2 replies to this topic

[Mike Boruta]

Making a hiking trail elevation profile from a GPX file is pretty straightforward, but does anyone know of any tools that would allow you to automatically fill the profile according to a custom blended color ramp? I have a work-around method which involves creating a polygon out of the elevation profile and using this as a "cookie-cutter" to cut out a colored gradient in Photoshop. It works fine, but I need to do it for over 100 profiles. Attached is a sample of what the final product needs to look like.

Attached Files

•  Screen_shot_2011_06_28_at_2.13.30_PM.png   84.5K   105 downloads

[razornole]

I use Illy for my profile color gradients. I just add a fill to my profile and have it stretch from my darkest to lightest color. I don't use multiple colors for my hypsographic tints, but if I did I would just add more colors to my gradient. It will blend them flawlessly. If I had to make multiple profiles of various elevations I would create a rectangle with my max to min colors and use a clipping mask (which sounds like your cookie cutter approach) but that only entails clicking a button.

Don't know if this is helpful.

kru

[Pete]

I've just started work on some route profiles and I'm using Illustrator much like Kru described and it works great. The early drafts of the first stage are doing the rounds in the map gallery just now.

If you are using Photoshop would it speed things up any if you made a layer with the elevation ramp you wanted and then turned each actual profile image into a black/white mask using the threshold adjustment and used it as a clipping mask rather than creating a polygon out of it?

Just out of interest, what software are you making the profile with and what does it look like before you start editing it?