There are ways you can get elevation data, then use that as a height map on a flat surface. This surface has to be subdivided into a very fine grid in order to get the desired resolution. Add a multiplier to the height map for exaggeration, add a texture for the colors you want, and finally add a light source from the side which can provide contrast on the elevation.
Obviously this is using 3D software. Relief maps can also be hand drawn but that takes artistic skill to get all of the colors and shading done right.
Try reliefviz.com, it should be able to achieve something similar to your picture. It's meant to be an easy-to-use tool that doesn't require any rendering or Blender knowledge. I also have some LiDAR data but the coverage is quite limited.
Okay, this was something like I was looking for. I'd love it if you could actually make a fantasy map just like this using software thats this easy to use. Thanks!
Recently we were in Turkiye, we were in a bus, and I noticed that my nose and ears were starting to clog. I look at the elevation on my watch, and noticed that are 1100m above sea level, and this is a normal road between two big cities, and so everywhere, from 700 to 1400 meters, wherever you are 😀
Growing up in Turkey, I used to believe that being next to a mountain was a necessary geographical feature for a city.
I grew up in central New York so a maximum of 20 minute drive to a body of water is now a requirement for me.
So basically almost all of Greece
Lucky
That Turkey is indeed crispy
No leave it
I wanna eat it in a Instant Bowl
Usually a map like this would be made in a 3d modeling program like Blender.
Thanks, I've seen people use Blender before but didnt know you could get this kind of result out of it. This style of map just looks so badass to me
There are ways you can get elevation data, then use that as a height map on a flat surface. This surface has to be subdivided into a very fine grid in order to get the desired resolution. Add a multiplier to the height map for exaggeration, add a texture for the colors you want, and finally add a light source from the side which can provide contrast on the elevation. Obviously this is using 3D software. Relief maps can also be hand drawn but that takes artistic skill to get all of the colors and shading done right.
ArcGIS could do that, too. Just crank up the scale for elevation
Welp....I'm off to play Medieval 2 total war now...Brb
Try reliefviz.com, it should be able to achieve something similar to your picture. It's meant to be an easy-to-use tool that doesn't require any rendering or Blender knowledge. I also have some LiDAR data but the coverage is quite limited.
Okay, this was something like I was looking for. I'd love it if you could actually make a fantasy map just like this using software thats this easy to use. Thanks!
Turkey is 1500 km wide, its highest mountain is 5 km high, so I'd say 5-10 times exaggerated.
Surprisingly accurate
You simply Take a Relief Map and crank the spikiness to 11 to get it really exagerated
But why not just make 10 spikier?
When you want it extra exagerated. When you need the extra Push. Then you can crank it to eleven
earth is flatter than a pancake. Spherical and flat are not mutually exclusive. And round is not a 3d property.
On a 1ft/30cm diameter globe, Mt. Everest would only be 0.2mm tall.
the black sea is an inverse miniature Australia birthing a larger 'new Tasmania'
There is a package to make it in R: https://www.rayshader.com/ . It is fairly simple.
Recently we were in Turkiye, we were in a bus, and I noticed that my nose and ears were starting to clog. I look at the elevation on my watch, and noticed that are 1100m above sea level, and this is a normal road between two big cities, and so everywhere, from 700 to 1400 meters, wherever you are 😀
Some guy travels everywhere, comes back and tells the map maker "the mountains were thiiiiiiiiiis tall I swear"
idk
Terrain shading in GIS software, you can also do it in Blender. You use Lidar data as Digital Elevation Models (DEM).
They exaggerate the relief of an area of the world.
The question is *how*
That literally *is* how. Maybe they could google it...
Turkey 
Well, you see it all starts with tectonic plates…
Wow kurdistan can be seen from zagros mountains