair marks producing a somewhat irregular surface.


Paper, on the other hand, is a manufactured product. It is made from linen, straw, bark, wood, or other fibrous material pulped in water and then drawn off with a close meshed wire tray. The size of early maps made from paper was pretty standard (28" x 24") and was dictated by the size of the mesh trays used in manufacturing which in turn was dictated by the size of the sheets able to be handled by the printing presses of the day.

What does that mean to me as an RPG mapper?

Not much. :)


When we, as ordinary modern people, think about old world paper and parchment, we think about a paper that isn't white and has a texture. Unless you are striving for historical accuracy, something that looks to you like old paper is just fine to use as the background for your map. Some of my favorites are these:

They each have texture and it is easy to imagine that any one of them can be old paper. In order to import them into CC2, the files need to be in the bmp format. The size is up to you. Just remember that in CC2, the bitmap will not enlarge and reduce. What you see here will be the look the bmp gives you no matter what zoomed view is used in CC2 so start with something that looks good to you. Remember also that we'll want to tile the bitmap so keep that in mind when selecting files that have a prominent pattern. We don't want the bitmap to be the focus of the drawing. We want it to sit quietly in the background.

Where do we get our parchment bitmaps?

Anyplace you want, just don't steal them.


Don't be an internet thief. I've said this before and I'll say it again. It amazes me that folks that wouldn't dream of walking into a store and shoplifting merchandise seem to think there is nothing wrong with stealing off the internet. The most common response is "What are you worried about? You won't get caught." That is likely true. You probably won't get caught, but just remember that honor and integrity are what you do when no one is watching and you won't get caught. If you steal off the internet, you have no honor or integrity and don't kid yourself that you do.


There are plenty of Freeware sites out there that offer backgrounds in a variety of different colors and textures. One that I use frequently is http://www.grsites.com/textures/. You can also buy bitmaps. Scriptorium Fontcraft (www.fontcraft.com) has a collection of paper textures:
http://www.fontcraft.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=textures5&Category_Code=textures

I have a bitmap. Now what?

Drop your bitmap into the CC2 folder titled Bitmaps>Tiles. Don't forget what you named it.


Now we decide what style of map we'll make. Since I already spent most of this month's article on paper and parchment, let's start an easy map. In the introduction, I showed you a thumbnail of a style I called Desperation. It is a hastily scrawled map on a scrap of parchment. We'll do that to start us off.

Let's look at the elements that make this map look the way it looks. The paper is torn. The symbols are rough and look very much like someone scratched them in haste, and so does the font. Also note that nothing is black—not the border, not the symbols, and none of the text. Let's keep those things in mind as we go to CC2.

Putting the parchment background in is the easiest part of what we're going to do. First let's load that torn-edge template. From the choice of templates available (I'm using CC2 Pro with UU4 installed), I chose the template titled Parchment2 1000x800.FCT.

Thaw all your layers and get rid of that compass rose and the scale bar. We won't need them.


Now let's pull the parchment bitmap into the template. In Fill Styles, go to your Bitmap Files tab. Select New, and then name your bitmap. Something simple like Parchment will do. Browse for the bitmap you dropped into the Bitmaps>Tiles folder.


Once you have the bitmap loaded, select Change Fill Style and select that ugly yellow parchment. Then, from the Bitmap Files tab, select that new Parchment bitmap you just loaded to your Bitmaps>Tiles.

It already looks like something cool is about to happen, doesn't it? Don't forget to save your file.


I have to go put on my pith helmet and do a spider safari for my wife. Join me in the next installment of Hand Drawn Maps and we'll finish this.