I am using photoshop - and thanks for the tip.

I've been trying to figure out how to do the after map the way it is in my head. I envisioned a black bottomless pit where the oasis was and massive sand dunes covering up what used to be the structures of the city.

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I'll briefly describe my method so that if anyone has any ideas or thoughts about how it could be done better, they can let me know. I added a invert and greyscale layer adjustment to my structures. I then made a layer with bevel, shadow, and texture effects that was slightly expanded and feathered from those shapes (set to multiply). I then repeated that process twice but each time contracted the selection to try to give the image some elevation. I then hid my original structure layers.

I think the shape of the dunes still looks a little too "defined" or sharp - but i'll save trying to figure out how to fix that for another day.

Thoughts?