Maproom

Editable & interactive maps

MENUMENU
  • about
  • news
  • contact
  • 0 items
LOGIN
    • Home
  • Britain & Ireland maps
    • Britain and Ireland
    • UK - United Kingdom
    • Ireland
    • England
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • Northern Ireland
    • Isle of Man
    • Channel Islands
  • City maps
    • Birmingham
    • Brighton
    • Bristol
    • Cardiff
    • Edinburgh
    • Glasgow
    • Liverpool
    • London
    • Manchester
    • Oxford
  • Postcode maps
    • Overview
    • Online postcode mapping tools
    • Downloadable postcode maps
  • Boundary & transport maps
    • Boundary and ONS maps
    • Local authority maps
    • County maps
    • Transport maps
  • World maps
    • World maps
    • Europe maps
    • Map of EU countries 2023
    • Maps of France
    • Maps of Germany
    • Maps of New York and environs
  • DYNAMIC
    • Showcase
    • Dynamic Mapping Suite information and demos
    • GET A PASS
  • BESPOKE
    • Bespoke mapping services
    • Bespoke static maps
    • Bespoke dynamic maps
    • Search

General Advice About Vector Artwork

  • How to edit the downloadable maps
  • Editing colours
  • Scaling recommendations
  • Dealing with text
  • About hillshading layers
  • Outputting for websites or apps
  • Outputting for print

Illustrator Tutorials

  • Understanding the map layers
  • Special option layers
  • Advanced editing of strokes in Illustrator
  • Video – How to use the map layers in Illustrator
  • Video – how to change map colours in Illustrator

Photoshop Tutorials

  • How to change the colour of a hillshading / relief layer in Photoshop

Customisation service

We offer a range of services if you need help to customise your map. Our rates are competitive and we will waive the price of the base map itself if you have already purchased one.

See bespoke services

How to change the colour of a hillshading / relief layer in Photoshop


Our physical maps include a hillshading / relief raster layer. Raster artwork is pixellated and can be edited in Photoshop like a photograph. (The labels, roads and other elements will be vector art and best edited in Illustrator.)

There are many tools to edit colours in Photoshop. Below we describe how to create a clipping mask and very quickly change the colour of the entire hillshading / relief layer in Photoshop. We are using one of the files supplied in our Britain and Ireland physical map package.

1. Open the raster file in Photoshop

The raster relief file might be a native Photoshop (psd) file, png, jpeg, tif or eps. In this example we are opening the Britain and Ireland silver relief psd file. The transparent sea shows as a grid behind the land relief artwork.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is silver-relief-on-transparent-background-425x600.png
View of the silver relief artwork in Photoshop

2. Create a colour fill layer

In the Layers panel, click on the create new fill or adjustment layer, which is a half-shaded circle icon at the bottom of the panel. In the drop-down, select Solid Colour…

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is add-fill-layer-500x553.png

This will add a solid layer over the top of the relief layer and also open a Colour Picker. Select a colour, any colour. You can come back and edit this colour later, so don’t agonise over it (yet). Here we are selecting a nice blue.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is colour-fill-colour-picker-1024x514.png

3. Create a clipping mask on the colour fill layer

In the layers panel click anywhere on the new colour fill layer to make it the active layer. Now click on the panel options – the three bars in the top right of the Layers panel, and scroll down to Create Clipping Mask. Alternatively use the keystroke alt-cmd-G (on a Mac).

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is create-clipping-mask-500x503.png

Like magic, the colour fill layer will crop itself into the shape of the landmass layer below it.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is clipping-mask-432x600.png

The colour is flat at this point. You may think you have lost the relief, but don’t panic, you are about to get it back!

4. Change the blending mode for the layer

In the Layers panel, click on the Blending mode for layer. It is probably labelled Normal, but there are many other options in the drop-down. For recolouring a relief layer, we recommend Overlay, Soft Light or possibly Multiply if you are using a light colour. In this example we are selecting Overlay blending mode.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is blending-mode-1024x816.png

This results in the blue fill layer blending with the relief layer to create a light blue relief.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Overlay-mode-432x600.png

At this point you could save the file and try it in the Illustrator file with the other map elements. If you are using a Photoshop file directly linked to the Illustrator master file then it will automatically update itself with a prompt in Illustrator.

In this demo, we decide that we want the blue to be a bit darker. So in the Photoshop layers panel we double-click on the blue layer thumbnail to bring up the Colour Picker again. We select a darker shade of blue which immediately applies itself to the relief layer.

Then just to have some fun, we try selecting other colours, gold and salmon pink, and quickly output a variety of versions.

Colour masks for physical maps example
Examples of colour masks created quickly in Photoshop

5. Try an inverted colour

So far we have used the relief as light for valleys and low-lying areas, and dark gradients for hilly areas. But we can quickly invert to dark for low and light for hilly.

In the Adjustments panel, either select the Invert icon or click on the panel options drop-down and select Invert.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Invert-500x368.png

This will add an Invert Adjustment layer above the colour fill. Everything will be inverted including the colour itself – the blue turning brown in this case.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Inverted-1024x713.png

You can then go back to the Colour Fill, double-click on the colour thumbnail to bring up the Colour Picker and experiment with the inverted colour. The relief layer will update in real time to show you how the inverted colour looks. In this case we finally settle on a brick red that inverts to a stunning dark turquoise blue base with glowing highlights over the hills.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is recoloured-1024x493.png

6. Save as a standalone image if you want

As mentioned above, you can use a linked Photoshop file directly in Illustrator, but if you want to output your relief layer as a standalone image, you can export it as a png or jpeg.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is export-screen-1024x540.png

Here we have added a solid colour fill for the sea as the bottom layer, cropped and saved part of the Scottish Highlands as a png.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Scotland-relief-1024x476.png

Just for the hell of it, we’ve decided to make the sea colour fill pink in this version. It only took a few seconds in Photoshop.

  • Standard royalty free terms for downloadable maps
  • Licensing terms for downloadable postcode maps
  • Licensing terms for dynamic online maps
  • How to edit the downloadable maps
  • Pricing & refund policies
  • Privacy & cookies
  • Maproom on Twitter

All content © Maproom at Thameside Media · Award winning media projects