Topo lines.
this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026
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Worldbuilding
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I'd do the topographic lines but add a bunch of them really close, as distance between lines denotes a steep change in elevation. You could also add numbers on each side
This is a good reference for general rules of topography: https://www.sciencing.com/topographic-map-rules-6875833, and this is a more in-depth explanation of how frequent the lines are (contour interval) in Swiss-made maps: https://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/contour-lines. They are less frequent in steep terrain and small-scaled maps because it would otherwise be too noisy.
Thanks, that's very helpful.
Does it have to be from volcanism? Couldn't it just be magic fatasss demon crashed made a mountain?
It's not from either of those. Imagine a hard ball wrapped in cloth in space. Now imagine the center shrinks but the cloth doesn't, so it buches up and wrinkles. Those wrinkles are landmasses.
If that's too easy, imagine the same thing but inside-out and you'll be closer to how it actually works.
I had to rub one out at big balls
From a quick look at elevation maps, your options seem to be colors and/or lines. So, not a bundle of options.
As an alternative, maybe a light shading based on elevation? I'm not sure if that would look good or not though...