RRM - Relatively Realistic Mountains using Photoshop

[Zaramis]

This is a tutorial on how to make mountains that look like these:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4784

I use photoshop, so it will naturally be done in photoshop. I do not know how it could be replicated in another program but if someone has suggestions I am sure they would be appreciated by those who use others!

STEP 1: Lets assume that you have a landmass. Lets assume that it's all green, and looking something like this:

STEP 2: Create a new layer. Call this layer "Mountains" or something like it. In this layer, you want to paint a good "ground" for mountains to be built on. For example, if you want rocky granite mountains in the end, you would paint it gray while if you want sandstone or more vegetation-covered mountains, you would paint it brown. Use a rather rough, uneven brush for this to make sure that it blends well with the grass region.

STEP 3: Paint the high regions of the mountains in a lighter color. These will be the areas where your mountainpeaks will be highest. This can also be done after you paint the mountain peaks, adapting them to how it turns out. Paint these in the same layer.

STEP 4: Add some texture with "Pattern overlay", something resembling stone or mountains.

With these four things done, you should have a map that looks something like this, only better ( Since I haven't put any grass textures or anything on there ) The next part of the tutorial will be continued in the next post.