(© copyright 1996-1999, Timothy G. Feeman and Elaine F. Bosowski.)
(mollmap2.htm)
For this part of the laboratory exercise, you will need the following.
your graticule from Laboratory Exercise mollmap1 (a Mollweide equal area projection)
drafting tape (Don't forget to stick the tape to your clothes before using it on paper, in order to reduce its stickiness a bit.)
drawing pencil
1 sheet of drafting paper
sandblock sharpener
straight edge
combination curves and/or french curves template
eraser and erasing shield
compass (the sort used for drawing circles, not the sort used for determining direction)
globe
atlas
Your task is to properly use the above items to prepare a map of the world, using the base graticule you prepared with Maple in the first part of this lab (6a).
Important Note: If you did not do the Maple work, you may use the copy of the graticule located in the endpages of your text. However, you must also then answer the questions in the file mollmapq.htm .
Your finished map should have the following features:
One hemisphere (northern or southern) will show the boundaries of the land masses, lettering for one ocean, and the part of the graticule that lies within water areas (except where the graticule interferes with the lettering);
The other hemisphere will show lettering indicating the name of the hemisphere and the entire graticule (except where the graticule interferes with the lettering);
A creative title will be hand-lettered and centered below the map itself;
The name of the map author (this is you!) will be hand-lettered in the lower right-hand corner of the page.
To prepare the finished map, follow these steps.
Properly tape your base graticule to a table or other flat surface suitable for drawing.
Using your drafting pencil and a straight edge, draw three registration marks (a pair of crossed lines) in any three of the four corners of the graticule sheet.
Firmly tape your drafting paper over your base graticule. Then, using straight edge and drafting pencil, trace the registration marks onto your drafting paper. These registration marks will allow you to properly align all your work for this lab.
Write your name, in pencil, in the lower right-hand corner of your drafting paper.
Select a meridian to serve as the central meridian for your map. You need not choose the Prime Meridian for the center of your map.
2. Compiling land boundaries and tracing the graticule.
Using the "like squares" method (introduced in lab exercise azilab2) compile a map of the land boundaries of the hemisphere other than the one you compiled in lab azilab2. Once you have drawn the land boundaries for the appropriate hemisphere, then go to the section below on Lettering and add the labels for an ocean and the hemisphere other than the one you just compiled. Once you have finished these labels, use a straight edge and a curves template to carefully trace those portions of your graticule that lie within water areas. Doing this will result in your land areas standing out visually against the receding background of the oceans. In this case, land represents "figure" and the oceans represent "ground" (background) in your illustration. Do not include portions of graticule lines that would interfere with your labels!
For the lettering portion of this laboratory exercise you will be sketching by hand the labels for (1) an ocean that appears in the hemisphere whose land masses you have compiled, (2) the hemisphere not being compiled, (3) a creative title, centered at the bottom of your drawing, and (4) your name, in the lower right-hand corner of the drawing.
Ideally when one is preparing a map for publication, there are many choices available to the cartographer in selecting what to label and how and where to label it. For this exercise, however, you will be lettering only a few elements of your map.
A professional cartographer has many styles of lettering to choose from when preparing a map, just as there are many styles to choose from in most computer word-processing packages. For instance, here are vivaldi, stencil, mistral, and copperplate gothic, to name a few. (Times New Roman is the primary style used in this dodument.)
As you will be sketching the lettering by hand, the style of lettering you select should be one you can manage. (For instance, gothic lettering might be the style you really want to give your drawing an old-fashioned feel, but if you can't manage gothic by hand, don't select that style here. Similarly, plain block lettering might not have as much pizazz as you might like, but if that's what you can draw best then go ahead and use it here.) If there is a style you would have liked to have used, but weren't up to drawing by hand, feel free to mention it in your comments sheet for the lab.
b. letter form and letter size
There are a number of different commonly used forms for letters including capitals (ARCTIC OCEAN), capitals and lower case together (Arctic Ocean), and all lower case (arctic ocean). These can be combined with bold-face or italic features (Arctic Ocean or arctic ocean). One of my favorite forms is called "caps-small-caps" which uses all capital letters but of different sizes. Unfortunately, this form is not available on the processing package I'm using here.
Lettering also comes in a variety of sizes. Different sizes are measured in "points" with more points corresponding to a larger letter size. A professional cartographer would choose lettering of a specific point size to use for each label on a map.
In this exercise, you should choose letter forms and sizes that you feel are appropriate for the labels you must draw without worrying about the exact "point size". You may (in fact, you should) use different sizes for different labels (larger letters for the map title than for your name, for instance). The letter form, however, should be consistent throughout the map to ensure its integrity. Again, if you would have liked to have used a particular letter form or size, mention this in your comments sheet.
Now it is time to actually put some labels on your map. Here are some helpful hints:
- Examine the pages on Hand Lettering Tips. You might wish to practice on scrap paper before labeling your final map.
- Once you feel that you are ready, begin by lightly sketching guidelines for the lettering. The guidelines should be parallel to but not the same as the lines of the graticule.
- Take care to curve the letters where the label is supposed to curve in order to remain parallel to the graticule. Lettering should be drawn parallel to, but not on, the lines of latitude and longitude.
- If the graticule "shrinks" (for instance, the longitude lines might get closer together toward the poles), then your lettering should do the same.
- If your lettering passes through a graticule line, then that part of the line should be erased.
- Be patient. This is not as easy as it might seem.
4. Reflection
When you have finished, spend some time thinking about what you have created and write about your observations in your comments sheet for this lab.
Be patient. This takes time.
Be careful. This is not necessarily an easy task.
Draw lightly. You may need to erase and correct your line work.
If you have problems, or are unsure, seek help.
Enjoy!