Some months ago, i was tasked with creating a 3D interactive web map of a National Park that could be embedded into a website. I did my best, but unfortunately, my PC wasn't powerful enough to handle the processing. The software crashed while trying to load the DEM into the plugin I was using, so I couldn’t deliver the final product. However, I was still compensated for the effort I put in.

Fast forward to now, I’ve successfully created a 3D interactive map using a different study area and a more capable PC. I took it upon myself to complete this project as a form of preparation. just in case I’m given a similar task again in the future.

The map was created entirely using a QGIS plugin called QGIS2threejs. Only the text elements were created in Blender and imported into the 3D map interface, while the 3D tree models were downloaded online.

Although I'm not proficient in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, I initially wanted to include an integrated sidebar showing legends or popups for city and town names. Still, there are no limits to learning. I eventually found a way to integrate both the city and town names and the legend into the 3D map.

I’m the admin of the Top-O-Map server. As of early 2026 this server hosts the OpenTopoMap. In the logs I can see a lot of you are using it in QGIS. I'm happy you like the mapstyle

As I was building a new hillshade from the Copernicus DEM data, I had the idea to make a clean relief/terrain map. It just features a colored relief, hillshade and water areas. you can have a look at it here: https://top-o-map.com/map.html (choose "relief" in the menu on the top right)

For QGIS you can use the following URL: https://tile.top-o-map.com/relief/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
Zoom range: 0–12

So if you just want a backdrop where you can overlay your own data, maybe this suits you.

If you have questions or suggestions about this map, or OpenTopoMap come over to r/Top_O_Map

If you want to support me, you can here: https://ko-fi.com/topomap

I saw some cool visual techniques I wanted to try out on pinterest, and figured that QGIS is a super capable vector-based tool that could do lots of cool things it maybe wasn't originally intended to.

For these visuals, I converted the images to B&W, blurred them using r.neighbours, divided the image into 4 categories by lightness with the raster calculator, and vectorised the raster to shapes followed by a round of simplify and smooth. Then I filled in the areas with color for version 2 and symbols for version 3.

Hi! I wanted to share my first little project made with QGIS.

Over the last few months, I’ve been developing an illustrated map of the local trails and mountain huts around the area, combining topographic information, elevation profiles, refuges, camping areas, and several points of interest related to mountain trekking.

The project originally started as a personal search for a more complete and visually refined map of Bariloche’s trail network — something designed to be displayed as wall art rather than used as a traditional hiking map to carry into the mountains. Since I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I started researching, learning, and eventually designing the map that is now hanging at home, printed with archival inks on full matte paper using a beautiful 12-color printing process.

I’m an industrial designer, so having absolutely no previous experience with the software, I’m honestly really happy with the final result (although it definitely took many, many hours of YouTube tutorials, forum searches, and frustration).

Besides QGIS, I also used CorelDRAW for the fine-tuning of labels and formatting, Photoshop to edit the main background image and completely recreate all the lakes and lagoons that looked too flat in the satellite imagery, and finally InDesign to compile all the layers into a single final file ready for print.

I’m sharing a few photos of how it turned out :) LINK

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Hola! Quería compartirles mi primer proyectito con QGIS.

Durante los últimos meses estuve desarrollando un mapa ilustrado de senderos y refugios de la zona, combinando información topográfica, perfiles de elevación, refugios, áreas de acampe y distintos puntos de interés vinculados al trekking de montaña.

El proyecto nació inicialmente como una búsqueda de un mapa más completo y visualmente cuidado de la red de senderos de Bariloche, pensado para poder ser expuesto como un cuadro y no como un mapa de senderismo tradicional para llevar a la montaña. Al no encontrar lo que andaba buscando, me puse a investigar, aprender y diseñar el mapa que hoy ya está en casa, impreso con tintas de conservación, papel full mate y una linda calidad de impresión a 12 tintas.

