2 Easy Ways to Draw Grassland on Your Maps
Whenever you draw a fantasy map, there tend to be areas with a lot of detail and interest, while others are left frustratingly blank. Grasslands are a great way to bring interest to those areas, which makes everything feel more cohesive. But, you don’t want it to feel too chaotic by drawing every single blade of grass. In this map tip, I’ll share with you 2 easy ways you can draw grasslands yourself and put the finishing touches on your map.
Sketch Style - Basic Shape
Use tightly looped lines that vary in size and thickness to build up patches of grass. I call this the sketch style because the key is to stay really loose when drawing. With practice, you should be able to put down a patch of grass like this in a few seconds.
Sketch Style - Hills
Because of the sketchy nature of this style, it allows you to put down texture fairly quickly on a map. You can then build up the grasses to create rolling hills across the landscape. To give a sense of depth to the hills you can also add more tufts on the side of the hill that would be in shadow.
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Icon Style - Basic Shape
For this method, I like to think of it as small icons representing where the grasslands are located, rather than drawing the actual grass as I did with the previous style. Use a slight arc with the outside grass blades getting gradually smaller to add interest and blend it into the surrounding landscape.
Icon Style - Add Variety
When you add the grass to one of your maps, be sure to vary the number of blades of grass and how you group them so it feels more natural. As humans, we can easily fall into drawing things in a pattern and it can be a challenge to create something seemingly random. Remember, you can also draw small rocks or boulders with either of these methods to help break up the landscape and add interest.
I hope you found this little Map Tip helpful and it aids you in your map-making journey. If you want to support Map Effects and help other map makers be sure to share this with someone who will find it helpful and pin it to save for later!
Happy Mapping!
Josh
