Thread: Elevation and Hills in Town Maps

Very nice map,

Elevation in a map like this, without lines, depends mainly on how shadows can be casted by the houses, the trees, and the main environment.

I made a quick test in photoshop, the "lazy" way i'm fond of.



As you see, i just added two layers : one white and one black, both in Soft Light. It makes the map "bump" a little, as if the city was on a hill.

This is, i'm sure, one of the many ways to do it.

That's really spectacular, Elzevir. I freely admit, I'm not a visual art person - I'm a writer, through and through. I'm also very much a Photoshop amateur. I shall have to experiment with this technique a bit.

Another way to do it (well, how I do it anyway) is create a new layer on top of your grass/land layer, but below everything else. Set the fill to 0% and use the bevel/emboss layer style. Pick smooth, set the depth to about 115%, size 25, soften 0. Highlight opacity 45%, shadow opacity 65%.

Then take a large, soft brush at about 30% opacity (you can pick any colour, doesn't matter, you won't see it) and paint on your hills. It'll be a bit like sculpting them.