Best Way to Model Terrain w/ a retaining wall
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I am using artisan plugin to sculpt a terrain that I got from the add location/toggle terrain google map feature. Then I added more triangulated detail to the specific area around the structure that I will be sculpting. The structure will be a basement house with a main level garage and a couple of retaining walls. There will be a flat patio in the back of the daylight basement. My question is what would be the best/easiest way to model the terrain around the retaining wall where the grade is high on one side and low on the other. I tried cutting out the shape of the wall using the drape tool which works until I use the smooth function then it starts to "pinch" in the edges so the grade does not sit up against the retaining wall.
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You could try something like this. I traced some of your lines from the terrain, created some (crude) lines going up the retaining wall and along your basement line to create a closed loop and used the Contour tool from Sandbox to fill it in. You could be a bit more precise with the outline and maybe even use something like Soap Bubble or Curviloft for a more elegant solution.
-Brodie
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Thanks for your suggestion, I will give it a try. FYI in your skp file you made the terrain level with the 1st floor instead of the bottom floor but I think your concept would work either way.
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You may want to define the flat area and then try the sandbox stamp tool with a low offset value. Chuck Vali also has a script called Instant Site Grader that works well for blending new construction into existing terrain.
I typically draw out all of my hard elements first, then I define the new grade as a line drawn around the entire perimeter and blend that with my contour lines based on grade shots I take myself, using From Contours.
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Thanks earthmover. It seems the site grader plugin is the way to go with my workflow. It needs a little sculpting/smoothing out afterwards but it definitely makes it easy.
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I have Instant Site Grader Pro and use it all the time. It's definitely worth the money. Since you are doing this type of work, you could also check out some of the tutorials I put together for the hardscape contractors here - http://prohardscaper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=52
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