Custom Maps and Panoramic Photography – Video Explanation
By John Potter
I decided to put a little explanation of my custom designed maps and panoramic photography into video format so that I can describe what I can offer without having to be sitting right in front of a client. I have a lot to offer and I thought this might be an easier and faster format for some folks to use than browsing around my website. This also allows me to show my services as I perceive them pretty clearly. I hope you enjoy it.
If you want to read the transcript here it is:
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I just mailed out the May 2010 Newsletter and I am posting a link to it here as well for the benefit of anyone who missed it.
Sign up for or view older newsletters HERE.
Dinosaur World Kentucky Map – Adobe Illustrator Time-Lapse Video
By John Potter
For the Plant City, Florida Dinosaur World map project I made a full six minute time lapse video of the creation process. Now that I’ve moved on to the Cave City, Kentucky map I decided to make a more compressed video more like a slideshow that is actually less than a minute long.
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Although the project is not yet fully complete we are far enough along that I can share this video and a detailed image or two.
Dinosaur World is a great attraction featuring hand crafted, sculpted dinosaurs. Located right off of I65 in Cave City, Kentucky, the park is great fun for kids and adults featuring a museum, a huge playground, picnic areas and of course tons of dinosaurs. Lovingly created by the Svensson family, the park in Cave City is one of three parks with the other two Dinosaur Worlds located in Plant City, Florida and Glen Rose, Texas. Be sure and visit their web site at http://www.dinoworld.net and visit the park in person. Dinosaur World in Cave City is right down the road from Mammoth Cave National Park and and centrally located to many more attractions. I have come to love Cave City and can’t wait to return.
This video is also available on Youtube. I hope you enjoy it.
Flamingo Gardens Gets A New Visitor Brochure
By John Potter
I am pleased to announce that Flamingo Gardens will be releasing their new map as well as a new brochure of my design within the next few days to weeks.
I’ve posted a lot about the map already, but I haven’t mentioned the brochure that is the other side of the printed map.
It is highlighted by an illustration I did in Adobe Illustrator in kind of an Art Deco style to fit with the historic and classy nature of the venue. The font used in the title is “Potter Slim Deco”, which I designed and is available for sale from the downloads page. The spot illustrations are largely made from pieces of the map, thereby tying it all together. The final brochure was constructed in Adobe InDesign.
A larger image of the main illustration alone can be seen in the illustration gallery.
Dinosaur World Florida Map – Adobe Illustrator Time-Lapse Video
By John Potter
One of my recent large projects has been the new visitor’s map for Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida. Dinosaur World is a great attraction featuring over 150 hand crafted, sculpted dinosaurs. Located right off of I4 between Tampa and Orlando, the park is great fun for kids and adults featuring educational exhibits, a huge playground, picnic areas and of course tons of dinosaurs. Lovingly created by the Svensson family, the park in Plant City is one of three parks with the other two Dinosaur Worlds located in Cave City, Kentucky and Glen Rose, Texas. Be sure and visit their web site at http://www.dinoworld.net and visit the park in person.
The management at Dinosaur World contacted me back in mid February inquiring about a redesign of their visitor’s map. We reached an agreement and I went up to see the park and collect the data needed to create the map. I had a great time and the data all lived up to expectations. Partially due to the panoramic photography I shot there weren’t a lot of revisions based on incorrect placement or that sort of thing.
The project moved quickly and efficiently and I ran an ongoing screen capture as I have done with the Flamingo Gardens Map and the Snow Scene for Foreign Trade Zone Corporation. As with the Flamingo Gardens Map I did not include every single thing that I did in the interest of not putting anyone to sleep. The speed is doubled six times over giving you the ability to see how I work and the thought process behind it without being burdened by specifics of technique. The project was done primarily in Adobe Illustrator, although I do jump to other programs for a second every now and then as you will see in the video.
This video is also available on Youtube. I hope you enjoy it.
For more about Attraction Maps visit my site…attractionmaps.net
Dinosaur World Map Project
By John Potter
One of my most exciting projects that is presently in progress is designing and illustrating the visitor map for Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida (http://www.dinoworld.net). It’s a very exciting project and although similar to some previous projects it includes many new challenges, like drawing a whole bunch of dinosaurs. The park is super cool and lot’s of fun. I want to capture that fun in the map, and I think it’s living up to expectations. I’ve posted some images of the project in progress. Expect more news on the Dinosaur World map project in the coming days.
Also be sure and visit my new domain…http://www.attractionmaps.net
http://www.EscapeKeyGraphics.com
Some Ways I Can Help You Use Google Earth
By John Potter
A while ago I began maintaining a Google Earth file pinpointing the locations of most of the panoramic photos I’ve shot, but the file isn’t just available for download. I’ve also embedded the file into some of my web pages using Google Maps as you can see here.
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Adobe Illustrator Time-Lapse Map Video
By John Potter
I was recently contracted by the beautiful tourist attraction, Flamingo Gardens, in Davie, Florida to redesign their visitor’s map. You may recall that I did some panoramic photography for them previously and posted an article about that.
This was a very exciting project for me, and I decided to record the project in on going screen capture and made a time-lapse video of the process from it like I did with my “Photoshop Time-Lapse Video.“. The map required a lot of skill, patience and a variety of techniques and tools in Adobe Illustrator. Further complicating issues, the tree canopy at the park is so thick that aerial photography is not helpful at all. I started out sketching the paths, but later switched to a hand held GPS. It was very helpful, but I still found I needed to clean up the design and revisit the park to verify the accuracy. I also did some more detailed sketching during that visit. At that point, I had a good basis to start with. From there on it was lot’s of dedicated work and patience. I utilized a lot of custom textures and brushes I have made over the years and created quite a few new ones as well. Some parts were more of a technical challenge while other parts allowed me to draw in a freehand style. A project this big was bound to supply variety.
There were, of course, revisions and changes that are not all reflected in the video and in the interest of not boring anyone to death not every tree, shrub and shelter is rendered in the video.
I have really enjoyed working on this project. This map is a quantum leap ahead for Flamingo Gardens in legibility and comprehension as well as aesthetics. Now they will have a map that will keep their guests from getting lost and make a nice souvenir as well. The map should be released to the public in or around April.
The video is available below from Vimeo and my server and it is also available from Youtube.
This project is featured on Digital Urban!
