Quake3World

I mean, what program do you use to draw the sketches? Thanks in advance.
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Thank you for making this topic, as this is something I struggle with the most when it comes to making maps. Thinking of the initial layout is by far my weakest skill when it comes to maps. I have all the knowledge and skill to build it, I just lack ideas and struggle really hard to come up with a cool design. As as result, I've always just built the first thing that comes to mind, and hoped a map would come out of it. Unfortunately, 99% of the time, I build stuff, lose interest, and it just gets forgotten about.

I've been using an Android app called Skedio.
It can export my "blueprints" to SVG which can then be converted to various 3D formats, imported into Radiant as a mapobject and used as a direct reference.
Qubism also deserves a mention but it's not the easiest thing in the world to use. It can export to DAE.

I'm using MS Paint, GIMP, Photoshop, pretty much anything that can make 2D images And of course Radiant

But hey, the grid sketchbook is actually great idea

@ all: thank you, I just feel this (grid sketchbook) way to be very flexible (if your eraser is qualitative! ), and it suits well for small/middle sized tourneys. but, it's very bad way to make something really vertical (like this): https://lvlworld.com/media/Dumb%20All%20Over

After a couple of maps you'll notice that serious layout production in 2d outside radiant is a big waste of time.

Just doodle up some nice corridors, stairs and jump and what not on a post-it and then build it in radiant.

@ Hipshot, I've already noticed it, but anyway, this method does not seem ideal when you want to plan something complex. although, in the end, I just don't plan anything complex.

Hipshot wrote:After a couple of maps you'll notice that serious layout production in 2d outside radiant is a big waste of time.

Just doodle up some nice corridors, stairs and jump and what not on a post-it and then build it in radiant.

Agreed. Especially if you're planning to include cool jumps around your items (which you should be). I have wasted a ton of energy on graph paper. A post-it or even a napkin will do just fine

@ Pat Howard, Yep, that's the main trouble of "drawing method", mainly because of the need to take into account the height of such jumps, which can only be estimated "in the head". I'm just uncomfortable starting to mold a map in the Radiant from the very beginning. However, I made my recent map exactly like this. And it turned out a little too open, as it seems to me.

In fact, I need a sketch just to make a basis, carcass. And when looking on some maps, it is seen that they were carefully planned (especially the inter-floor junctions). This suggests that the author used a certain program with the ability to use the grid and draw layers separately/hide them. I tried to find out the name. It's nice to know that the best mappers also do without such programs. (not counting Radiant, of course).