Random Landscape Generator

Press the button for one landscape to paint: land, weather, time of day, one made thing and a viewpoint.

Random Landscape Generator: 30 landscapes

A clearing in an old oak wood, under a clear sky with one small cloud, in the last minutes of daylight. One made thing: a washing line with three sheets on it. View: with the horizon one fifth from the top.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

Landclearing in an old oak wood
Weatherunder a clear sky with one small cloud
Time of dayin the last minutes of daylight
One made thinga washing line with three sheets on it
Viewpointwith the horizon one fifth from the top

History (0)

Every landscape you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.

Landscape of the day

A clearing in an old oak wood, under a clear sky with one small cloud, in the last minutes of daylight. One made thing: a washing line with three sheets on it. View: with the horizon one fifth from the top.
A tundra of moss, pools and low stones, under small clouds drifting in a line, at dawn, with the last star still out. One made thing: a wire fence running out of sight. View: looking a little to one side of the light.
A vineyard striping a hillside, in dry clear air under a deep sky, at sunrise, the sun on the horizon. One made thing: a railway line with no train. View: as a square.
A cliff-top meadow ending in a sheer drop, under long level bars of cloud, just before sunrise. One made thing: a bench with its back to us. View: with the made thing between you and the light.
A tundra of moss, pools and low stones, under small clouds drifting in a line, as the first light touches the highest point. One made thing: a tin-roofed shed with its door open. View: with the horizon one fifth from the top.
A ploughed field with furrows running away, in a hard wind that bends everything one way, early in the morning with long shadows. One made thing: a weather vane on a tall pole. View: with the horizon one fifth from the bottom.
A mountain ridge with three peaks, with the ground still dark from a passing shower, at nightfall, the horizon still pale. One made thing: a white cottage with a red door. View: cropped so that no sky shows at all.
A lake with an island near the far shore, under long level bars of cloud, an hour after sunrise. One made thing: a greenhouse with some panes missing. View: from sitting height, sketchbook on your knees.
A cliff-top meadow ending in a sheer drop, in a breeze that moves only the lightest things, at sunrise, the sun on the horizon. One made thing: a footpath marked by white-topped posts. View: from standing height, straight ahead.
A frozen lake under a low shore, under high thin streaks of cloud, an hour before sunset. One made thing: a kitchen chair facing the view. View: with the light behind you.
An estuary at low water, all mud and channels, with a shower crossing the far distance, in the morning, once the colours have woken up. One made thing: a pair of boots left side by side. View: from ground level, chin on the earth.
A cliff-top meadow ending in a sheer drop, with the ground still dark from a passing shower, on a morning when the light keeps changing. One made thing: a wooden gate standing open. View: with the made thing between you and the light.
A field of sunflowers all facing one way, with low mist and clear air above it, at dusk, in the blue hour. One made thing: a flagpole with a small faded flag. View: looking the way the shadows fall.
A boulder field at the foot of a mountain, with a shower crossing the far distance, at night under a full moon. One made thing: a knee-high cairn of stacked stones. View: from low down, tilted up, mostly sky.
A snowfield with one line of footprints, with the last drops of a passing storm, late in the afternoon with long shadows. One made thing: a lookout tower made of timber. View: with the light from the left.
A tundra of moss, pools and low stones, under small clouds drifting in a line, at dusk, in the blue hour. One made thing: a small chapel with a bell on the gable. View: with the light from the right.
A row of sand dunes with grass on the crests, with mist lying in the low ground, at noon. One made thing: a windmill with its sails stopped. View: as a thumbnail no bigger than a playing card.
A chalk cliff with a beach at its foot, in a haze that flattens the distance, on a morning when the light keeps changing. One made thing: a water tower on four thin legs. View: with the light from the right.
A mountain ridge with three peaks, with damp air and a soft, close horizon, in the afternoon as the light starts to slant. One made thing: a string of fence posts with no wire left. View: from standing height, straight ahead.
A salt flat cracked into polygons, under one huge cloud that fills half the sky, at twilight with the first star out. One made thing: a lookout tower made of timber. View: with the made thing dead centre, on purpose.
A birch wood with pale trunks, with a bank of fog rolling in from the left, at the brightest hour of the day. One made thing: a dry-stone wall with one gap. View: with the made thing in shade and the land lit.
A mountain ridge with three peaks, under cloud piled up along the horizon only, at night under a full moon. One made thing: a boundary stone with a number cut in it. View: looking across the shadows.
A waterfall dropping into a round pool, with wisps of mist rising off the ground, at the brightest hour of the day. One made thing: a red wheelbarrow tipped on end. View: looking a little to one side of the light.
A pine forest edge against open ground, in a wind you can see crossing the ground, at mid-morning. One made thing: a row of beehives painted different colours. View: seen through a narrow gap.
A vineyard striping a hillside, under rows of small clouds like fish scales, in the last minutes of daylight. One made thing: a footpath marked by white-topped posts. View: from sitting height, sketchbook on your knees.
A pine forest edge against open ground, under a towering storm cloud far off, in the morning, once the colours have woken up. One made thing: a wind sock on a pole. View: with the light from the right.
A sand desert with one long dune ridge, with puddles holding pieces of sky, late in the evening, the last light on the tops. One made thing: a signpost with three arms. View: from a slight rise, the ground falling away.
A desert of red rock towers, under a clear sky with one small cloud, in the early afternoon. One made thing: a wooden hut on short stilts. View: from a slight rise, the ground falling away.
A clearing in an old oak wood, under long level bars of cloud, late in the afternoon with long shadows. One made thing: a caravan with a striped awning. View: with the made thing dead centre, on purpose.
A valley with a stream down the middle, in washed clean air after a front has passed, at mid-morning. One made thing: a wind sock on a pole. View: with something near and dark framing one edge.

