Every CardyCraft map starts in Gaea, where I design the terrain, and then moves to WorldPainter, where it becomes a real Minecraft world. WorldPainter is a free program that lets you paint a world from above like a picture: raise mountains, carve rivers, paint forests and snow, then export it as a map you can play. You don't need Gaea to get started, though. This guide takes you from an empty screen to your first playable map with WorldPainter alone.
What you need
- WorldPainter, free from worldpainter.net. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the installer comes with everything it needs.
- Minecraft Java Edition, to play what you make.
- An idea. Even "an island with a volcano" is enough to start.
Tip: start small. A 2,000 × 2,000 block island is plenty for a first map and stays fast to edit and export.
1. Create a new world
Open WorldPainter and choose File > New World. The important settings:
- Name your world.
- Size: worlds are built from tiles of 128 × 128 blocks. Pick a small size for now; you can always add tiles later.
- Topography: choose whether you start with land or water, and set the terrain level and water level. For an island, start with water and a land level just below the water, then build the land up yourself.
- Map format: pick the Minecraft version you'll play on, so the height limits and blocks match.
Press OK and you get a flat world seen from above, ready to paint.
2. Shape the terrain
The Tools panel is where the landscape happens. The ones you'll use most:
- Raise/Lower: left-click to raise the ground, right-click to lower it. Your main sculpting tool.
- Raise Mountain: builds steep, natural-looking peaks fast.
- Smooth: softens harsh edges and bumps. Use it a lot.
- Flatten: levels an area, for towns, fields or building sites.
- Flood: fills a hollow with water or lava, great for lakes. Sponge removes water again.
In the Brush options you set the brush shape, size and intensity. Big soft brushes with low intensity give the most natural results: build mountains up in several passes instead of one hard stroke.
Want more realistic terrain? File > Import > Height map turns a greyscale image into terrain in one go: light is high, dark is low. This is how I work. I build the landscape in Gaea, a terrain generator with real erosion and rivers, export it as a heightmap and import it here. WorldPainter then does everything that makes it Minecraft: blocks, trees, caves, biomes and builds.
3. Paint the surface
The Terrain panel paints what the ground is made of: grass, sand, stone, snow, gravel and many more. Paint beaches along the coast, stone on steep slopes, snow on the peaks. Mixing two or three terrain types in one area makes it look far less flat and artificial.
4. Add layers
Layers add things on top of or under the ground without changing its shape:
- Forests: deciduous, pine, jungle and swamp trees, painted wherever you want them.
- Frost: snow and ice for cold areas.
- Caverns and Chasms: underground caves and deep ravines.
- Resources: ores underground, so survival still works.
Paint with the left mouse button, erase with the right. Lower the brush intensity for sparse trees and raise it for dense forest.
5. Biomes
Minecraft uses biomes for grass colour, weather and which mobs spawn. WorldPainter picks biomes automatically from your terrain and layers, and you can paint them by hand in the Biomes panel when you want a specific one somewhere, like a cherry grove on a hillside.
6. Place your own builds
Have schematics, like trees, rocks, ruins or houses? Add a Custom Objects layer, load your files (.schem, .schematic, .nbt and more) and paint them onto the map. WorldPainter scatters them at random rotations, so a handful of custom trees turns into a whole forest.
7. Check it in 3D
Before exporting, open the 3D view from the View menu and look around. Slopes that looked fine from above sometimes turn out to be walls, and rivers can end up floating. Fixing that now is much faster than after exporting.
8. Export and play
Choose File > Export > Export as Minecraft map, check the Minecraft version and pick your saves folder as the destination. When it's done, start Minecraft and your world is in the Singleplayer list.
Tip: save your WorldPainter file (.world) often, and keep it. It's the only file that still has your layers and brush work, so you can keep changing the map and export again whenever you like.
Not sure where the saves folder is, or want to put your map on a server or Realms? See how to install a Minecraft map.
Beginner mistakes to avoid
- Terrain too spiky: use Smooth after every few strokes, and build height slowly.
- Everything the same height: real landscapes have valleys, plateaus and coastlines. Vary it.
- One block type everywhere: mix terrain types and add layers so the ground feels alive.
- Starting huge: a small, detailed map beats a big empty one. Grow it once you're comfortable.
Want to see what it can do?
Every map in the CardyCraft store was made this way, with terrain from Gaea and WorldPainter plus a lot of custom tools on top, and you can fly around all of them in 3D before downloading. If you'd rather have a map made for you, I also take commissions.
Have a question about WorldPainter? Ask in the Discord and I'll help you out.