14 replies to this topic

[Brad S]

Hi - this is my first posting after a long time of inspired viewing. I'm working on a trail map for a nature preserve in the Shawangunk mountains of New York. The major issue I'm dealing with on this map is the fact that it needs to be printed in black and white. I've played around with many shading schemes after having it converted from color. Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated - especially on issues of distinguishing symbols in grayscale.
Thanks in advance!
-Brad

Attached Files

•  SamsPoint_Draft.jpg   478.67K   415 downloads

[Matt Adams]

Hey Brad,

The map looks really nice,

I'm not sure what is going on with your contour lines, they appear to break in spots, also since you have gone to the effort in having them, you could indicate the contour interval in the legend.

Instead of using the same line symbol for Sam's Point Preserve... and Other protected areas. I would suggest choosing a different line pattern.

You could move the North arrow up to the top right corner to fill in some of that empty space.

Some of your text, such as "Mt.Meenahga Road" could have the kerning increased, the characters are just very close together.

Have a good day,
Matt

[ProMapper]

Brad, the map looks just great. I was wondering about the hill shading that you have given to the contours. It looks so realistic, would you take some time explaining how you achieved that, was it done in Illy or some other software and exported to Illy????

Anu
http://www.mapsandlocations.com

[Brad S]

Hey Brad,

The map looks really nice,

I'm not sure what is going on with your contour lines, they appear to break in spots, also since you have gone to the effort in having them, you could indicate the contour interval in the legend.

Instead of using the same line symbol for Sam's Point Preserve... and Other protected areas. I would suggest choosing a different line pattern.

You could move the North arrow up to the top right corner to fill in some of that empty space.

Some of your text, such as "Mt.Meenahga Road" could have the kerning increased, the characters are just very close together.

Have a good day,
Matt

I appreciate you taking the time to look the map over, Matt - they are all good suggestions. I had the contours more finely tuned for a poster sized map(with contour intervals), but I might have to remove them on this smaller map or at least fix them up. Thanks!
-Brad

[Nickpap889]

Hi
I think the map is fine.
I only dont like the north arrow.
this may goes up and right.
Nikos

[Rick Dey]

Brad,

Nice job. You've done really well with the one color limitation you were handed. I especially like your falls symbology, although unique it is easily recognizable. The only issues I had dealt with the placement of the type for "Smiley Carriageway" in the upper right, it's running into the linework. And in the lower left moving "Shawangunk Ridge State Forest" to the left off of the highway and then adding a knockout to the trail under it.

[Crischan]

Really nice looking map! Will serve well, even when run over a photo copier a couple of times except for the gray shading of the exterior area. But with the distinct border line still no problem.
Like Promapper already asked - what kind of hillshading did you employ?

[razornole]

Hey Brad,

I was able to look over your map the other day, but I can't download it on the computer I'm at now. It is my problem though. From what I remember, I had a little confusion with the state park borders and the area managed by someone. It was right in the center of your map and it looked like there was 2 state park boudaries. It confused me for a bit.

You might want to do something different with your streams and small roads. They were very similar to each other.

Other than that (and some of the same things mentioned above), I thought that it was a well executed map. Good cartography doesn't need color. You have proved that with this map.

kru

[Brad S]

Really nice looking map! Will serve well, even when run over a photo copier a couple of times except for the gray shading of the exterior area. But with the distinct border line still no problem.
Like Promapper already asked - what kind of hillshading did you employ?

Thanks for the comments! For the hillshade I used a pretty standard hillshade output from ArcGIS but then manipulated it heavily in Photoshop - mainly with brightness/contrast and levels. I removed much of the detail through the levels adjustments and then worked to get the contrast and brightness correct with the reduced number of gray shades.

[Agnar Renolen]

Just a small comment: consider removing the boundary lines outside the bright area (are they of any use?)

[BEAVER]

Mapping my backyard. I did hike all those trails. I might be making a hiking map of the entire Minewaska Park

[MapMedia]

Great map!

You must have done a median blend and resample in GIS, no?
In terms of comments, hows about commas and ft (') marker in peak heights, and is it possible to mark the boundaries of preserves (TNC etc.)?

Hands, is "Verkeerder" Dutch? I thought 'kill' means small creek.

[Hans van der Maarel]

"Verkeerde" is indeed Dutch, means "wrong". So I guess you can say the wrong creek is on the map There's a fair number of Dutch toponyms in the New York City / Hudson Valley area

Oh, and I like the map. Elegant design within the restrictions of b/w and yet it communicates the message very well.

[Matthew Hampton]

That's a great looking map Brad! Good work.

My nitpicky comments are reserved for the fairly high visual hierarchy of the trail segment markers. They look a little chunky to me - like they need to go on a diet. There's a funky unattached road segment at the top and perhaps not enough of a distinction (width/shade) b/w roads and hydro - it get a little confusing in Ellenville and near the hwy 209 symbol, but I like the tapered effect! I can see by the trail names why you would want to use color but since the Long Path is a trail like the other trails I am wondering why it's symbol isn't black like the others?

I had heard about rock climbing in the 'Gunks and clicked around a bit and found this map (1.8Mb) which looks like an earlier version? Since it is a rather cliffy area I think I like deeper shading.
 Picture_120.png   534.07K   82 downloads

[Brad S]

That's a great looking map Brad! Good work.

My nitpicky comments are reserved for the fairly high visual hierarchy of the trail segment markers. They look a little chunky to me - like they need to go on a diet. There's a funky unattached road segment at the top and perhaps not enough of a distinction (width/shade) b/w roads and hydro - it get a little confusing in Ellenville and near the hwy 209 symbol, but I like the tapered effect! I can see by the trail names why you would want to use color but since the Long Path is a trail like the other trails I am wondering why it's symbol isn't black like the others?

I had heard about rock climbing in the 'Gunks and clicked around a bit and found this map (1.8Mb) which looks like an earlier version? Since it is a rather cliffy area I think I like deeper shading.
 Picture_120.png   534.07K   82 downloads

Yep - that's the previous version of this map. Though it is also online, the primary use is a B&W handout at the nature preserve. Using a standard printer with an off-white paper really reduces the quality of the hillshading(and everything else), so I simplified it a bit. The map at the preserve is 3 foot by 3 and has a much nicer hillshade - and with color!
Rock climbing is a bit further up the ridge, but this area offers some beautiful hiking.