Next step Add a rule and a limited palette Browse landscape drawing ideas

Land: all 48 kinds of land

Coast and water 12

chalk cliff with a beach at its foot A white cliff is rarely white all over: save pure white for one lit face.
estuary at low water, all mud and channels Wet mud shines. Use your lightest grey for the channels.
lake with an island near the far shore Sit the island off centre. One level stroke under it reads as water.

Show all 48 kinds of land (45 more)

Coast and water, continued

pond in a hollow with reeds on one side Reeds are short upright strokes. Stop before they fence the whole pond.
rocky cove with one flat ledge Make the ledge the lightest rock so the eye has somewhere to rest.
row of sand dunes with grass on the crests Dunes are soft triangles. Keep the grass to the top edge only.
salt marsh cut by winding creeks The creeks are the brightest shapes: paint them as sky lying on the ground.
sheltered bay ringed by low hills The ring of hills is one dark band. Break it once, where the bay opens.
shingle beach with a long curve to a headland Run the curve from a near corner. It carries the eye to the headland for you.
shore of black rock and tide pools Each pool is a small mirror. Give it the sky's colour, one tone darker.
waterfall dropping into a round pool The fall is a soft-edged pale stripe. The dark rock beside it does the work.
wide river bending twice before the horizon Each bend is narrower than the last. Three widths give the distance.

Hills and mountains 12

boulder field at the foot of a mountain Pick three boulders to draw properly and only suggest the others.
cliff-top meadow ending in a sheer drop The edge is one hard line against whatever lies beyond. Soften the rest.
high pass between two shoulders of rock The V of the pass is your focal point. Whatever sits in it is seen first.
hillside folded into deep green gullies Gullies are dark wedges that point downhill. Vary their widths.
moor of heather and bare rock Two colours, dragged dry. Let the rock break through with a few hard edges.
mountain lake below a snow line Three bands: snow, rock, water. Give each one a different value.
mountain ridge with three peaks Make one peak clearly the tallest. Three equal peaks read as a saw.
range of blue hills, one behind another Each ridge is paler than the one in front of it. Four tones are enough.
rounded hill with a single tree on top Put the tree a little off the summit. Dead centre looks like a cake candle.
slope of loose grey stones under a crag Near stones are separate. Far ones are one flat tone with a few dots.
steep gorge with a strip of sky above Most of the page is wall. The thin strip of sky sets the whole key.
valley with a stream down the middle The stream is a zigzag that narrows. Hide part of it behind a fold of land.

Flat and open 12

desert of red rock towers Each tower is a block: one lit side, one dark side, a flat top.
flooded field reflecting the sky Paint the sky twice, the lower one a little duller.
frozen lake under a low shore Ice is flat colour with a few long cracks. Resist adding more.
grassland dotted with flat-topped trees Space the trees unevenly: a pair, a gap, a single one.
ploughed field with furrows running away The furrows meet at one point on the horizon. Find it before you paint.
prairie of long grass to the horizon Grass is direction, not blades. Sweep every stroke the way the wind goes.
salt flat cracked into polygons The cracks shrink fast with distance. Past the middle they are only texture.
sand desert with one long dune ridge The ridge is a single S line, light on one side and dark on the other.
snowfield with one line of footprints The footprints are small blue dents. They give the snow its scale.
stony riverbed winding through scrub The bed is the palest shape in the picture. Scrub dots its edges.
tundra of moss, pools and low stones Many small horizontals. Nothing here stands taller than a thumbnail on the page.
wide beach at low tide with wet sand Wet sand holds a blurred reflection of anything that stands on it.