Soy diseñador industrial, así que al no tener ningún tipo de experiencia con el programa, la verdad que estoy muy contento del resultado (fueron vaaarias horas de tutoriales en youtube, foros y frustraciones)

Aparte de QGIS usé CorelDraw para hacer el ajuste fino de etiquetas y formato, Photoshop para editar la imagen principal de fondo, generar nuevamente todos los lagos y lagunas que estaban muy planos en la imagen satelital, e InDesign al final para compilar todas las capas en una sola imagen final para impresión.

Les dejo unas fotos de cómo quedó :) LINK

I followed this great tutorial by Andriy Yaremenko. Pulled the .gpx data off Strava, used QGIS to generate the ~1,600 animation frames, and compiled everything with ffmpeg.

And yes I'm quite the slow rider, even on flat 😅

Stylised contours and a custom colour palette. All created in print layout.

[EDIT]

I made an update to the main thread where you can find a first article about the map making process !

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼Link belove 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

I wanted to try out QGIS outside of its usual scope! So I created the entire map for the game X4: Foundations!

This map was created entirely with QGIS. I wanted to push it to its limits in terms of map rendering. And I’m not disappointed!

Isn’t this software incredible?

🗺️Follow the main thread if you're interested !

This map is my first proper project in QGIS. It shows the Tre Venetie (Three Venices), a historical region in north-eastern Italy. I’m not really sure how to classify this map, but the main idea is that all the place names are written in local languages: Venetan, Friulian, Lombard, Ladin, Slovenian, and Croatian. I used standard German for the German-speaking areas because I couldn’t find a consistent way to include Bavarian place names.

I really want to improve, so any advice, criticism, or suggestions on how to make the map better would be greatly appreciated!

First attempt at a geological relief map of the Philippines.

Workflow: QGIS 3.44 to Blender 5.1.1.0

Used a DEM and lithology layers, then rendered as a shaded surface.

Main issues I’m running into

• colors from the geological legend start blending at this scale

• not sure if my vertical exaggeration is too aggressive

• lighting direction affects how “real” the terrain looks

Would appreciate any critique, especially on improving readability in 3D outputs.

Link: https://github.com/rick2x/geopacker
Unlike the native "Package Layers" tool, Geopacker actually modifies the bundled .qgz project to use relative paths, ensuring that whoever opens your packaged zip file will see exactly what you see, without a single broken link warning.

Why Geopacker? (The Problem Solved)

Sharing QGIS projects often results in broken file paths because standard tools simply export data without updating the project file's references. Geopacker bridges this gap.

Features

• Consolidates Vectors: Exports all valid shapefiles, GeoJSONs, etc. into a single packaged_data.gpkg.

• Collects Rasters: Copies local rasters (like GeoTIFFs) into a unified rasters/ directory.

• Path Remapping: Behind the scenes, the plugin unzips a copy of your .qgz project, parses the underlying XML, and safely updates the layer data sources to point to the new relatively-pathed GeoPackage and rasters.

• Smart Trimming: Optional checkboxes to strip out empty memory layers and duplicate layer sources to keep your packaged file size down.

• Remote Layer Protection: Automatically detects remote vectors (e.g. WFS/Online) and securely skips downloading them while retaining their dynamic online links in the final project.

• Error Reporting: Informs you of exactly which layers were skipped or failed to export.

Was entirely a passion project but also put on etsy if anyone is interested. Also happy to share method. I'm pretty colourblind so I'm hoping it looks normal 😅

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1797622828/vintage-ireland-map-with-modern-terrain

Base map is VersaTiles Colorful, just added a local DTM with a multiply blend mode.

I'm self-learning QGIS with the aim of working in marine conservation. This is my first project.

The map combines several data sources: JNCC SAC and SPA boundary shapefiles (merged, fixed geometries, then dissolved into a single outline), EMODnet bathymetry GeoTIFF (styled as singleband pseudocolour, blended over Esri satellite imagery at ~40% opacity), OS Open Rivers (filtered to major Welsh rivers), and OS Open Names (filtered to coastal cities and towns).

