Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
Articles [alt+h] Reading List [alt+r] [alt+s]

Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps

Visit Blog

Sort By

Recent [alt+2]
Vintage retro hand-drawn-ish hillshade in ArcGIS Pro Adding a hillshade terrain to your basemap can give the map reader incredible amounts of information...
8 hours ago
1

Vintage retro hand-drawn-ish hillshade in ArcGIS Pro

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

8 hours ago
Adding a hillshade terrain to your basemap can give the map reader incredible amounts of information about the surface of the earth. But it’s also a mechanism for adding visual charm and interest to a map! With emotional resonance and technical merit bound up together in such a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Esri User Conference 2026 I’ll be in a mad dash at the San Diego Convention Center the week of the Esri UC. If you are...
15th Jun 2026
1

Esri User Conference 2026

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

15th Jun 2026
I’ll be in a mad dash at the San Diego Convention Center the week of the Esri UC. If you are attending, and have nothing better to do, consider catching one of these sessions I get to be a part of with some fantastic colleagues and Ken! Basemaps Are Not Just the Background...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Map Layout Review & Makeover There are a lot of things to think about and manage and tinker with when you assemble a map into a...
9th Jan 2026
1

Map Layout Review & Makeover

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

9th Jan 2026
There are a lot of things to think about and manage and tinker with when you assemble a map into a layout, but here are three overarching things to consider: Here’s an example layout that has some issues. Those issues have been addressed in this update. And here it is in a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Make this spiral globe ornament please! Ah the winter season is a time when we can slow down and appreciate the things that really matter. A...
4th Dec 2025
2

Make this spiral globe ornament please!

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

4th Dec 2025
Ah the winter season is a time when we can slow down and appreciate the things that really matter. A chance to take stock of lasting joy. Clearly I’m talking about the opportunity to print out this paper craft ornament template, cut out the component globe gore panels, and...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Browser Hack: Gigantic Screenshots Ever feel like your beautiful web map is trapped in the confines of your monitor? Do you wish its...
4th Nov 2025
11

Browser Hack: Gigantic Screenshots

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

4th Nov 2025
Ever feel like your beautiful web map is trapped in the confines of your monitor? Do you wish its bounty could spill out beyond the stifling domain of 1920×1080? Here’s how to trick a browser’s device emulation tools to capture enormous screenshots. Now you can export your screen...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Time-warp walkability mapping in ArcGIS Pro In my mental model of a walkability map it’s not enough to know how far away something is, but also...
6th Aug 2025
51

Time-warp walkability mapping in ArcGIS Pro

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

6th Aug 2025
In my mental model of a walkability map it’s not enough to know how far away something is, but also how long it takes me to get there. My perceptions of the same distances, but with different walk times, are much different. There are realities that slow me down like...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Make a cross stitch style map in ArcGIS Pro Yes, yes, maps are spatial communication devices and we can obsess over precision and clarity. But...
27th May 2025
43

Make a cross stitch style map in ArcGIS Pro

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

27th May 2025
Yes, yes, maps are spatial communication devices and we can obsess over precision and clarity. But it all depends on your map’s purpose. Maps are also designed objects so they can carry within them the power of sentiment. Memory, joy, nostalgia. Or just plain old wonder and...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Hack some bokeh into your ArcGIS Online map You know how you can crank up the sense of drama and studio photography professionalism by switching...
4th Apr 2025
65

Hack some bokeh into your ArcGIS Online map

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

4th Apr 2025
You know how you can crank up the sense of drama and studio photography professionalism by switching over to portrait mode on your phone’s camera? It just looks…cool. The subject is in focus and the peripheral background content is blurry. It’s actually how our eyes and brains...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Draw complex polygons in ArcGIS Pro, super fast Sometimes I realize that in the amount of time I’ve spent looking for detailed data, I could have...
3rd Feb 2025
105

Draw complex polygons in ArcGIS Pro, super fast

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

3rd Feb 2025
Sometimes I realize that in the amount of time I’ve spent looking for detailed data, I could have just created it. Often, water polygons at the scale you need for your mega-detailed map just aren’t available. Here’s how to draw a complex polygon in ArcGIS Pro super easily. And,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Make these ornaments please It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just...
5th Dec 2024
101

Make these ornaments please

from Adventures In Mapping | John Nelson Maps [alt+shift+b] in cartography

5th Dec 2024
It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just slightly awkward office holiday parties. We dedicate 82-86% of our mental capacities to socializing with our colleagues over deserts and drinks, while the remaining 14-16% remain...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]

The best way to read the internet.
Made for nerds, by a nerd.

The best way to read the internet

© 2023 Bored Reading. All rights reserved.

Legal

Terms of Service Privacy Policy

External Links

Borderline.biz Buy & Sell Apps PixelsOnGrids App Design Agency

Explore

Top Blogs
Suggest a Blog [email protected]

bored reading

v. 229.328 compliant with
earth/mars-x8292 communication
protocol 29xjw899992

When Google killed Google Reader, the bloggosphere took a severe hit and the content quality went down because there weren't enough readers to justify the effort it takes to maintain a high quality blog.

What's left is a decaying wasteland of blogs, most abandoned, a lot are now SEO spam, and 99% are not worth reading. BoredReading is a way to read the remaining great blogs that survived the ice age.

To add your favorite blog, please suggest it here! I get emails every day which helps me maintain a high quality selection of blogs!

Avatar

Made by,
Kumail Hunaid

@kumailht on Twitter.
My website and email.

Close [esc]
📚 BoredReading

You seem to be enjoying this.

Join free to unlock everything.

Create free account

Already have an account? Sign in