---
title: "Hand drawn hillshading | Guides"
description: "Technical specification of the hand drawn hillshading raster tileset."
---

# Hand drawn hillshading

Hand-drawn hillshading is a cartographic technique that enhances the visual representation of terrain using light, shadow, and artistic shading methods. One of the most influential figures in this field was Eduard Imhof, a Swiss cartographer known for his meticulous hand-drawn hillshades that created depth and realism in maps. His techniques emphasized natural landforms, improving readability and aesthetics.

Hand-drawn hillshading specifically focuses on subtle transitions, soft shadowing, and precise light positioning to maintain clarity and prevent over-exaggeration. It is generated up to medium resolution, where it can be replaced by [Terrain RGB](https://docs.maptiler.com/schema-raster/terrain-rgb/) hillshading methods.

**[Go to Hand drawn hillshading](https://cloud.maptiler.com/tiles/hand-drawn-hillshade/)**

## Maps with this tileset

-   [Landscape](https://cloud.maptiler.com/maps/landscape-v4/)

## Dataset definition

-   Dataset ID: hand-drawn-hillshade
-   Name: Hand drawn hillshading
-   Min zoom: 0
-   Max zoom: 9
-   Format: webp
-   Latest version: 1
-   Resolution: 30 m

## Related tutorials

-   [Enhance terrain with hand-drawn hillshading](https://docs.maptiler.com/guides/map-design/terrain/hand-drawn-hillshading/#use-hand-drawn-hillshading)