Map Making with Paint

I am going to explain how I use paint to make my maps with Paint as best I can, so please bear with me as this is the first time I'm writing a tutorial rather than showing someone how to.  While I am writing this, I'm also currently running Paint to make sure the steps I use in making maps is in order.  I make two kinds of maps, those that require a height mod to render, and those that don't.  This segment will contain non-height mod grayscale elevation colors as I will drawing a 'normal' map as I write this.  Before I move on, I also use some other programs to make maps with;

1.  Irfanview 375 - to view map in mini as I'm drawing

2.  Landscape Designer - to make sure the elevations are correct,, to save finished map as a grayscale .jpg and to make the config file.

3.  Cyberwyre Terrain Generator - an old sc3ku terrain maker that I used to make custum terrains for sc3ku, though the largest 'map' you can make is restricted to 257x257.  I rarely use this program anymore except to make craters with.

The first thing I did before making any of my maps was to make various sized bitmap 'blanks' with only the lowest land grayscale color [0-3m above sea level, or R84 G84B84] painted in.   Then it's only a matter of choosing what size I want my new map to be.  I find this to be time-saving, but is optional and isn't required.

Step 1:  Once I've chosen what size I want my new map to be, I open it up in Paint.  If I'm going to do a coastal region, I select black, then select the 'pencil' icon from the icons box in the upper left-hand side of the screen.  I then quickly draw my coastline, select the 'paint bucket' icon and fill in the water area in black.  I then do a quick save, open the map with Irfanview 375 and shrink it down to be able to see what it looks like as a whole.  I do this until I'm satisfied with the results.

Step 2:  Now that my 'blank' is loaded I then click on colors [look to the top left-hand corner of screen] and a drop box opens with "edit colors" listed therein and select that.   A color box opens up showing basic colors, blank boxes for custom colors and an option to 'Define Custom Colors.'  Select 'Define Custom Colors.'  The 'Edit Colors' box expands to show the Red, Green, Blue [RGB for short] scale numbers.

Since I already have the map painted in as 0-3M above sea level [R84 G84B84], I'll start by changing the RGB scale numbers to R85 B85G85 and select ok, or select 'Add To Custom Colors' which will place the color you selected into one of those empty 'Custom Colors' boxes to the right.  Repeat this step every time you want to change elevations.  The highest the number scale goes up to is R255 G255B255, and the lowest of course being R0 G0B0.

For quick reference here are the two RGB grayscale colors I use as a starting point for normal maps and maps that require a height mod to render:

Without Height Mod
R84 G84B84 - 0-3M above sea level.  Add or subtrract the numbers by 1  for slight inclines lowering or raising the elevation.  When I'm drawing mountain ranges in, I'll change the numbers by 8, 10, or 12.

With Height Mod
R21 G21B21 - 0-3M above sea level.  Add or subtrract the numbers by 1  for slight inclines lowering or raising the elevation.  When I'm drawing mountain ranges in, I'll change the numbers by 8 or higher to get those steep, craggy cliffs.

I hope this helps anyone who is interested in making maps with Paint.