Editor: Doing Beaches!
by Sleepy Settler

Beaches ...now perhaps I'm really fussy but I don't think beaches get enough attention on a lot of maps. When I say that I don't mean filling them up with coastline objects...I mean the 'Edges', where beach meets water! Poor beaches can otherwise spoil a beautiful map! Beaches have natural edges, not straight ones and it takes time and patience to work your way around the map touching up the beach. However, the little touches make a big difference in the overall feel of a map and mappers can spend a great deal of time placing decorative objects all over the land but neglect the beach in the process. Beaches are lovely places so I suggest taking the extra time to make them that way(unless you are looking to make a geometric style map).

Use the speckle and the spray brush on point width to produce a natural edge. Try a combination of them both of just use spray or speckle on its own...preferably before you start placing objects (this can make the process impossible if objects/buildings are close to the edge of the beach) If there is the odd stubborn edge, use coastline objects such as reeds to soften the edge.

Set object brush .... A very useful and time saving design aid...if you find a combination of objects that look good together, it is well worth using this feature to create your map. I like white flowers, small brown stones, mint and porcini mushroom as a combination so instead of taking time placing them individually, I have 'user defined' them so that I can produce an instant result.