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Very easy tutorial: resizable pixel world map

Step 1:
To get started we need a high resolution image of the world that we can create a shape from.


Using Google image search I found this world map image which is a very good image for this purpose, download it and open it in Photoshop.
Step 2:
Select the magic wand tool and select and delete all the blue sea parts from the image, remove all text parts from the image as well.
Now Ctrl + click the layer thumbnail for the layer containing your world map image.
Right click the selection and select make work path, in the make work path dialog set the tolerance to 1,0.
work path
Step 3:
Now you have a work path the shape of the world map, to be able to reuse it in the future we will now turn it into a shape.


Select the path selection tool and right click in the work are and select define custom shape, in the dialog box type an appropriate name for your new shape.
Step 4:
Create a new layer and call it world map, select the custom shape tool and in the custom shape picker locate your newly created shape.
Hold down shift to retain the dimensions of your shape as you draw it in the world map layer.
Step 5:
This is not a beginner’s tutorial so I assume that you know how to create and use patterns, if not your place to learn this is good-tutorials


I created a new document that was 4x4 pixels in dimensions and had a transparent background, and then I filled the top left pixel with black to create my pattern.
Step 6:
Right click the world map layer and select blending options and go to the pattern overlay option and select the pattern you would like to use on your world map.
Bellow you can see the settings I used to create my map, really simple actually.
layer style - patern overlay
Step 7:
Now you can play around and test different patterns and colors on the dots and changing background color in the shape to get different cool looks for your map.


Since we have made this as a shape we can now scale this map without loosing any details, so hit Ctrl + T to scale it to the perfect size.
Have fun!
Black pixel world map on white
The result
The resulting pixel world map

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