Hi Mika :)

There is no right or wrong way to do a thing in CC3. Only variations on a theme.

For my suggestion I have started with a standard DD3 template for this map (using one of the dirt bitmaps as the background), and prepared it by adding 10 new sheets. 9 of those sheets are STEP sheets, and one is a SCREEN sheet. This last sheet is designed to hide things that fall outside the area of the map. Some styles have it, but some don't. My copy of the DD3 template doesn't.

I didn't use the FLOORS sheet at all, but drew the mass of the rock directly onto the FLOORS MASK sheet using the freehand drawing tool. I modified the sheet effects to make the edge more prominent by adding a Bevel, Lighted, and strengthening the glow that was already there.

Each of the 9 steps is a simple white polygon drawn with the freehand drawing tool, such that it covers the entire extent of the level it represents and extends under the edge of the FLOORS MASK. Here is one of the step shapes with effects adjusted to show it's extent.

The freehand drawing tool doesn't create a polygon all by itself. You have to draw the outline a bit like you would on a piece of paper with a pencil, and then use Path to polygon from the right click menu of the Fractalize tool to convert it.

As you can see from the screen shot above, I have used 2 different techniques on the 2 sets of steps. Rather than carry on describing these effects and adding loads more to this description, I have attached the FCW file below, so that you can see how the Blend modes are set up. There is one important trick that is very useful to know, however, and that is if you set a Blend mode to 'Multiply' all the white is taken out of the fill. If the fill is solid white (as it is with these steps), then all you are left with is the line and the shadow showing on the top set.

I used Multiply as the Blend Mode on that top set of steps because the highlight effect on the other steps became extra concentrated where the edges were closer together.

Here is the FCW file for you to have a look at. If there is anything you don't understand just shout. Or you may decide to do it a different way.

This is part of a Live Mapping session demonstrating the Ryecroft Town annual issue, but the Street tool works the same in any style.

https://youtu.be/cIwOSDF9VPw?t=1642

This is unofficially known as Transparency Acne, and is an artefact caused by the rendering engine when it fails to recognise pixels in the upper sheet that happen to be exactly the same colour as the underlying pixels.

This causes little virtual holes (holes) in the upper sheet, and effects are applied around the edge of each of these holes. In this example the bevel is being applied, resulting in this pitted effect.

Add a new sheet just underneath the upper sheet and copy the the polygons from the upper sheet onto it, then hide everything except the new sheet and use the Change Properties tool to make the new polygons on the underlying sheet a solid fill and some colour that you can be fairly sure isn't included in the texture. Colour 227 is a good one.

This issue of the 2021 Cartographer's Annual has just been published, so here is the full development example map to round off the end of this thread.

Ok. I think that will probably be a bit too small to look good.

I've trimmed it to work as a symbol, but I'm not sure it will look all that great on a background that is different to the one it began its life on, but if it works it works, and if not, it doesn't.