How To Draw Canyons On A Map

How to Depict a Canyon

How-to-draw-canyon-fantasy-maps (Header).jpg

Cartoon canyons on your maps is a great style to make the terrain a niggling more interesting and add together depth to the landscape. There is just something awe inspiring about canyons which is why in the existent world they often go a travel destination. So it makes sense why people also love when yous can add together them as a feature to your fantasy maps.

At outset glance a canyon tin can seem intimidating to depict, so I have cleaved the process downwardly into some elementary steps for you lot to follow. Take things ane pace at a time and yous may be surprised how piece of cake the process really is.

All of the brushes I volition exist using for this tutorial are available in Map Maker Essential Brushes pack for Procreate & Photoshop.

1: Drawing in the River

The first thing you lot want to do is to describe a river, which will determine where you identify the canyon. Since this canyon will be in an isometric perspective rather than an overhead, try to apply more horizontal movements back and forth to depict your river.

One time you get more comfortable with the procedure you tin likewise outset with the coulee beginning and and then add the river. But I tend to prefer starting with the river considering information technology feels a little easier to build from rather than something added later.

2: Adding the Ridges

You lot can at present begin cartoon the top ridges of the cliff forth the river. They do not have to follow the river exactly, but tin can be a little more jagged and interesting. Again, you want to exist sure you are using a lot of left to right movements with your pen to make information technology appear that information technology is in the right perspective.

You can too have the canyon ridge cantankerous over the river itself like I did at the very top. In the next step you will see that doing this and obscuring part of the river is a corking fashion to add together depth and brand it more realistic.

3: Giving the Cliffs Height

Begin calculation some vertical strokes at each of the points along the ridge, and have them slope down to the river. Now information technology is actually starting to look more than like a coulee that is being carved into the landscape.

You can run across that at the meridian the border of the cliff at present obscures part of the river so that it looks like information technology going behind it. Experiment with this every bit it really gives a pretty interesting effect.

4: Drawing in Details

At present that yous know where your chief cliffs are, you tin become back with a smaller castor and kickoff adding in some more than detail. Brainstorm at the top of the ridge and draw some effectively strokes that slope downwardly to the river. Try to brand these ones a little more subtle and broken looking than the ones y'all drew in the previous stride.

You will also want to add more strokes well-nigh the tops of the cliff as that is where the deepest shadows are existence cast. This way you lot are actually doing a bit of shading just with your line work so that the canyon really could stand up on its own without any other color or shading added later.

five: Blending into the Mural

At present that you have finished detailing the within of the canyon, you can now brainstorm adding some detail at the top. Doing this will really get a long fashion to blending your canyon into the rest of the landscape so that it feels like it's a part of it and not something just added on top.

At each of the corner in detail on top of the cliffs draw some light horizontal strokes that blend into the terrain. The effect is subtle but information technology really adds a nice realistic texture.

6: Creating Shadows for Depth

If you lot are working digitally utilize the center dropper tool and select the paper texture in the background. Darken the color slightly and begin filling in the canyon with the darker color.

At this indicate you will want to decide which direction the lite is coming from. In this instance the light will be coming from the left. Then now subsequently filling the entire coulee with the darker color, you can get back through with your eraser tool and lightly remove some of the colour effectually the river itself, and some most the base of the cliff on the right. This will give the impression that the low-cal is hitting this area more directly.

seven: Deepening the Shadows

I detect information technology is all-time to add the shading in stages in order to keep a more than consistent wait across the piece. And then now that you have added in your basic shadows, you tin now go back and begin deepening them in certain places.

Darken the colour that you used in the previous step and begin adding some darker shadows where the light would be most hidden. Generally this is especially the areas directly below the cliff border, as well as along the vertical item lines you added earlier.

In my own experience, whenever I draw a coulee on ane of my maps it is ever something people comment on. There is just something about them that resonates with people. Part of it may exist that mitt drawn maps are generally adequately flat in nature with some geographic features depict on top. But since a canyon actually cuts into the landscape and adds dimension information technology is seen as unusual and a point of interest.

If you institute this helpful I would appreciate it if you pinned this to salve for subsequently and to share with your friends.
Cheers, and I look forrard to seeing y'all map your story!