Adventures In Mapping

Continue reading Willow Shows You Cookie-Cutter Cartography

You can’t turn around without bumping into a lake in Michigan. One day I was driving and I saw two long lakes pretty nearby each other. I was indignant. How many Long Lakes are there in Michigan anyway? It turns out there are a lot. There are also lots of Round Lakes and Crooked Lakes. … Continue reading The Round, Long, and Crooked lakes of Michigan

Here is a khaki-colored basemap. Because khaki colored basemaps are insanely useful as a handsome muted monochromatic stage for your stuff. So check it, and use it as the background for your story or thematic map or whatever you feel is best. Nice and easy. Love, John Continue reading Khaki Basemap

This year the Esri User Conference is, like every other conference, virtual. The bad news is I’ll miss out on soirée-ing with the worlds greatest customers. The good news is so many more people can participate now because it’s all online, and it’s free to customers and students. Here is a rundown of the presentations … Continue reading Map Demo Jam-fest for the 2020 Esri User Conference

It was an honor, and a lot of fun, to be invited to chat with the wonderful Ta Taneka and Wayne Lee-Archer of Esri Australia about map nerd stuff. I’ve never been on a podcast before. So, if you can tolerate a grating nasally Midwestern yawp peppered amidst the soothing tones of a couple lovely … Continue reading GIS Directions Podcast

I recently made a StoryMap that illustrates the deepness of Challenger Deep using some comparisons. Like taking a walk through Manhattan. Or skydiving. Or free-diving. There are also the obligatory Everest, Grand Canyon and Burj Khalifa units in there, too. As one does. Also, to keep it somewhat sciency, I have this introduction thing to … Continue reading Some ways to visualize Challenger Deep’s deepness

The ability to slide on the data visualization goggles to filter, pivot, animate, and otherwise magically parse a phenomenon is a real wonder. This StoryMap walks through the visual analysis of 30 years of nautical piracy through various cross-sections of the calendar. While I am not a marine security expert or global economist/sociologist/explorer, I do … Continue reading Pirates and Time Travel

Here are some more, from that exercise… Continue reading How to Make this Ocean Graphic in ArcGIS Pro and Photoshop

After sharing the Pen & Ink style I got some questions about how it was made. Well, shoot, here’s how… Here’s a breakout of what’s covered, with some links (which will open the YouTube video on a new tab, at that section). 0:49 Adding a marker symbol layer. You know, that mysterious option sitting next … Continue reading How to Create that Stippled Ink Effect in ArcGIS Pro

Created with NYC open data and the Watercolor and Pen & Ink styles. Continue reading Central Park in Watercolor and Ink