#Writing-related question: seeking recommendations for easy-to-use, free or very inexpensive #shareware, #Mac-compatible #drawing #software for #mapmaking.
Currently I'm working on a writer's bible for the Stationverse, called "The Silmarillisaurus" because of course it is. For my own use, mainly—a shared world would be neat, but if that ever happens it will be a long time from now. This is for me to keep track of everything.
What I have in mind is really basic. I don't have Tolkien's sketching ability, so I figure I'll draw something simple and then try to pretty it up a bit on screen. Drawing and cloning symbols for mountains, trees, etc., along with lines for shores and rivers and roads, then cloning and pasting as needed.
(*Dedicated* map-making software that allowed me to do things like topo lines would be nifty, but I'm not expecting that.)
Untold æons ago, I was actually pretty decent with Illustrator, at least for a non-artist. Those skills are gone now, like tears in rain, and so is a registered copy I can use on anything resembling a modern OS. Simple and cheap is what I'm after.
Oh yeah—I'm also open to working with an artist who can take my crude sketches and turn them into something publishable. I can pay, just not much right now, and I don't want anyone to feel ripped off. You may be noticing a theme here.
You already have Freeform installed in macOS... worth a look?
@gsymon Freeform is basically a whiteboarding app, right? I hadn't thought of trying to adapt that to mapmaking, but I can see some similarities.
Yes.. whiteboard.. but it has some tools in there.
I've used Affinity Design for some years for simple tasks, like editing SVGs. It's an Illustrator level app.. but it's 1-time purchase and there's usually 1 or 2 sales per yr ~50%. That said, Affinity was sold ~1yr ago to an Oz company that does subscriptions.
Pixelmator Pro (photo app) may be worth a look. Apple bought it ~6months ago. It does some vector/drawing. Not yet an Apple app, but may be a free upgrade when it is.
