For the elevation in the third one, I followed Tear's tutorial to begin with but then took it a step further. There are actually two beveled overlay layers on top of each other; one is a large-scale bevel with an huge radius of effect to produce more dramatic shadows, and one is the small-scale that Tear suggested the settings for in his tutorial. I was finding that with the original method of a single beveled layer, I did not get the definition or enough sense of elevation from it.

Quote Originally Posted by Eochaid View Post
One thing I find a bit disturbing, though, is the big white blotches for the cities --- nevermind the fact that this being a fantasy world, a 20 miles (I guess the scale is in miles) while city is a bit too big imho --- you could perhaps try to draw some buildings to match the stylised feel?
Woah, you're completely right. The scale bar was one of the last things I added (based on the thought process that it would take ~1 day or so to walk between Stonebrook and Pinewood) and so I didn't think much about the footprint of the cities at that point. Thanks for the suggestions, I will start drawing in some buildings to keep consistent style.

I'm not sure I'm courageous so much as curious, but thanks! . I really appreciate the feedback!