Landscapes From Maps
Introduction
Whether you are doing a historical recreation, or just need a specific landscape, you may want to work with a terrain based on a map. This tutorial provides a specific method for accomplishing that goal.
Step By Step
| Start with a topographical map. If one is not available, find a conventional map, and based on photos or local knowledge, or even the course of rivers, streams, and roads, try to assess the contours of the land. |
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Fill in the details to a greater or lesser extent. Start with the highest points, and color them white. Select an amount to decrease the RGB values by that will allow you to cover the contours to a desired resolution. If there are 30 contour lines, decrease for each step by 5-8. If there are 10, decrease by 25. You don't necessarily need to do each contour line, but you need to do enough. The more you do, the more accurate. If you can obtain or make a B&W contour map, you may be able to just flood fill the contours - or, like here, you may have to paint over them as best you can. However, if you have a paint program with a built-in shape filling gradient fill, you may be able to use that to simplify your contour level painting. If you are creating an imaginary landscape, follow the same steps, but just work your way down from the high points as you please. |
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| Next, use a blurring function in your paint program to smooth the contours. If you have a paint program with a shape filling gradient fill, you may not need this step. |
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| The result, seen from above, is fairly accurate, even after additional smoothing in the Carrara terrain editor. |
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| The rendered result shows all of the basic contours... |
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| Even when viewed closely. |
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As you can see, creating specific terrains, even without a DEM (digital elevation map) is more than practical. The painting of the above contour map was accomplished in under an hour.