Woods and farmland 12

autumn wood with a leaf-covered floor The floor is brighter than the canopy. Let orange run under everything.
bamboo grove with a narrow way through Verticals everywhere. One leaning stem keeps it from looking ruled.
birch wood with pale trunks Paint the gaps between the trunks and leave the bark as bare paper.
clearing in an old oak wood The clearing is a pool of light. Keep everything round it two tones darker.
field of sunflowers all facing one way Only the front row has faces. Behind it, yellow dabs on green.
hay meadow with a path mown through it The path is a pale ribbon. Curve it once so the eye slows down.
lavender field in long purple rows Purple rows, green gaps. Warm the purple near you and cool it far off.
orchard in straight rows The rows shrink toward a point. Only the nearest tree has branches.
patchwork of hedged fields over rolling ground Hedges are dark lines that bend with the land. They draw the hills for you.
pine forest edge against open ground The forest is one dark wall. Give its top a ragged outline.
vineyard striping a hillside The stripes follow the slope. Change their angle where the ground turns.
willow-lined stream through flat pasture Willows are soft domes. Trail a few strokes down to touch the water.

Weather: all 36 kinds of weather

Cloud 12

under a clear sky with one small cloud The lone cloud is a second focal point. Keep it well away from the first.
under a grey lid of cloud with one bright gap The gap is the lightest thing in the picture. Put your subject under it.
under a towering storm cloud far off Keep the tower pale at the top and bruise-dark at the base.

Show all 36 kinds of weather (33 more)

Cloud, continued

under broken cloud with clear gaps Clouds have flat bases and lumpy tops. Shade the bases.
under cloud caught on the highest point in view One soft cap on the tallest thing. Lose its top edge into the cloud.
under cloud piled up along the horizon only The pile sits low. Leave the upper sky plain so it reads as distance.
under dark cloud on one side, clear on the other Split the land the same way: half in shade, half lit.
under high thin streaks of cloud Drag a nearly dry brush sideways. Stop while it still looks unfinished.
under long level bars of cloud Level bars calm a picture. Tilt one slightly so it does not look ruled.
under one huge cloud that fills half the sky Give the cloud a lit side and a shaded side, like any solid thing.
under rows of small clouds like fish scales The rows get smaller and closer toward the horizon, like floor tiles.
under small clouds drifting in a line Space them unevenly and shrink them toward the horizon.

Rain and mist 12

just after rain, every surface wet Wet ground is darker and shinier. Add a few upright reflections.
with a bank of fog rolling in from the left The fog bank has a top edge. Lose the land behind it bit by bit.
with a shower crossing the far distance A shower is a soft slanted veil under one cloud. Smudge it downward.
with a thin fog that greys the distance Three steps: sharp near you, soft in the middle, almost gone at the back.
with damp air and a soft, close horizon Blur the horizon to bring it nearer. The picture gets quieter.
with low mist and clear air above it Tops are sharp and bottoms vanish. Paint the tops first.
with mist lying in the low ground Mist is the paper showing through. Things rise out of it with no base.
with puddles holding pieces of sky A puddle is a hole in the ground filled with sky colour.
with rain coming in from one side Slant every stroke the same way and blur the far half of the view.
with the ground still dark from a passing shower Paint the pattern the wet patches make. They are darker than the dry.
with the last drops of a passing storm Dark sky moving off one side, brighter sky coming in behind it.
with wisps of mist rising off the ground Lift the wisps out with a damp brush or an eraser. Do not paint them in.

