One press composes a view to paint, sketch or write: a real landform, its light and one focal point.
Random Landscape Generator: 20 landscapes
An escarpment under a dust-colored sky before wind. In the foreground, wildflowers in three colors, with a narrow channel cut deep in soft earth; the eye rests on a small white bell tower.
Padlock: keep a part.Arrows: change only that part.
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 cirque under a break in the cloud lighting one patch of ground. In the foreground, new green shoots through last year's straw, with a slow bend of brown water; the eye rests on a line of fence posts running out of sight.
A river delta under the first light, pink on the high ground. In the foreground, a pine wood ending at a sharp line, with a stone trough fed by a pipe; the eye rests on a string of pack mules.
A cenote under towering white cloud with flat gray bases. In the foreground, short turf cropped by grazing, with a brook hidden by its own banks; the eye rests on a trail of footprints leading away.
A waterfall under a break in the cloud lighting one patch of ground. In the foreground, bare rock scoured smooth, with puddles in the wheel ruts of a track; the eye rests on three horses with no fence in sight.
A limestone pavement under steady rain that blurs the distance. In the foreground, a fringe of tall reeds, with a sheet of floodwater a hand deep; the eye rests on a trail of footprints leading away.
A braided river under mist in the hollows and a clear sky above. In the foreground, grass silvered with dew, with a chain of small pools down the slope; the eye rests on a stone bridge of a single arch.
A plateau under a clear sky an hour before sunset. In the foreground, the edge of a birch wood, with a thin stream crossing left to right; the eye rests on a gate propped open with a stone.
A confluence of two rivers under a hazy sun you can look straight at. In the foreground, heather in full bloom, with water dripping from an overhang; the eye rests on a heron standing very still.
A headland under dusk, when the colors go and the shapes stay. In the foreground, dark gravel with the first moss on it, with a pond ringed with rushes; the eye rests on a flock of white birds lifting off.
A floodplain under a mackerel sky. In the foreground, short turf cropped by grazing, with a still pool that doubles the sky; the eye rests on a road that climbs out of the picture.
A tombolo under low winter sun and very long shadows. In the foreground, moss thick on every stone, with flat stones set across a shallow stream; the eye rests on a fallen tree spanning a gap.
A barrier island under a storm shelf coming in. In the foreground, a hay field cut in long rows, with a ditch full of sky; the eye rests on a rider leading a second horse.
A fjord under low sun from the left. In the foreground, bare rock scoured smooth, with a marshy patch bright with new growth; the eye rests on a wooden signpost with its arms gone.
A braided river under steady rain that blurs the distance. In the foreground, dry-stone walls dividing small pastures, with two streams meeting at a gravel bar; the eye rests on a flag on a pole, snapping.
A polje under steady rain that blurs the distance. In the foreground, low scrub with gray leaves, with a plank laid over a narrow channel; the eye rests on a wooden signpost with its arms gone.
A wadi under the sun straight ahead, everything in silhouette. In the foreground, pale sand rippled by wind, with a trickle staining the rock dark; the eye rests on a lantern left on a flat stone.
An inselberg under white light with no shadows at all. In the foreground, shingle sorted by size, with a narrow channel cut deep in soft earth; the eye rests on a fallen tree spanning a gap.
A floodplain under the first light, pink on the high ground. In the foreground, dried mud curled at the edges, with rain pooled in every hollow; the eye rests on a windmill with torn sails.
A crater lake under high streaks of mare's-tail cloud. In the foreground, a stubble field after harvest, with a spring seeping out of the rock; the eye rests on a shepherd and a moving flock.
A yardang under a full moon and hard-edged shadows. In the foreground, terraced fields cut into the slope, with a sheet of floodwater a hand deep; the eye rests on a dead tree bleached white.
This random landscape generator composes one view in five parts: a real landform, the sky and light, the ground in front of you, water and one focal point. It doubles as a random scenery generator for maps and stories.
Read the full guide
Keep the landform, change the light
Press New landscape. Tap a part to lock it or change it alone: lock Landform on the line of sea stacks and press again for a new sky. Set a timer times a sketch, starting at 20 minutes. Print 20 landscapes makes a sheet of prompts.
