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Papercut Lakes

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Why we love it

Paper cut maps are a beloved, artful way to model elevation and depth. Traditional paper cut maps require crafting with physical materials—literally cutting construction paper and wood. These Paper Cut Lake Maps are digitally constructed to mimic natural materials. What looks like tangible maps is achieved using advanced digital textures and effects. We love that cartographers are rediscovering and celebrating manual techniques and adding a new level of artistry to modern mapping work.    

Why it works

When modern maps are imbued with a hand-crafted aesthetic, they feel more approachable. These digital paper cut lake maps evoke a visceral sense of touch. They look like something we could hold, move our hands across, and experience the contours of the lakes directly. These maps work because they blur the lines between digital and tangible, between historic and modern. In a lovely and sentimental way, the paper cut maps pay homage to the past while delighting in current mapping techniques. 

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Important steps

  • Layer small effects

    Don’t expect a single effect to do all the work. Rather, layer multiple small effects together such as drop shadow, stroke effects, and texture fills to recreate real-world materials.
    Gather small effects

  • Repeat textures

    The key to this work is a small library of repeatable textures that can be used as symbol layers.
    Explore symbol layers

  • Reverse engineer it

    Sometimes it’s helpful to open up the finished Project file in ArcGIS Pro to see how it’s made. You can download the file and start at the end.
    Visit the blog
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Requirements

  • Data

    If you are interested in the initial data wrangling and strangling, find the source bathymetry data made available by the excellent team at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
    Access NOAA data

  • Analysis

    Merge digital elevation models for each lake in ArcGIS Pro. Blur using Focal Statistics tool for a smooth surface and paper cut curves. Trace with Contour tool from ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension and use an interval that generates a likely number of paper cut layers.
    Explore the Focal Statistics tool
    Explore the Contour tool

  • Time

    As is the case with many maps motivated by whimsy, the initial creation came from many enjoyable hours of tinkering. To recreate it, however, given the available tutorial, it ought to take about an hour to start cranking out plausible digital paper cut maps on your own.
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Tips and tricks

  • use images for strokes and textures to create an amazing variety of looks

    Fake the look

    In ArcGIS Pro, use images for strokes and textures to create an amazing variety of looks. The look of pencil or crayon here is digital. You get a remarkable amount of visual versatility using the “tint” feature of picture symbols.
    Explore stroke symbol layers
  • Add letterpress

    Add letterpress

    Impress the design crowd with the look of letterpress labels embossed into heavy paper for added authenticity.
  • Check as you go

    Check as you go

    Zoom way into the preview panel to see how your custom symbol layers are looking as you create them.
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Map Author

John Nelson

I have way too much fun looking for ways to understand and visually present data, engage others, and write about it. Otherwise, I’m chasing around toddlers and wrangling chickens. Life is good.

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Learn more about making maps in ArcGIS Online

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