Illustrated Glen Rose, TX Theme Park Map
Client: Dinosaur World
This is one of my earlier maps. At the time I was making all maps as isometric drawings in Adobe Illustrator. The fun, quirky, kind of cartoon like look was perfect for this attraction. Dinosaur World has parks in Florida, Kentucky and Texas all featuring loads of life size dinosaur replicas in a natural setting and lots other amenities like playgrounds and a gift shop.
The theme parks had no map when they contracted me and no CAD drawings or site plan. Having just completed the map for Dinosaur World in Florida and Kentucky I had a methodology down and we stuck to it. I used GPS to map the paths. I also shot lots of photography including panoramic photos (which I was doing at the time). GPS and panoramic photography were pretty high tech at the time.
Using the GPS data I made Google My Maps to draw the paths as well as the positions of the dinosaurs and buildings so that I could have that all verified as correct with the client before proceeding on map creation. I still use this technique from time to time now.
Maps like this can take several layers as the geometry becomes too complex and my computer bogs down. Once a layer becomes too complex I convert the vector file to a flat bitmap. I then place it in a new file with the same proportions in Illustrator and continue adding more details, buildings or whatever is needed as vector art. Once the illustration part is complete I flatten the whole thing to a flat bitmap, place it in a new file of with the same proportions in Illustrator and create the keying and labeling etc.. This will become final files for the client so that they can make minor revisions in house. Changes to the illustration would require my intervention. I also provide files in web friendly formats (JPG and PDF).
Dinosaur World uses this map and the ones for their other parks as handouts to guests, as signage and on their website. I have made revisions over the years as Dinosaur World's parks grows and expand.
If you ever visit Glen Rose, in addition to Dinosaur World, I highly recommend visiting Dinosaur Valley State Park and seeing the actual dinosaur footprints. It's a truly amazing place.
AXONOMETRIC AND ISOMETRIC ILLUSTRATIONS:
WHAT ARE AXONOMETRIC AND ISOMETRIC ILLUSTRATIONS?:
Axonometric and isometric drawings don’t have realistic perspective. I use specific mathematical formulas to draw this way. In these images things further away don’t appear smaller and therefore have equal weight of importance to things nearby. My axonometric maps and illustrations are generally bold and have a slightly cartoon like look. This method of rendering perspective is commonly used in technical and engineering drawings. I began using this method of drawing as an illustration tool in 2007.
The difference between isometric and axonometric is isometric drawings are really just from a straight on corner angle but axonometric drawings can be from other angles. Most of my illustrations have parts that are isometric, but are largely axonometric. I have a habit of calling them all isometric, but I shouldn't.
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