# Main > General Discussion >  New Guy Question...

## Benny

I just created my Intro yesterday, and downloaded GIMP last night.  I have never used a computer to draw anything before.  My maps have all ben pencil and ink with shading I use in weathering Model Railroad rolling stock.  I am amazed at what can be done with minimum effort.  I have an island that is real, but I am using it for my first endeavor.   The island is in the middle of a river.  The shoreline is very flat, but about 30 feet back it starts to slope up to like a round topped mound.  If you can envision a bath towel rolled up laying on the floor, this is about what it looks like.  My question...How to I go about showing this sloped mound?  The mound or step-up is probably 20 to 25 feet higher that the river water line.
Thanks,

Benny

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## Diamond

Are you talking about showing the actual elevation, or showing more of a relief type of image?  You can show relief/texture by playing around with bevel/emboss effects, for instance.  If you want to show purely elevation, you could do something like this:

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## Benny

Diamond...
I guess I should have mentioned that I am doing picture type map showing buildings and landscape as it is.
Not sure I'm using the right nomenclature...New to all this computer drawing.  It will be like a 3/4 view of 
the island and buildings.  This elevated mound type view is between the river shoreline and the buildings.

Benny

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## Diamond

Oh, gotcha.  Well, you may be best off just trying to draw it (in GIMP) freehand.  There are programs like SketchUp that can render perspective buildings and landforms, but the learning curve is... steep.  For me, anyway.

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