Once the map is completed, upload the map to your smartphone app and let your app navigate you on your runs. You might also discover new sights and sounds along the way. Try mapping routes in different parts of town each time to get new ideas for your GPS art. Another method is to begin with a section of the map and see what pictures can be formed out of it. Sometimes you might need to rotate the map at different angles from its usual north-south orientation and alternate between zooming into the details and zooming out to see the “big picture”. Finding a section of the city where the roads allow you to outline what you had in mind might take some time and imagination. Unless you can find a large open space to walk or run, your drawing is likely to be constrained by road layouts. The Challenges of Making GPS Artĭeciding what to draw is a fun, challenging task.

With apps like these, you can plan a drawing of your route before you actually hit the road. Using online route plotting apps makes planning a GPS doodle easy. Travelling a long distance and over a larger area lets you “draw” a more detailed picture too. This means you might need to retrace your route at certain places to avoid weird lines appearing on your drawing. GPS doodling is often completed in one “stroke”, with no gaps in between. Unless you intend to draw “freehand” or plan to stop often to check the “strokes” you have made on your device, it is easier to have your route mapped before you start.Įvery path you take becomes a part of your drawing. What you need is a map to design your route and a GPS tracking device (usually your smartphone) to record your running trail.

It just takes a little planning and a keen imagination to “draw” with your steps. GPS doodling is really easy to start and anyone can do it. Enthusiasts around the world have caught on to GPS doodling and GPS artists are challenging themselves and each other to create more complex masterpieces as they walk, jog or cycle.

Myrunning map