Since a lot of people asked how I make those isometric overviews of my maps I thought I'd just share a little Tutorial on how I go about them. So here we go:
[I use Affinity Designer to create the isometric views and show the process on how I go about in there because of it. You will probably be able to recreate this in other softwares that supprt isometric grids too though]
So if you want to create something from your maps like this:
or this:
You can do that by following those Steps:
______________________
STEP 1: Prepare your files
To make the process later on a little bit easier it makes sense to put all the image files you want to use in one folder. For this example here I use the 100ppi webp images of my a day at the city center maps. Make sure that you use the transparent overlays from the upper floors so you get the result you want to achieve!
______________________
STEP 2: Create a new canvas
For this one I created a new document at 7400x12000px with 100dpi:
[Don't forget to save your file]
______________________
STEP 3: Create a background
For the background I use the rectangle tool and draw it across the canvas.Then I give it a dark greyish color [#242424]. Of course you can use any color you wish...Then I lock the the Layer so I don't accidentally move it later on [Little lock symbol in the Layer window or right click on the layer and select "lock"].
______________________
STEP 4: Activate the isometric view
If you haven't already shown the isometric window in your settings: Go to the options bar in the top > "Window" > and select "Isometric".
Now it is asking us to modify the grid to be able to use it - so we do just that:Go to "Mode: Advanced" and select "Grid type: 2:1 Isometric"I use a spacing of 300px with 2 Divisions for this example.
Activate the "Show Grid" Option to be able to see it on your canvas.
Of course you can play around a bit with your settings in case you want. If you want to have more extreme angles you can for example use the Cube Mode, where you have more advanced options to create your isometric angles.
Your Canvas should now look roughly like this:
______________________
STEP 5: Add Map images
Now select all maps from your prepared folder and simply drag & drop them onto your Canvas (all at once so they stack neatly on top of each other). Depending on your Canvas size and the size of the maps you might have to scale the images a bit. (I chose a fairly big canvas size so it fits the 100ppi maps from the city center well)[keep all image layer selected and then resize them by dragging one of the blue corners while holding shift so they don't lose their proportions]
Now change the order of the images if necessary, so your lowest floor is the layer on the bottom and the highest one up top.
______________________
STEP 6: Make them isometric
Now you want to change the appearance of the maps so they look isometric:
For that select all your map layers - go to the isometric window ans select "Fit to plane".Make sure that you have "Top" selected as current plane.(And then resize them all together again so they fit the canvas).
So it get's easier later on you can align the left corner of the images to one grid corner - this way it will be easier to use the same distances in the next step.
Your Canvas should now look roughly like this:
______________________
STEP 7: Create depth
So you get that feeling of depth in the overview you now pull the images apart. For that, select all map layers but the lowest one, hold Shift (so it stays linear) and then drag them up.
Now deselect the next one on the bottom and repeat that for every level until you reached the top.
For the basement I used a distance of 6 Grids and for all upper floors 1/2 grid.But the distance can very much vary depending on how much you want to show from the different levels and how much depth you want to create. I recommend using the same spacing for upper floors though.
You can start to see a difference, but the image itself is still quite confusing to look at. Thats why with the next Step we add shadows:
______________________
STEP 8: Add shadows
For this step I duplicate all map layers: Select all Layers that include the map images > right click > duplicate:
Now select the lower image of each map part and click "layer effects" in the lower section of the layers window (FX Symbol)
Now we are giving them all multiple outer shadows to create more depth between the layers:
To add more outher Shadow click the + symbol on the right side of the effect to add another one. And here the settings in big so you can better recreate them:
The other two shadows are essentially the same but have different "Offset" Settings so they create an illusion of a lower edge.
Your image should now look somehow like this:
______________________
STEP 9: Labeling
That's essentially already a finished isometric view. To make it a bit more interesting and to explain the different map / building parts you can now add labels to your image.
So everything does not feel too cluttered for this step I now group all map images together (select all > Control + G)Now you can add descriptions by selecting the (artistic) text tool and add them to your image. To make them better readable you want to have those from the front, so I don't advise to fit those to the isometric plane.
To better show which part you mean you can add lines with the line tool to connect the part of your map with your writing. For that select the pen tool and draw a straight line up and if you want a bit to the side as well:
I used a white stroke colour so it is better visible against the dark background with a 3,5pt width. I also added an arrow at the end. You can do this by selecting the line and select an arrow or shape of your choice to the end (mine has a size of 189 %)
Now you can duplicate the line and text to add further descriptions. You can change the line length by clicking on it and change it with the node tool.
For the Title of the overview I make the text a bit bigger and also change it to an isometric view to make it more interesting. For that I change the current plane in the isometriuc window to "Front", select the text and select "Fit to Plane"
Or if you want to make it look like it's kind of lying on the floor you can leave the current plane on "Top" and fit it to that plane:
______________________
And that's it!
I hope you found this useful! If you have problems understanding some steps in between let me know in the comments and I will try to explain it a bit more detailled.I wish you lot's of fun creating isometric views of your map creations!
Have a great day!Greetings from Ana