Wind and clear air 12

in a breeze that moves only the lightest things Choose what moves: one tuft, one ripple. Hold everything else still.
in a calm that has lasted for hours Calm shows as soft edges and nothing leaning.
in a hard wind that bends everything one way Lean every upright the same way, even the ones that would hardly bend.
in a haze that flattens the distance Haze drains contrast from far things. Mix more sky colour into each layer back.
in a light breeze that ruffles every surface Break the smooth areas with short flicks, all pointing one way.
in a steady wind with fast small clouds Small clouds, well spaced and all one shape, read as speed.
in a wind you can see crossing the ground Draw the wind as a pale stripe moving over grass, water, sand or snow.
in air so clear that far things look close Clear air keeps contrast in the distance. Sharpen the far edges for once.
in dry clear air under a deep sky Darken the sky toward the top of the page and pale it at the horizon.
in gusts that come and go Paint one part of the view mid-gust and leave the rest calm.
in still air with nothing moving Stillness is horizontals and verticals. Leave out the diagonals.
in washed clean air after a front has passed Everything is a notch more saturated. Use the colours nearly straight.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, October 2026. Made up for this page: each entry names a kind of land, sky, hour, object or viewpoint, never a named place, and no picture is generated. The notes are our own painting advice. The note on haze follows the article Aerial perspective in the English Wikipedia, read on 2026-10-08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspective, CC BY-SA 4.0): with distance, contrast falls and colours lose saturation and drift to the colour of the background, most often bluish. Licence: own work

Time of day: all 30 times of day

Morning 11

an hour after sunrise Golden hour: the light is redder and softer than at midday. Warm every lit side.
as the first light touches the highest point Only the top of one thing is lit. Everything below it is blue-grey.
at dawn, with the last star still out One white dot in a pale sky. Put it in last.

Show all 30 times of day (27 more)

Morning, continued

at mid-morning Clear, even light. A good hour for getting the plain colours of things right.
at sunrise, the sun on the horizon Everything that faces the sun gets a warm rim. The rest stays cool.
early in the morning with long shadows Decide which way the shadows point before you start, and keep to it.
in the first grey light Work in greys with one faint colour. The detail has not arrived yet.
in the morning, once the colours have woken up The greens split into warm and cool. Mix at least three.
just before sunrise No shadows yet. The sky is lighter than the land everywhere.
late in the morning, the light nearly overhead Shadows shrink under things. Tree shade is a dark pool at the trunk.
on a morning when the light keeps changing Paint the light of one moment and refuse to chase the rest.

Midday and afternoon 7

an hour before sunset The light goes amber and shadows stretch right across the ground.
at noon Top light: bright upper surfaces, dark undersides, short shadows.
at the brightest hour of the day Squint. Strong light bleaches colour, so the lights go pale, not vivid.
in mid-afternoon, the light turning warm Add a little yellow to the lights and a little violet to the shade.
in the afternoon as the light starts to slant Slanting light picks out texture. Let it rake over one rough surface.
in the early afternoon Lit side and shaded side are both strong. Keep them as two clear values.
late in the afternoon with long shadows The shadows become shapes of their own. Design them like objects.

Evening and night 12

at dusk, in the blue hour Blue hour: the sun is well below the horizon and what light is left is mostly blue.
at night by the light of a half moon Less to see than under a full moon: fewer details, bigger dark shapes.
at night under a full moon Moonlight is value, not colour. Use blue-greys and one pale disc.
at night under a sky full of stars Flick the stars on last, in uneven clusters, and leave some gaps.
at nightfall, the horizon still pale A pale band along the bottom of the sky. Silhouette whatever crosses it.
at sunset, the sun on the horizon The land is a dark shape against a bright sky. Keep its top edge clean.
at twilight with the first star out Hold the land to two dark tones so the star has something to shine over.
in the evening, the sky turning pink and orange Lay the sky as a graded wash, warm at the bottom, before anything else.
in the last minutes of daylight The colours close up toward grey. Keep one warm note and let the rest go.
in the small hours of the night Almost black. Find the three lightest things and paint only those.
just after sunset The sky still glows and the land has lost its colour: two worlds and one edge.
late in the evening, the last light on the tops A warm cap on the highest things. All the rest is already in shade.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next, October 2026. Made up for this page: each entry names a kind of land, sky, hour, object or viewpoint, never a named place, and no picture is generated. The notes are our own painting advice. Two terms in the notes were read in the English Wikipedia on 2026-10-08 (CC BY-SA 4.0): golden hour, the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when daylight is redder and softer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)), and blue hour, the period of twilight when the Sun is well below the horizon and the remaining light is mostly blue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_hour). Licence: own work

One made thing: all 48 made things

Small buildings 12

a bus shelter on its own A small box with one open side, absurdly neat in so much space.
a caravan with a striped awning Two stripes of colour are the brightest thing for miles. Use them once.
a greenhouse with some panes missing Glass takes the colour of the sky. The missing panes are dark rectangles.

