Fractal Terrains to Photoshop question/

[landorl]

I have often done maps in Photoshop painting textures with a bevel/contour, and have like the fact that it would create what appears to be a textured height map. Then I could paint terrain onto the map that follows the background texture of the map.

I would like to know if there is any way that I can take an output from FT3 and do something similar.

Here is a sample of what I am talking about...
Sample.jpg

Notice that you can still see the hills and valleys through the woodland colors.

FT3 does a much better job at generating an altitude map, but I like the painting tools in Photoshop.

[Anoril]

Hi!

I suppose you can produce a black/white image with FT3 then make use of it as a shade effect in Photoshop.

For example, I would set the FT3 height colormap to white or grey shade (whatever the height) and let's FT3 create the montains and valley shadow cast effect. Then I would open the exported image into PS and start painting over it to place forest and this colors. Playing with opacity and layer fusion settings, you would manage to get something not that bad. ^^

Regards,

[gwiley]

That is exactly the effect I having been trying to find in PS. Paint with texture and bevel it? Gotta try that. The wash of forest works very well.
Regards, Gary

[Master TMO]

It's an effect I've used quite a bit. Set all of your terrain colors to white, then export the terrain shading as it's own image, as Anoril said. When producing a map, I export all elements in their own layers and then re-assemble it in PS, so that I can use individual effects on a layer, or hand-modify something, without it affecting the other layers.

[guyanonymous]

(In PhotoAnother way to do it is to make your greyscale heightmap a pattern. You can then use it in the Layer Style/Bevel & Emboss/Texture to achieve what I think you're after. What's nice is that this gives you a lot of control in how you apply things.

[gwiley]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am keen to give it a try. I need to make another landscape so will try your advice.

If I begin from the sea bottom and work upward to the mountain tops, that should allow fine-tuning each layer. Normally, I prefer to have a rising sun - light from the east / right side.

Speaking of sun, it is shining in Delft just now so will start later today :-)

Regards, Gary

had to mess with it...

Jinrev_island.jpg

and again,

seacat_island-1 - Copy.jpg