Map Your Face: Getting to Know Mapper CAD

Objective

Get familiar with Open Orienteering Mapper by using the tool to draw a self-portrait.

Example result:

Materials

• A computer
• Open Orienteering Mapper (0.7.0 Free Download): Mac Download | Windows Download
• The Open Orienteering Mapper Manual (this link), for reference

Instructions

Take a selfie

And save it somewhere on your computer where you can find it again.

Create a new map in Open Orienteering Mapper [This page in the manual]:

The application might be called "Mapper" or "Open Orienteering Mapper" on your computer.

Click "Create a new map..." in the upper left under Activities.

Leave the default scale of 1:10000, but –important!– change the Symbol Set to "ISOM2000_10000". Then click Create.

Tada! Now you have a brand new mapping canvas to work with.

Load your face as a template [This page in the manual]:

Go to Templates > "Open template..." and find your selfie.

Open Orienteering Mapper gives us some options to set up scale, but we're not too worried about it for this project. Let's just say 1 meter per pixel.

Once you click "Open", your image should show up in the background for your map. Here's mine:

Start mapping!

The idea is to use the line, point, and area symbols to trace/paint your image.

Drawing basics

In general, you will start by selecting a symbol from the palette on the right:

Each symbol is a line, area, or point symbol. Once you've selected a symbol, the drawing tools that make sense will be clickable. For example, when I choose a point feature, I can only use the "set point" tool (the dot):

But when I choose a line or area feature, I can make a spline, circle, square, or freehand drawing:

If I want to make a complex shape, one option is to make a basic shape like a circle, then click the white "edit" arrow to adjust the shape:

Another way to make a complex shape is to select the "draw paths" tool and click many points to draw an outline. Double click when you're finished with the line.

Keep going to make a detailed self portrait!

Bonus exercise: once you've poked around a bit, continue on to the bonus tips to learn about some extra techniques and features!