Ha, great you like my map, but that was for my standards just a quickie in InkScape. I had made a dutch tutorial about that here:
http://atlantisgeo.nl/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=148I only need to translate it then, so here it goes. It's a large tutorial, so I split it in parts...
Part 1: The very beginningThe ToolsInkScape has quite a range of tools. Here's some reference to the most important tools of InkScape:
Importing the base map (either SimCity 4 map or hand-drawn map)The base map can be imported with the following method:
- Click on the main menu bar on "File" and select "Import" (CTRL+I), or you can click on the "Import" button at the main toolbar at the top.
- Select the base map image file from your PC and click on "Open". The base map can be any common image format.
- Rotate the map when necessary.
- Select on the next screen "Insert" and click on "OK". This option embeds the reference image in your SVG-file.
TIP 1: SAVE OFTEN! InkScape saves its files in SVG-format (Scale-able Vector Graphics)
- Schale the map in such a way that it's scale is representative for the map. It's advised to to do so, because in later steps you get a better idea of the scale of certain objects and it's good for distance measuring. You can choose a scale of for instance 1km = 100 pixels or something like that.
TIP 2: Hold the CTRL pressed when scaling to keep proportions the same. Hold ALT pressed to scale in integer steps (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.) or integer fractions (1/2x, 1/3x, 1/4x, etc.).
- Click on the main menu "File" and select "Document Properties". (CTRL+SHIFT+D)
- Open the drop down menu "Scale page to contents" and click on "scale page to drawing or selection". Now the page is exactly the same size as your drawing.
Here's an example of how your map could look like after these steps:
LayersLayers are components of your drawing. These components are stacked upon each other and can be locked or turned on or off. It's useful to use layers in a SVG-map for technical organisation. In later steps you'll notice how useful this method is.
- Click on the main menu "Layer" and select "Layers..." (CTRL+SHIFT+L)
At the right of your screen, you see a new tab appear called "Layers".

If you hover your mouse over the buttons, you get a description of the function of the correstponding button. However, I would like to tell you the following about it.
- Eye - Hide layer
- Lock - Lock layer (disables the editing and selection ability of this layer)
In this tab, the topmost layer in the drawing is the topmost layer on the list.
- Click with your right mouse button on the name of the current layer and change it to "Base Map" as a reference.
- Add a new layer with the "+"-button (New Layer) in this tab. Call this layer "Land" and place this one above the previous layer.
Drawing land masses- Select your new layer
- Select the Free Draw-tool
- Zoom in (CTRL+mouse wheel) when necessary for precise tracing.
- Start with drawing with your mouse.
TIP 3: Draw in steps. You can continue the line at the ends (there are anchors for it there, represented as black squares, where you can continue drawing later on). If you're drawing and you hit the other end of the line, the shape will automatically close.
TIP 4: repeat this steps with smaller and smaller shapes if you want to make a height map.
Colours, fills and strokes- Go to the menu "Object" and select "Fill and Stroke" (CTRL+SHIFT+F) and the Colour-tab appears at the right of your screen:

You see three tabs: "fill" (filling colour), "stroke" (stroke colour) and "stroke style". The first two tabs are for changing the colours of the fill and the stroke. The third tab is for changing the stroke style, like thickness, rounding and striping style:

- Pick some colours and a line thickness.
TIP 5: use matte, unsaturated colours. These are much more pleasant to look at.
The result will look like this:

Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3!
- Part 2: water, infrastructure and cities.
- Part 3: administrative subdivisions and route shields.
Best,
Maarten
All we can say is THANK YOU! Check out our ToC. 
-Robin