There isn’t much of a good selection of mapping icons on the internet today, particularly preparedness related ones. So lately I’ve been spending a bit of time creating a matching set of my own so I can use them for marking important features on maps.
They are all 512x512px so are great quality and are a simple enough design to be understood even when they are displayed at a tiny size. The most comprehensive set I could find on the internet for free was on “https://mapicons.mapsmarker.com/” which I was using prior to creating my own. The problem with this set is that the full download of icons skips some of the icons that can be found if you download the packs individually. Download the full pack and then the food icons and check one-by-one to see if all the food icons are in the full pack and you’ll see what I mean – unless they fixed this of course. Also you can’t customise the entire set of icons if you download them all at once so you’ll be stuck with whatever colours they give you. They are also far too detailed for displaying on small maps on high PPI devices like my Samsung Galaxy S8+.
Not to hate on the producer because they’re doing great work especially considering they are free, but far fewer detail can convey the same message and make it simpler to understand. Below are a few examples of their icons and the ones I compiled. Take particular notice of the sushi icon, where it’s hard enough to tell what it is even at 100x100px. Not to mention that it would typically be displayed at 30×30 which is the resolution it would generally displayed as on a map. I also say “compiled” earlier because I didn’t draw the icons, I simply added a background, re-scaled them to fit better and sometimes combined two icons to better describe what I was going for such as my “Stealth Camping” icon. I unfortunately can’t upload a RAR of all 2,642 icons due to the usage rights, but I could perhaps email you them all upon request.
I’m not a fan of the arrow point at the bottom of the images as well since Alpine Quest centres the icons in the middle and can’t be set at the bottom. Even if I could I’d prefer to have the icon on the spot it’s found at, but I’m sure most people would like the arrow due to being able to see exactly the location it’s at.
Here’s a few more of the icons I created sorted into the categories I like to have which make it easier to find what I want:
Attractions
Anything that provides entertainment from a theatre to camping.
Events
Events that can affect a location such as wars and car crashes.
Food
Any types of locations you can purchase food or drink.
Information
Informational queues about a location or anything that doesn’t come under another category.
Nature
Any natural elements such as mountains or animals.
Places
Any modern places you can visit such as buildings or parks that don’t come under attractions.
Routes
Preparedness planning such as bug out routes and cache locations.
Shops
Any modern shops excluding food shops.
Sport
All types of sports and sports grounds.
Transport
Transportation of all types from aircraft to ferries.
Utilities
Utilities that are common in today’s age such as government centres, hospitals or police stations.
