NOV/ DEC 2014 Lite Challenge: Galaurien Again

[Chick]

I use a layer style outer glow set to multiply with humps built into the contour...easier to just show you instead of explaining it all. See screenshot below.

This is so much easier than what I have been doing! Thanks so much for sharing it. Another little feature of PS that I never knew about

[Chick]

As far as I am concerned, this is how I see it and find that the result is quite nice.
However your rivers really clash with this idea because they don't look impresionistic - if they did, they would blend in while here they look like solid lines superposed on an impresionistic picture.
Almost at the opposite of the Spectrum is the Snowy north where one sees what is underneath by transparency - it has an impresionistic touch but one can't decide whether you wanted to show snow or clouds.

You are absolutely right about the rivers, I should do the same with them as the mountains, make them blend in with lighting effects rather than draw them on top. As for the snow, I'm still working on how to make it look more like snow and still keep the main theme. Thanks for such good comments.

[- Max -]

I like my version because I thought of it myself (not that others hadn't already come to the same idea, I'm sure they had...I just had to figure it out) and because it's versatile. By making it a layer style, it can be tied to the shape of the continent, lakes, rivers, and islands. If I make any change to the layer that contains the landmass, the waves surrounding it automatically change. Which is nice.

I agree, I do it the same way when I do waterlines digitally.