Show all 48 made things (45 more)

Small buildings, continued

a lookout tower made of timber A lattice of crossed braces. Draw the outline and three braces only.
a small chapel with a bell on the gable A chapel is a box and a triangle. The bell goes in as one dark dot.
a stone barn with half its roof gone Draw the roofline as a broken stroke. The gap tells its age.
a tent pitched with its door facing you A triangle with a dark triangle inside it. Add the guy lines as hairlines.
a tin-roofed shed with its door open The open door is the darkest dark. The rest of the shed is mid-tone.
a water tower on four thin legs Tall and thin against the sky: check that it is truly upright.
a white cottage with a red door Red against green or grey: one dab is enough, and it will pull the eye.
a windmill with its sails stopped The sails make an X. Tilt it off square so it does not look like a target.
a wooden hut on short stilts Stilts leave a strip of shade underneath. That strip sits it on the ground.

Fences, roads and wires 12

a boardwalk of grey planks The plank ends are a row of short dashes. Suggest a dozen, not all of them.
a dry-stone wall with one gap A dark band with a pale top edge, where the light catches the stones.
a footpath marked by white-topped posts White dots in a shrinking row. They measure the distance for the viewer.
a line of pylons crossing the view Pylons are lace. Draw the outline and a few crossbars, then stop.
a plank footbridge with one handrail Whatever it crosses, keep the bridge lighter than the gap beneath it.
a railway line with no train Two rails meet at the horizon. The sleepers turn to grey tone a short way off.
a row of telegraph poles The poles step away in a line that points at your focal point. Sag the wires.
a single-track road with grass down the middle Two pale ruts and a darker strip between, closing to a point.
a string of fence posts with no wire left Lean each post a different way. The missing wire reads as years.
a washing line with three sheets on it Sheets catch the light and show the wind. Three is plenty.
a wire fence running out of sight The posts get shorter and closer as they go. Space them by eye.
a wooden gate standing open An open gate invites the eye in. Angle it toward what you want looked at.

Left behind 12

a bicycle lying on its side Two ellipses and a triangle. Its rider is somewhere near, out of frame.
a kitchen chair facing the view The chair makes the picture about looking. Turn it slightly away from us.
a kite on a taut string, its flyer out of frame The string is one fine diagonal. It ties the sky to the ground.
a ladder left flat on the ground Two long lines and rungs that close up with distance: a small perspective lesson.
a neat stack of cut logs The log ends are pale circles in a dark stack. Dot in a handful.
a pair of boots left side by side Too small to detail from far off: two dark commas and one shared shadow.
a red wheelbarrow tipped on end A small red wedge. Put it where two big shapes meet.
a rusted tractor with no tyres Rust is orange over brown, with a dark hollow where the engine was.
a small boat on a trailer Tilt the trailer nose down. A level trailer looks hitched to something.
a stack of pallets Stripes of light wood and dark slots. Draw the near corner and fade the rest.
a striped deckchair, empty Sagging stripes show the curve of the cloth. Three stripes will do it.
an old bathtub used as a trough A white oval with a dark inside. It will be the lightest made mark in the scene.

Signs and markers 12

a bench with its back to us A bench faces the best view, so it tells the viewer where to look.
a boundary stone with a number cut in it A grey stump with one flat lit face. Hint the number with two marks.
a flagpole with a small faded flag The flag shows the wind: limp, lifting or straight out. Match the weather.
a knee-high cairn of stacked stones Big stones at the bottom and one small one on top. Five or six in all.
a radio mast with a red light on top A hairline upright and one red dot. At night the dot is all you need.
a red letterbox on a post One red rectangle. Nothing else in the picture gets that red.
a road sign with the paint worn off A blank sign is a pale shape on a stick. Its tilt says how long it has stood.
a row of beehives painted different colours Small boxes in a line: a ready-made set of colour notes.
a signpost with three arms Three arms at three angles. Leave the lettering as grey dashes.
a single lamp post, far from any street A long thin stroke with a hook at the top. It gives scale at once.
a weather vane on a tall pole The vane points into the wind. Agree it with everything else that leans.
a wind sock on a pole A soft cone in orange and white. It shows the wind better than any tree.

Viewpoint: all 36 viewpoints

How high you stand 12

from a height, looking steeply down Almost a map. The shapes on the ground matter more than the skyline.
from a high bank, looking slightly down More ground than sky. Let the pattern of the land fill two thirds of the page.
from a slight rise, the ground falling away The foreground drops out of sight, so the middle distance starts abruptly.

