route topo software?

[kurthicks]

Anyone know what kind of software guidebook authors are using to produce route topos?

 

Hand drawings are fine and all, but I'd like to do something a little better.

[archenemy]

I will be talking to the head of GIS for SeaTac tomorrow. If you send me a PM in the morning to remind me, I will ask him if he knows about this.

[Gary_Yngve]

Adobe Illustrator, but that may be overkill. (Basically you need vector-based graphics on top of an image -- MS Paint is strictly a pixel-based program).

 

You can probably use Powerpoint too if you set the parameters right to resize your layout and print to PDF.

[archenemy]

So I got an in-depth lesson in GIS yesterday, and it is way different than I thought. Topo are only one layer of the GIS world, and an array of publishing kits exist for creating topos. Because it was a small part of the whole GIS package, it wasn't on the tip of the tongue of the dude I was talking to.

Sorry I couldn't get you a better answer, and good luck with your search.

[G-spotter]

just hand-bomb it in pen and ink, dude

[goatboy]

Alex posted a topo for Dreamer which was nicely done -- I wonder what software was used for that?

[markd]

illustrator would be the best for a couple pages of topos.

 

if your laying it out in a book fashion - i would draw in illustrator, then bring it into indesign for the layout.

[ols]

Prepare the topo in Adobe Photoshop or another pixel based program, then overlay it in Illustrator as a vector based graphics for the color.

[kurthicks]

I'll give that a shot. thanks.

[DavidW]

depends on whether you are self-published or not... there's a jillion programs that will draw a decent topo, provided you can clearly envison one...if you have a real publisher they will certainly have something to say about what programs you use and will have a whole list of some real and some bullshit reasons why their program choices are the "professional way". That said, most professional graphic "artists" have some familiarity with Adobe Illustrator. If you submit ruffs to a publisher and they hire an illustrator that person will probably be pressured to use Illustrator.

 

I've been an illustrator and climber for a long time and my personal approach is to draw them rather large in ink...with a technical pen, then scan them into photoshop and clean them up... then use the photoshop text tool for the type, the x's for the bolts, etc. They are clean and sharp and dont look computer generated... there are also 3,452 other ways to do it! PM me if you wanna explore further...

[archenemy]

Illustrator is the Devil's program.

That said, I have it, as well as the whole Adobe suite, and a bunch of other crap you might find useful. I am happy to loan you whatever you want.

[shapp]

I personally like the look of Whitelaw's topos, maybe he could draw them for you.