How do I make a shoreline?

[sunfest]

Hi everybody,

I am just trying to create a map according to the awesome guidelines of RobA but have some difficulties to create a nice and strong shoreline; the one I created is a little weak and fades out in the upper right corner (see attachment). Any ideas?

thanks a lot
sun

[Korash]

you could always try selecting the shore line and giving it a stroke of a pixel or so.

[tilt]

agree with korash, stroke it and/or use inner and outer glow too - to add to both ocean and beach

[sunfest]

Okay, I will do that. Can you tell me in detail how to? :- )

[Korash]

As for the glow stuff, I have yet to use it. The stroke thing is something I can help with. I assume that you have a mask for the land, and that you are actually using Gimp. I am almost sure that it works the same in PS, but I don't use it so...... Anyhoot, go to the channel tab and right click on the mask mentioned above, then choose "Channel to Selection". Now either go to your land layer, or even create a new layer to place your stroke on, which might be better anyway. Once in the desired layer (highlighted in the Layer Window) go to the Edit menu and near the bottom you will find "Stroke Selection", click that and the Stroke window will pop up and here you can select the width of the stroke, line type and other stuff as well.

And there you go. Experiment and have fun.

[tilt]

sorry - missed that you were using GIMP - as I don't use it I don't know if and how you can use the glows. They are buildt in layer effects (as are stroke) in photoshop

[SkarValidus]

You can replicate an outer glow effect by making a new layer, filling it with while (or blue, or whatever you'd like), copying the layer mask for your land to this "glow layer," and then blurring that mask heavily. Put the glow layer under your landmass layer. Experimentation is key. You can adjust the curves on your mask to change the "spread" or amount that the glow fades.

The inner glow is a little tougher, but similar. You basically use the steps I just listed, but this time *invert* the mask and keep the layer above your landmass. Blur the mask and adjust the curves if needed. You'll notice that what should be an inner glow does not stop at the coastline. So, make a selection of the landmass mask (as Korash explained), invert it so the "ocean" part is selected, and fill that part of the mask with black. That should accomplish an OK inner glow.
Keep in mind that neither of these glows will adjust if you change the shape of the land, you'll have to rerun the process. If this is too confusing, I can slow it down for you.