After exporting from QGIS, I brought the map into Affinity Designer to add the infographic elements.

Data: JNCC (OGL v3.0), EMODnet Bathymetry 2024, Esri World Imagery, OS Open Data, NRW.

Any feedback welcome, especially on the QGIS side.

Changelog :

• Better AI model (more precise & intelligent & fast)

• Removed pre-encoding, now just click where you want & it's segment it, no more waiting or raster size limitation

• Support for Online raster layer

• Dynamic tile resizing for infinite segmentation (you can segment a 100km long river if you want)

There are a lots more but I let you see the rest by yourself

To install just : Go to QGIS -> Plugins -> AI segmentation by TerraLab

UPD (100926): Look for Ukiyo-e Relief in QGIS plugin repository (see comments for recommendation).

No AI, no hand painting — it's all algorithmic. Input is just a Copernicus GLO-30 DEM, everything else is Python + numpy inside QGIS.

Roughly what it does:

• renders an oblique view and splits it into flat colour "plates" — by distance (Hiroshige-style receding ridges) or by elevation (Hokusai's Red Fuji)

• bokashi gradients, so the plates aren't just flat fills

• black key-block outlines only on real silhouettes, where a ridge actually hides what's behind it

• snow line that creeps down the gullies

• fake printing artefacts: slight plate misregistration, wood grain, washi paper texture

It's fully deterministic: same seed, same print.

The fun part was figuring out why the first versions looked wrong. Distance slices drew fake ridges across every slope, Gaussian smoothing turned every volcano into a parabola, and linear vertical exaggeration made all mountains look the same. Hokusai's Fuji has concave flanks, so I ended up adding a non-linear relief curve.

I often work on fairly dense QGIS projects and kept losing time scrolling through the Layers panel just to locate and access the layers that were actually visible.

So I built a small plugin called Visible Layers that opens a separate dock showing only the visible layers. From there, you can quickly toggle visibility or open the layer properties.

It’s nothing huge, but I’ve been using it every day now, so I figured I’d share it.

It’s my first plugin, so I’d really appreciate any feedback or ideas!

You can find it in the QGIS Plugin Manager (just type “Visible Layers”), or here:

QGIS: https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/visible_layers

GitHub: https://github.com/francoisbl/visible-layers

Hey everyone,

I’m Travis. After 24 years of teaching geography and GIS, and working with several geospatial organizations within the government—including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the US Army—I’ve realized that the hardest part of GIS isn’t usually the software. It’s the struggle of bridging academic theory with actual application—and finding the right data without losing your mind in the process.

I’ve seen too many students get stuck in the "theory trap" where the concepts make sense, but the practical execution feels impossible. I started TC’s GIS and Geography Blog to change that, offering professional-grade workflows and technical shortcuts for students, early learners, and educators.

As part of this initiative, I am maintaining "The List"—an educational aid featuring the professional sources and repositories I’ve relied on throughout my career to find GIS data, maps, and geographic information. I created this specifically to help new learners and educators avoid wasting valuable hours on dead-end searches or outdated portals. My goal is to help you get straight to the analysis with high-quality resources like:

• EarthExplorer: The gold standard for USGS imagery and radar data.

• ArcGIS HUB: High-level collaboration spaces (yes, there is a ton of free data here!).

• TIGER/Line Shapefiles: Essential Census Bureau boundaries for any human geography project.

• Specialized Sources: From the MN Geospatial Commons to the U.S. Forest Service and NC State Libraries.

Beyond "The List," I’m writing deep-dives on QGIS vs. ArcGIS Pro and how to use advanced search operators to find data that standard Google searches usually miss. I want to help you turn your undergraduate lab or graduate capstone into professional-standard work rooted in sound geographic logic and precision.

Check out the blog and "The List" here: TC's GIS and Geography Blog

Community request: If you have a source that belongs on "The List," or you spot a broken link, please reach out! I’m updating it weekly to ensure it remains a helpful aid for the next generation of geographers.

