Key microstructural properties of particulate coatings such as porosity and particle order are established during drying. Therefore, understanding the evolution of particulate distributions during drying is useful for designing coating properties. Here, a 1D model is proposed for the particle distribution through the coating thickness at different drying times and conditions, including Brownian diffusion, sedimentation, and evaporation. Effects of particle concentration on diffusion and sedimentation rates are included. Results are condensed onto a drying regime map which predicts the presence of particle surface accumulation or sediment based on two dimensionless numbers: the Peclet number and the sedimentation number. Cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryoSEM) is used to image the transient particulate distributions during the drying of a model system comprised of monodisperse silica particles in water. Particle size and evaporation rates are altered to access various domains of the drying map. There is good agreement between cryoSEM observations and model predictions. (C) 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AlChE J, 56: 2769-2780, 2010