Coastal Waves in Photoshop

[Chick]

In my experience, the biggest problem with using an expanding selection is that the technique used for expansion quickly leads to the selection turning into hard edges at 45 degree angles. It just screams "look how computery I am!"

Yes, that's why the second half of the tutorial is about how to smooth out the lines so there aren't hard edges at sharp angles. In fact, the impetus for writing this was someone who had the hard edges and wanted to know how to soften them

The outer glow technique is what I mostly use, but I also know that I wasn't ready for it when I started making maps, so this tutorial is a simple way to get started. If you are experienced with Photoshop and know how to use blending modes in sophisticated ways, by all means use the outer glow technique.

[Tom]

Yes, that's why the second half of the tutorial is about how to smooth out the lines so there aren't hard edges at sharp angles. In fact, the impetus for writing this was someone who had the hard edges and wanted to know how to soften them

The outer glow technique is what I mostly use, but I also know that I wasn't ready for it when I started making maps, so this tutorial is a simple way to get started. If you are experienced with Photoshop and know how to use blending modes in sophisticated ways, by all means use the outer glow technique.

Thanks Chick, a small but helpful tutorial! i've never thought about "smooth" option lol..