DIY Reusable Blank Grid Battlemap
This is a reusable battlemap for DND. This can be as large or as small as you want. The supply cost for this is very affordable. Can be done quickly and you can do it full for both sides if you want and make it 100% waterproof as well.
Supplies
- Any size paper you want to print on
- Printer (b&w if you want or colour for premade battlemaps)
- Scissors
- Protector self adhesive roll (I bought mine from a dollarama for $1.75 in the stationary section)
- Tape
Print Grids
Print out how ever many sheets you need to make the size of battlemap that you want. There are many resources for them however the one that I used is this one here.
I hate this generator, it was clunky and not very good, it even managed to generate the grid at a slight angle as well.
if you find a better one then let me know and I will update this section.
My settings for generation: Square size: 1 inch, grid line: medium, 8x10 squares I think it was, and changed the colours to black instead of blue. I also uploaded the pdf with it for standard 8.5x11 paper.
Downloads
Trim Excess Whitespace
I didnt get a picture of this step but you can use scissors or a paper slicer. dont worry too much about a straight edge and looking back I would actually want to leave a little white space for some overlap.
Tape Pages Together
Tape on the backside of the paper and try to line up the gridlines (not the page edges).
with the paper face up, take a small bit of tape and apply to the joining edge of the paper on the backside. you can then attach the next sheet of paper... This is where I should have overlapped some sheets a bit more on some edges, kind of a puzzle but would have left the paper sitting flatter and not rippling up later.
Cut Laminate Roll
Ensure you cut the laminate roll to size before applying it as it can be finicky and try to stick to the scissors.
Apply the Laminate
Apply the laminate. Start with one corner and ensure you are even and level. Go slowly and make sure you dont leave wrinkles or bubbles as you go.
You only get 1 try with this due to it ripping the pages if you try to take it back off.
If you need to use more than 1 piece of laminate, make sure you overlap. You will not see a noticable bump, and its better than having it be the leak point.
Finish Up
You can apply it to the backside of the map to ensure waterproofing. Make sure if you are doing that, leave ~5mm of laminate at the edges to ensure it doesnt delaminate or leak liquid into the paper.
This can be drawn on with expo markers (they will smudge) but can be wiped away easily.
You can use sharpie as well which I have not tested the smudging however that can be removed with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and a paper towel.
Thank you for reading my guide and hopefully this helps you!