This is a question that's vexed me to no end. I've made three video-gamy height maps, but they don't achieve the desired effect, and the light seems too harsh, the mountains and forests too ill-defined. I'm going for softer light, while still implying northerness, like northern France, Britain or Germany.

(My tools: Photoshop [Middle East Version] and Paint)

Generally, I draw a line map in Paint, and then port it over to photoshop. My most recent map involved cutting and pasting the real world's coastlines into new shapes, as a sort of inventiveness exercise, and making a map with the result.

Usually in photoshop, I take that map, fill it and then make it a colored height map.

Anyways, I'd like to figure out how to (easily if possible) do something a tad more like so
https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...93216566_o.jpg

in regards to mountains and forests.

Anyone got any ideas? I'd love to hear them.