Newbie JPRPAINTER

[JPRPAINTER]

Just a quick introduction and a question or two. I am an old dog learning new tricks. Have been an artist, illustrator for over 40 years. Picked up Sketchup about three months ago and wow, really nice program. This is my first time doing 3D work. Out of this new skill set, I have three projects in the works.
Question:

1. How do you create an indentation or change the terrain elevation on an incline or hill such as a road, street, sidewalk?
2. What is the best renderer in Sketchup to create urban planning site as much as 5 to 10 city blocks?

Thanks,
JPRPAINTER

[nickchun]

Hello JPRPainter

1. Are you talking about cutting a road into a hill to create a sloping embankment? Perhaps you could post a photo or sketch of what you are after
2. There has been a lot of discussion about 'best renderers',
   it depends on what quality/detail/speed you want. Bit of a can of worms but take a look at this thread for starters http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=3220#p15472

[pbacot]

1. In any case what you are doing is moving the geometry, edges, and vertices and how you do it depends on the nature of the geometry you have. For general terrain Artisan sculpt tool is good. TT's Vertex Tools are good for shaping many types of connected geometry and that might be better for roads and other hardscape.