mapmaking patterns

On the landscape, light falls on south-facing slopes while shadows creep across north-facing slopes. However, hillshade maps that represent the true texture of light on a landscape will appear inverted to the map reader. Mountains will look like valleys. Canyons will rise above the surface.

Illuminate your map from the northwest. Choose an azimuth angle +/- 30 degrees from 315 degrees. Take care the your value scale maps appropriately to your data values. Inverted color ramps will create inverted landscapes.