The Land Tool is used to create and edit the shape of the land on your map. It modifies the map’s Land Mask Layer, which defines where land exists. Use it to create continents, islands, coastlines, lakes, and other landmasses.

Select the Land Tool by clicking the Land Tool in the toolbar or with the M shortcut.

When the tool is selected, the last selected Land Shape Mask of a Land Brush Layer is automatically selected for editing. Learn more about how Land Layers and Land Masks work.

The Land Tool is available by default in the following scene styles:

• Fantasy World

• Fantasy Regional

• Parchment World

• Watercolor Cities

In battlemap scene styles, the Land Tool is hidden by default because these maps typically do not use Land Masks. If you add a Land Layer from the Layers Panel, the Land Tool automatically becomes available.

Add & Subtract Modes

Choose how the Land Tool modifies the Land Mask.

• Add creates new land.

• Subtract removes existing land.

Press X to quickly switch between the two modes.

Brush Modes

Brush Modes create or remove land as you click and drag across the map using the selected brush shape. Press W/S to adjust the brush size. Hold Shift to adjust it in increments of 10. The Land Tool offers the following brush modes:

• Edge: Edge paints with a natural, irregular outline. This is useful for creating more organic land shapes. The Roughness setting controls the scale of the irregularities, from small details to large organic shapes.

• Circle Brush: The Circle Brush paints with a clean edge as you drag across the map.

• Grid Blocks: Grid Blocks paint using the active grid shape, making it easy to apply mask to individual grid cells.

• Preset Shapes: Preview Modes let you define an area before applying a mask. The following shapes are available:

  • Rectangle: Fill a rectangular area.

  • Ellipse: Fill an elliptical area.

  • Polygon: Fill a regular polygon. The number of sides can be adjusted before applying the preview.

While creating or resizing using the Preset Shape mode, you can use modifier keys for more precise control:

• Ctrl: Resize from the center instead of the initial corner.

• Alt: While creating a shape, constrains the selection to a 1:1 aspect ratio, creating perfect squares and circles. While resizing an existing preview, maintains the current aspect ratio.

• Ctrl + Alt: Combine both behaviors.

Bucket Fill

Bucket Fill fills a closed area with a single click. Use Add mode to create new land, or Subtract mode to remove existing land. The fill is limited by the surrounding land shape.

This is especially useful when tracing maps or filling large enclosed areas.

Move Area

Move Area lets you reposition a separate landmass or enclosed area without redrawing it. Click a landmass, island, or lake to select it, then drag it to a new location.

Fill / Clear

Use Fill or Clear in the top toolbar to quickly fill or remove the Land Mask for the entire active Land Layer.

See Also

• Land Layers: Create and manage Land Layers.

• Layers Panel: Create and manage Object Layers, control drawing order, and organize map content.

• Brush Tool: Paint textures and colors onto Brush Layers.