Procedural terrains
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I've found the book "E-on Software's Vue 6 Revealed" to be a good reference source. Changing or tweaking the materials applied in SU in Vue is easy - just click on the material in the browser on the left, and the material editor opens - and you switch between the basic editor and the advanced editor. For the most part, the controls are self explanatory. And you can see the changes real time in the preview window. If a bumbling renderer like me can use it, a pro like you shouldn't have any probs. If I were you, I'd just download the eval version and play with it.
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Thank you Daniel. I will have a go with that.
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Okay, my bad.
I will look out for a few tutorials, I have never used nor seen one yet (havent looked either)
I am trying something different now (details to follow) using a Google aerial map and converting the image to a 3d mesh.
I took a piece of scotland as seen below and converted the .jpg to a .skp. The problem i need to overcome is file sizes due to poly limits, but accuracy seems spot on (a few elevation adjustments may be needed and can be achieved using FFD or scale tool).
I had to reduce the file by 80%
and still the .skp is 47MB
GE image.
The SU model with hidden lines on.
No lines and shadows on.
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LOL@myself.
look at lower right corner of last image (the google logo is a mountain)
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Solo, how did you convert the GE jpeg to the 3D SU model?
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@daniel said:
Solo, how did you convert the GE jpeg to the 3D SU model?
Indeed
How does one do that? (Zbrush?) -
Daniel, I will do a kinda tutorial once I have all the kinks worked out and there are a few. The Google earth image gets changed into an extreme bump or better word a displacement map which is then used as a map on a flat mesh to create a physical relief. I want to see if I can map the actual image as a texture and then use it also as a displacement map in oder to give a better 3d representation.
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This is simply AMAZING, Pete..!!
Looking forward to learn more about this...
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Fantastic stuff Solo...looking forward to see the way you do it.
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This is a cool progress to watch.
I can imagine using the displacement-to-mesh idea for lots of different things as well. -
St. Andrews golf course in Scotland.
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Looks good. What happens with buildings. Do they come up accurately?
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reduced poly version.The houses do not raise right due to google image had shadows that screw with the displacement.
fast render (20 seconds due to image being texture)
Still needs tweaking, but this could be a new way of doing terrains, may need a code expert to make this a ruby idea however. -
My god, this is amazing. Still don't understand how this is works though..
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haha... me neither.. i understand how the bump maps or displacement maps work in the renders.. but how are you achieving that complex sketchup mesh?? awesome stuff.. i just recently saw someting on the maxwell forums where someone had just taken a google earth image and used it as a displacement map.. wasnt accurate at all, but was really cool and simple..
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[Off Topic]: I tried texturing a freeform in Vue...and didn't succeed .Seems as Vue doesn't really has real UV-mapping tools (only cilindrical,spherical, etc..which results in distorted soup). Next step: Zbrush?
Sorry for the OT. Now please continue with this nice landscaping process
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I would also believe Z-brush to be the best option. Vue has more mapping tools than SU and others alike but by no means a true solution.
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Just to chime in here and show there is some more interest in this process. We are doing stuff like this more and more and I for one would love to see a tutorial on this process. Time usually doesn't permit us to do the freeform thing and we end steping the contours from survey data or traced images.
I guess my real question is: Are you getting an accurate "dem" image from GE to use as a displacement map or is this more of an "artistic guess" at landscaping. Either way you are certainly on to something here. If someone could build a displacement map routine ruby for sketchup I'm not sure I would need autocad anymore.
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Fossa,
I would not say it's an artistic approximation but more of a primary image limitation, see the images I get from GE have shadows and the shadows are a very instrumental in getting the displacement map accurate. I have not yet tried using the new GE sun positioning feature yet and will in due coarse try different settings. ( I will continue with this in a few days , as soon as my current project completes).
I agree a terrain generator ruby would be awesome and another reason to not use those $$$ apps and keep the workflow down to a single app. -
Soooooo much to learn...nice work (again!), Pete. Will be watching close for that tut as well as I just today got a small house project where a stone outcrop is the prominent and center feature of the site. The architect wants to have it poke thru a deck and maybe a little of the floor structure to the inside (at a fireplace)...should be a fun model to build but it will have to look better than what I've done before: so perfect timing!
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