Show all 36 viewpoints (33 more)

How high you stand, continued

from as far back as you can get Everything shrinks to a band. The made thing is a speck: place it with care.
from close up, the made thing filling a third The landscape becomes a backdrop. Soften it and sharpen the made thing.
from eye level with the made thing The horizon cuts through it at the height of your eye. Draw that line first.
from far above, as a bird would see it No horizon at all. Compose it like a patchwork.
from ground level, chin on the earth The horizon sits high and the nearest stalks or stones become giants.
from knee height Low enough for near things to overlap far ones. Overlap is your depth.
from low down, tilted up, mostly sky Give the land the bottom fifth and let the sky have everything else.
from sitting height, sketchbook on your knees The near ground starts at your own feet. Let it run off the bottom edge.
from standing height, straight ahead The horizon runs through your eye level. Rule it in lightly first.

Toward or away from the light 12

looking a little to one side of the light Glare on one edge of the page and deep colour on the other.
looking across the shadows Shadows lie as stripes from side to side and show every dip in the ground.
looking straight into the light Everything turns to silhouette with a bright rim. Simplify the shapes.
looking the way the shadows fall Shadows run away from you like roads. Use them as leading lines.
looking toward the brightest part of the sky The land will read darker than you think. Squint and compare.
looking toward the darkest part of the sky Light things stand out against a dark sky. Reverse your usual values.
with the light behind you Front light flattens form. Lean on colour and overlap instead of shading.
with the light from the left Lit sides on the left of everything, shade on the right. Be strict about it.
with the light from the right Every shadow falls to the left. Draw them all at one angle.
with the light glancing in over one shoulder Three-quarter light: most of each form is lit, with a narrow shaded side.
with the made thing between you and the light It becomes a dark cut-out, so its outline has to say what it is.
with the made thing in shade and the land lit A dark note in a bright field still draws the eye, by contrast.

Framing and format 12

as a square A square has no direction of its own. Put the horizon well off the middle.
as a tall narrow panel Stack four bands: near ground, middle distance, far land, sky.
as a thumbnail no bigger than a playing card Small forces big shapes. Do three in a row before the real one.
as a wide strip, three times as long as tall A panorama wants a slow rhythm: three things along it, unevenly placed.
cropped so that no sky shows at all Without sky the eye stays on the ground, and pattern takes over.
seen through a narrow gap A dark surround with the view in a bright slot. Half the page stays simple.
with a strong line leading in from a bottom corner A track, an edge or a shadow: any line from the corner walks the viewer in.
with something near and dark framing one edge A dark near shape down one side pushes everything else back.
with the horizon one fifth from the bottom A low horizon makes the picture about the sky.
with the horizon one fifth from the top A high horizon makes the picture about the ground.
with the made thing dead centre, on purpose The centre is usually avoided. Do it boldly and keep the rest symmetrical.
with the made thing tiny and far to one side Small and near the edge, it makes the land look huge.

How it works

This random landscape generator describes one place in words: the land, the weather, the time of day, one made thing and where you stand. It makes no image. All five lists are printed below, each entry with a painting note.

Read the full guide

Why there is always one made thing

A wooden gate standing open, a row of telegraph poles or a kitchen chair facing the view gives the eye a place to land and tells the viewer how big everything else is. It is one thing only, and usually small. Paint it last and give it the sharpest edges in the picture.

Weather and hour decide the colours

The same salt marsh is a different painting under broken cloud at noon, in mist an hour after sunrise and at dusk in the blue hour. Settle the weather and the hour before you mix a colour: the land only gives you the shapes.

Questions and answers

Does this random landscape generator make a picture?

No. It writes a description and leaves the image to you. That suits anyone who wants a subject to paint, draw or write about, not a finished picture to copy.

What can I use a random landscape for?

A painting or sketch with no reference photo, a background for a character, a setting for a story or a game session, or a warm-up: thumbnails of one piece of land under several kinds of weather.

Can it give me a fantasy landscape?

Not by itself. The lists hold real kinds of land: marsh, moor, dune, gorge, orchard. For dragons and enchanted places use the fantasy art prompt generator, which deals a whole scene with a character in it.

Are the landscapes real places?

No. Each entry names a kind of land, sky or object, never a named place, so one result could sit in many countries. The terms golden hour and blue hour and the note on haze follow the sources named under the lists.