Why the landform is always a real one
Every landform is a term from physical geography, and the list under the tool gives each a one-line meaning checked against its Wikipedia article: a tombolo ties an island to the mainland, a cuesta is steep on one side only. The other four rows describe only the sky and the ground near you, so any landform can take any of them.
Tips
Block in the landform as one big shape before any detail.
Look up a photograph of the landform before you draw it.
Questions and answers
What can I use a random landscape for?
A timed sketch, a painting study, a map or game level to build, or a scene to write. The five parts give you the big shape, the light, the foreground and one thing for the eye to settle on.
Are the landforms real?
Yes. Each one is listed in the Wikipedia glossary of landforms, such as a drumlin, a hogback or a maar, and its meaning comes from its own article. The sky, ground cover, water and focal point are our own lines.
What is the difference between a mesa and a butte?
Both are isolated hills with steep sides and a flat top. A mesa is the larger, standing above the plain like a table; a butte has only a small flat top and is the smaller landform.
How this list was compiled: An original list written for this page on 2026-09-30. The tool composes one view from five rows (landform, sky and light, ground cover, water, focal point) and cannot block a combination, so every line in this row was written to sit beside every line in the other four. Rules for this row: a noun phrase that follows "under". Light, cloud or weather that can stand over any landform in any climate, so no snow and no heat shimmer. Screened by script on 2026-09-30 against every other list on this site (the five rows of random-setting-generator and the items of random-biome-generator among them) and on drawthisnext (landscape-drawing-ideas among them): no line is on two pages. Reworded after the screen: lines that sat near a setting weather line (flat white light, far lightning), a city landmark line (a split boulder with a tree, a gate with no wall) or a drawing idea (the blue hour, a double rainbow, cracked mud, a wind-bent pine, an empty bench). Licence: own work
Ground cover: all 40 ground covers
Grass 10
a hay field cut in long rows
a meadow gone to seed
clover and plantain underfoot
grass silvered with dew
new green shoots through last year's straw
sedge and rushes on soft ground
short turf cropped by grazing
tall dry grass bent one way
tussock grass in rounded clumps
wind-combed grass the color of straw
Show all 40 ground covers (30 more)
Low plants 10
bilberry and low juniper
bracken turning rust
cushion plants hugging the gravel
ferns in the cracks of the rock
heather in full bloom
lichen in orange and pale green
low scrub with gray leaves
moss thick on every stone
thorn bushes shaped by the wind
wildflowers in three colors
Bare ground 10
a dusty track worn pale
bare rock scoured smooth
boulders furred with lichen
dark gravel with the first moss on it
dried mud curled at the edges
loose gravel and coarse sand
pale sand rippled by wind
red earth and scattered stones
sharp-edged slabs of broken rock
shingle sorted by size
Trees and fields 10
a fringe of tall reeds
a pine wood ending at a sharp line
a stand of leafless trees
a stubble field after harvest
an old orchard in rows
dry-stone walls dividing small pastures
the edge of a birch wood
plowed earth in dark furrows
scattered oaks with wide crowns
terraced fields cut into the slope
How this list was compiled: An original list written for this page on 2026-09-30. The tool composes one view from five rows (landform, sky and light, ground cover, water, focal point) and cannot block a combination, so every line in this row was written to sit beside every line in the other four. Rules for this row: what covers the ground nearest the viewer, in words that fit most climates, so no snow, ice, cactus or palm. Screened by script on 2026-09-30 against every other list on this site (the five rows of random-setting-generator and the items of random-biome-generator among them) and on drawthisnext (landscape-drawing-ideas among them): no line is on two pages. Reworded after the screen: lines that sat near a setting weather line (flat white light, far lightning), a city landmark line (a split boulder with a tree, a gate with no wall) or a drawing idea (the blue hour, a double rainbow, cracked mud, a wind-bent pine, an empty bench). Licence: own work
Water: all 30 water details
Running 10
a brook hidden by its own banks
a ribbon of water bright as tin
a slow bend of brown water
a small cascade over three ledges
