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I have an image of a map of a certain region, and I want to show the map divided to about 1000 small pieces. This should be a metaphor of dividing the region to many small land-plots.

I need two types of division:

  • A vertical division - all division lines are vertical but with randomly varying intervals.
  • An arbitrary division - irregular division lines, that should give the impression of an anarchic (not planned) division of the land.

I looked for smashing effects in gimp, but found effects of broken glass, which does not fit in this context (it is not glass that is broken here, it is land).

I also found some tutorials that require me to draw the smashing lines myself, which is a lot of work since there are many pieces here. I am looking for an automatic way to create random, irregular division lines.

Thanks!

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  • I do not know Gimp very well, but could you not use the smashed-glass method on your map? Or get a network of random lines, impose it over your map, and then explode? – benteh Nov 24 '13 at 12:30
  • A network of random lines look like a good solution, but how do I create this? (And why the downvote? Is this question off-topic here?) – Erel Segal-Halevi Nov 24 '13 at 14:55
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    No idea why you got a down-vote. A google search for "random lines" will give you black-white random crossing lines. Or you could simply go bananas and make such an image yourself. Theoretically, and here we need some Gimp experts, you could then overlay this, and slice up your map along those lines. – benteh Nov 24 '13 at 15:01
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I use scriptographer and (more recently) paper.js for creating these sorts of generative graphics. You can create vector graphics in the browser, then export to SVG for more manipulation in Illustrator, Inkscape, or your program of choice.

Here's a script modified from an old version of scriptographer for paper.js:

http://goo.gl/FfZDYS

To use, click and drag in the Results pane to create a network of random lines. Press Shift+Enter to save the results to an .SVG file.

You can modify the number of lines generated and the speed of growth by the max and size values at the top of the Javascript pane.

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