Ithink I’m getting there but I’d love feedback! This is the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. I’ve still got labeling, legend, title, etc to go. I used QGIS, Blender and photoshop.

I made a QGIS plugin that lets you load vector layers, pick Leaflet, OpenLayers, or Mapbox, and export a standalone HTML map. Works offline, no coding needed.

I figured this might be useful to people who might want to show something like this but don't know how or like to code.

Features:

1. Supports SHP, GeoJSON, KML/KMZ, GPKG, GDB

2. Built-in + custom basemaps

3. Clickable popups (use layer names + field aliases from QGIS)

4. Basemap switcher + layer toggles

5. Multi-layer export (only exports layers loaded via the plugin)

Plugin: http://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/interactive_map/ GitHub: github.com/KofiAdu/InteractiveMapForQGIS

Please don't hesitate to send your honest feedback, suggestions or bug reports. Also I'd appreciate a rating if you like this plugin.

First map for me ! Saint-Paul Island (a south Indian ocean isolated french Island), 1:20000.
I used a lot of OSM data and Copernicus + Barymetric data for the raster part. I am playing with Qgis since a few month but this is my first autonomous real projet. That was really fun to do :D

I don’t know how humanity made it to 2026 without a coffee-stain generator in the QGIS Print Layout.

(HUGE TREMENDOUS UPDATE:

Great news, folks! QGIS—very smart people—has just approved this TREMENDOUS, truly GREAT work for its Official Plugin Repository. They took one look at it and said, “We want it!” A HUGE victory for maps, for cartography, and frankly, for everyone who appreciates quality. If you want to make your maps better—stronger, cleaner, more BEAUTIFUL—go to the Plugin Manager and look for “Coffee Stain.” It’s a GREAT deal: powerful maps, zero hassle. People are saying it may be the greatest map plugin ever made. I’m not saying it, they’re saying it! Don’t believe the fake news. Try it yourself. You’ll love it. Your maps will love it. Everybody wins!)

Thanks to these unquestionably great scientists:

• R. D. Deegan, O. Bakajin, T. F. Dupont, G. Huber, S. R. Nagel, and T. A. Witten — “Capillary Flow as the Cause of Ring Stains from Dried Liquid Drops”

• Ronald G. Larson — “Re-Shaping the Coffee Ring”

• Azadeh Nilghaz, Liyuan Zhang, and Wei Shen — “Coffee Stains on Paper”

• Rui Dou and Brian Derby — “Formation of Coffee Stains on Porous Surfaces”

• L. Bansal, P. Seth, B. Murugappan, and S. Basu — “Suppression of Coffee Ring: Particle Size Matters”

• Dileep Mampallil, Meenakshi Sharma, Ashwini Sen, and Shubham Sinha — “Beyond the Coffee-Ring Effect: Pattern Formation by Wetting and Spreading of Drops”

• Jin Young Kim and Byung Mook Weon — “Evaporation of Strong Coffee Drops”

• Weibin Li, Ding Lan, and Yuren Wang — “Dewetting-Mediated Pattern Formation Inside the Coffee Ring”

• S. Patari and P. S. Mahapatra — “Imbibition of Liquids through a Paper Substrate in a Controlled Environment”

• G. S. Gerlero, P. A. Kler, C. L. A. Berli, et al. — “Validity of Capillary Imbibition Models in Paper-Based Microfluidic Applications”

• Peiying Han, Lijun Yang, Zhaofei Zhu, Xuyuan Liang, and Wanxin Wu — “Suppression of Coffee-Ring Effect in Droplets with Varying Particle Concentrations Induced by Laser”

—and to hundreds of other coffee-stain researchers.

(Yes. I am now convinced that there is some kind of secret society of coffee-ring and droplet researchers. Humanity has spilled coffee on practically everything it could reach. I would not be surprised if Armstrong’s first move on the Moon had been to drip coffee onto it.)