Q&A for How to Make a Map

You can use ratios to scale a drawing to the proportions of a different size. You can buy a little wheel that will show you the ratios.

Use a soft pencil like 4B or 6B for shading. You can turn it on its side to get a more uniform and even shading, especially in large areas.

A cartographer is someone who makes maps for a living. They usually make actual geographical maps, but sometimes they can be employed by to make fictional maps in books.

You may mark cities on the map with any symbol you like, like a dot or square.

Will your teacher permit you to trace the country's outline? That would be the easiest way to get started. Then you could fill in cities and towns and natural features.

Check out the article. You should start by planning it out, then make a rough copy with little color and detail, and then make a copy with color, detail, and a key.

Draw the map using whichever details, colors, and styles you'd like. Then, mark the path that the person took to school/work somehow, like using a dotted line.

It depends on the kind of map you're making. Most maps don't include buildings, but some city maps will include little pictures of a handful of the city's major buildings/constructions (such as the Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge in New York).

Take a picture of your paper map with a phone/camera and upload the photo to the computer. On the computer, use a program like GIMP and turn the contrast up to remove shadows.

Basically, you can use whatever symbols you’d like. The internet’s a great place for inspiration. Maybe colors can be height? That would mean that areas have less variety.

A nautical map is very similar to a geographical land map. Instead of drawing cities or rivers, you can indicate underwater mountain ranges or port cities. It is all up to you!

Use an atlas or an existing map for a reference. You can also use Google to convert kilometers to other measurements.

Yes, it is. Teachers, such as those teaching architecture or interior design, ask students to make 3D maps. You can use a board as your surface and stick on handmade trees, cones denoting mountains, blue strips showing rivers and oceans and so on. It can be a lot of work to create one but also a lot of fun.

You can order paper online from craft and art suppliers. If you don't know any, type "atlas paper online" and you'll get the websites or stores of you type "atlas paper sellers".

It might make more sense to draw the key last, in case you have to make changes in scale or color that would be reflected in the key.