a spring seeping out of the rock
a stream that vanishes into the ground
a thin stream crossing left to right
a trickle staining the rock dark
runoff running in a dozen threads
two streams meeting at a gravel bar
Show all 30 water details (20 more)
Still 10
a chain of small pools down the slope
a ditch full of sky
a flooded hollow with one dead tree in it
a marshy patch bright with new growth
a pond ringed with rushes
a sheet of floodwater a hand deep
a still pool that doubles the sky
beads of water on every surface
puddles in the wheel ruts of a track
rain pooled in every hollow
Signs of water 10
a dry stream bed of pale stones
a far waterfall, a white thread on the hillside
a narrow channel cut deep in soft earth
a plank laid over a narrow channel
a shallow ford with a stony bed
a stone trough fed by a pipe
flat stones set across a shallow stream
ripples spreading from something unseen
water dripping from an overhang
wet ground shining where the light hits
How this list was compiled: An original list written for this page on 2026-09-30. The tool composes one view from five rows (landform, sky and light, ground cover, water, focal point) and cannot block a combination, so every line in this row was written to sit beside every line in the other four. Rules for this row: a small sign of water near the viewer that follows "with". Never a sea, a lake or a large river, because the landform may already be one. Screened by script on 2026-09-30 against every other list on this site (the five rows of random-setting-generator and the items of random-biome-generator among them) and on drawthisnext (landscape-drawing-ideas among them): no line is on two pages. Reworded after the screen: lines that sat near a setting weather line (flat white light, far lightning), a city landmark line (a split boulder with a tree, a gate with no wall) or a drawing idea (the blue hour, a double rainbow, cracked mud, a wind-bent pine, an empty bench). Licence: own work
Focal point: all 50 focal points
Wild 16
a dead tree bleached white
a fallen tree spanning a gap
a flock of white birds lifting off
a fox crossing open ground
a goat on an unlikely ledge
a hawk hanging on the wind
a herd of deer on the skyline
a heron standing very still
Show all 50 focal points (42 more)
Wild, continued
a lone boulder the size of a house
a lone pine leaning with the wind
a nest of sticks on a ledge
a rock balanced on a smaller rock
a single red-leaved bush
a thorn tree full of small birds
one tree in full blossom
three horses with no fence in sight
Built 18
a chimney with no house
a dry-stone sheepfold
a footbridge of two planks
a gate propped open with a stone
a handcart tipped on its shafts
a line of fence posts running out of sight
a rope footbridge
a row of beehives
a ruined tower with one wall standing
a scarecrow in a coat
a shepherd's hut with a turf roof
a single lit window far off
a small white bell tower
a standing stone leaning a little
a stone bridge of a single arch
a windmill with torn sails
a wooden signpost with its arms gone
smoke rising from one chimney
Passing through 16
a dog waiting on the path ahead
a flag on a pole, snapping
a flight of steps cut into rock
a lantern left on a flat stone
a line of laundry in the wind
a painter at an easel, painting this
a path that forks and gives no hint
a rider leading a second horse
a road that climbs out of the picture
a shepherd and a moving flock
a string of pack mules
a tent pitched in the lee of a rock
a trail of footprints leading away
a walker in a red coat, very small
an empty chair someone carried up here
two people sharing the view, backs turned
How this list was compiled: An original list written for this page on 2026-09-30. The tool composes one view from five rows (landform, sky and light, ground cover, water, focal point) and cannot block a combination, so every line in this row was written to sit beside every line in the other four. Rules for this row: one thing for the eye to settle on, that follows "the eye rests on" and can stand in front of any landform: an animal, a tree, something built or somebody passing. Screened by script on 2026-09-30 against every other list on this site (the five rows of random-setting-generator and the items of random-biome-generator among them) and on drawthisnext (landscape-drawing-ideas among them): no line is on two pages. Reworded after the screen: lines that sat near a setting weather line (flat white light, far lightning), a city landmark line (a split boulder with a tree, a gate with no wall) or a drawing idea (the blue hour, a double rainbow, cracked mud, a wind-bent pine, an empty bench). Licence: own work