1.0 Preparation, Symbols and Colours
   1.1 Ladders
   1.2 Stairs or Inclines
   1.3 Start locations
   1.4 Sniper LOS
   1.5 Level/Height colours
   1.6 Showing Cover
2.0 Map Creation
   2.1 Relative Size
   2.2 Insets
3.0 The Layout
   3.1 Information box
   3.2 Legend

3.0 The Final Layout:

Your layout is very important. This is where the whole project comes together. Place your legend, info box, map and any insets you have created on the same page.

Use any page size you like up to a tabloid paper 11x17” to show your work. Anything bigger and it’s just too difficult for anyone to print. It’s great if you can get your work to fit onto a standard 8.5x11” paper but you can only do this on simple maps with low clutter such as DE_Dust or DE_Cbble. Multilevel monstrosities such as AS_Oilrig or really long maps like CS_Italy really require larger page sizes. A good halfway point is the less used legal sheet of 11x14.

There are two principal components of a good layout. An information box which tells the user a little about the credits and sources of the map and the legend box which explains in simple terms what your chosen symbols and colours really mean.

3.1 Information Box:

Your information box should contain the author, sources if any, helpers, revision date and a map title. I use a 10 point Arial font for all normal text in my layouts and a 16 point bold for the map title.

3.2 Legend:

The legend should have a title (I use 14 point bold) and all your colours and symbols as seen here:

Ta da! You’re done. Just remember to take criticism in stride and if any errors are reported to you fix them quickly. If you're careful, you can make a great product that clans and friends will cherish. I have put a lot of effort into my own maps and I always find that the best test of any map is to ask the original 3D maker of the map to take a look. So far I have used this to get a great amount of feedback and help from the original mappers themselves.

Thanks and remember to have fun,

Half-Pint