River Map

[Zero01]

(10-28-2017, 09:26 PM)Zero01 Wrote: SneakyAdder, glad you like my preliminary effort, admittedly it was a bit rushed - but just to give you an idea about the possibilities that can be had from using GIMP.

What I did... go to the OS website, for instance, random place - https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/57.5...2.97733,11 ..click on the 'Change Map' symbol, lower right middle icon and select 'Aerial'... somewhat smoother colours than Google satellite imagery, then take a screenshot like this:

   

Then - 
1. Open in GIMP, rotate by 90 degrees in this case, to get the correct orientation.
2. You could use the 'Erode' tool, under 'Filters>Generic>' and apply that filter a couple of times or so, personally I use a filter from G'MIC (..if you haven't already got it, available from: http://gmic.eu/gimp.shtml) to give it a more 'drawn' look, something like 'Contours>Morphological Filter' works well and is similar to 'Erode'.. adjust size parameters and such.

- If you do use G'MIC there are a ton of other filters, especially in the 'Artistic', 'Contours', 'Details' and 'Lights & Shadows' sections, as well as many others which could help with this kind of project.

3. Then to make it appear more natural add colour to make the river stand out (I bucket-filled part of it but the sections further away from the sea needed to be done with the paintbrush tool, carefully using a pen/tablet set-up)
4. If that's sufficient, maybe add some text using the text editor to denote places of interest. maybe use some arrows brushes to easily point things out (get them from https://gimptricks.deviantart.com/art/Ar...-155052916 - I'm sure there are many others..)
5. Tidy it up as you see fit, export it.. to get something like this:

   

of course then, even before exporting (but remember to save your work as an .xcf file), if need be add other stretches of the river using Rich's method (see above), to make the whole map complete.
Anyway, there are plenty of opportunities for experimentation, just give it a go and try your best.

EDIT: Just realised you wanted it showing the river going north-south, my example was needlessly rotated - still you get the gist.