Troll Lord Games

Happy New Year everyone! I just invested in Photoshop CS2 and have to say it is amazing. I have no idea what I'm doing but it's amazing. I am currently plodding through the mire of online tutorials, but in the meantime, I wanted to ask Peter some questions about doing stuff with it.

Is there a way to creat hex or square grids? I want to do some maps and custom dungeon stuff.

The next question is: What size canvas do you work with and what do you set the resolution for? I was working on a 8x10 with 1000dpi last night, and was wondering if I am on track or way off. What do you recommend for artwork intended to be on a manual cover? What about simple, quarter page black and white illustrations in a module? F

Lastly, what software do you use to lay out the book and send it to the printer? What format?

Thanks for any help! Anyone else who wants to share, jump on in!

Just a couple of questions:

Are you planning to do the printing yourself? Or are you going to be taking it somewhere to get printed. If you're planning to do it yourself, what are the limitations of your printer?

For me, I go no lower than 300 DPI and I haven't had a need personally to work at anything more than 1200 DPI (yet). It comes down to what I'm using it for and the nature of the image in question.

M
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

I created several square grid templates in In Design using the 'step and repeat' function. Its a lot faster than the tedious method in Photoshop.

Hexes I have seen several online tools for. But I really don't mess with them much, simply because I never use hexes if I can help it.

Any resolution I set is a factor of 300. For large pictures 17x22 or bigger, 300 dpi. (maps and the like)

If I have pictures I can fit into an 8x10 space or thereabouts it can be from 600 to 1200.

And the last question I answered first sort of... See In Design above.

Getting art work print ready requires no more than 360 dpi. Thats industry and publishing house standard.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley

Thanks for the advice, guys!

Pete, I still don't understand how to do a grid in Design with the step and repeat function. I am new to all this and losing my mind. Would Adobe Illustrator be better for dungeon maps?

And as for hex stuff, I wanted to do an old school map like the Yggsburg/Greyhawk style. How was that done?

And as for format for commercial printing, I was wondering how the final product is shipped off to the printer.

One last question! When laying out a cover for a module or manual, is that also done in Photoshop as well? What size does the module/manual cover have to be?