Terrain modeling in Rhino

[Mario Pende]

Hello!
Does amyone know a good and fast way of modeling 3D terrains in Rhino from input curves or points?
Thanx!

[Lloyd Brown]

Hi,

What is your intended use? Accuracy or convincing rendering – or both? Quick and easy would be: If your original input is accurate civil/surveyor's splines (or can be converted to this as .dwg) then why not just import them and then loft them?

For accuracy and convincing rendering check out the links at the bottom of the page here – “Terrain Modeling Help” has a lot of good suggestions. For convincing rendering, I sometime use a combo of the terrain generator normal map output from GeoControl 2 on top of an accurate topo from a surveyor which has been lofted as above – putting both inside a decent rendering package. The terrain generated in GeoControl (or similar) must be intuitively generated as close as possible to the lofted topo in Rhino, then the 2 put together (Rhino loft and normal map) in the rendering package that can read a normal map – Viz or Cinema 4D or such. The normal map only describes the "visceral" surface of the terrain that you give it but does not significantly change the actual topo levels - it can be controlled. It can take a little while to learn one of the terrain generators, but it is worth it to output really nice renderings. They are not usually too expensive.

Good luck

[Mario Pende]

Hi Loyd!
Thanx for the input!
I was thinking in the same manner, lofting the civil/surveyor's splines, only I dont know what to use if I get pointclouds ( I think "drape" is an option in that case)
I tried a demo of the RhinoTerrain plugin, it realy works great, but I can only see it in visual purposes, couse it creates a huge mesh model on wich you cannot model anything.
Egsampe in my case, I will need to model a certain road and also put a model of a house near the road.
Aboth rendering thast no problem. I understand the usage of a planar mapping, althou for a image I must get a orthophoto generated image of the terrain, correct?

p.s. "Terrain Modeling Help” has a lot of good suggestions" I dont het this?!?! Wheres the link?
Thanx man!

[Lloyd Brown]

Hi Maurio, you are welcome - hope it helps a little.

If yours is a project that an owner needs responsible accuracy from, either you or the owner should contract with a licensed surveyor or civil engineer to send you a digital file - they can send whatever format would be customary for you to do your work - .dwg. plines would be a common format and works great in Rhino. Any artistic renderings you might do would be clearly noted as "Conceptual Sketch" or something like that. But you already know all that.

The link is at the very bottom of the webpage - this one you are looking at! There are 4 or 5 topics there - at least there in my browser, last thing on the page.
best,
v

[Mario Pende]

Have you tried this maybe?
http://www.cadeasy.com/software_info...?detail_id=117
Seems interesting!
Creating terrains, thenmodeling roads directly on them...

[Claudio Branch]

Have you tried this maybe?

Seems interesting!

Yes, I have and you're right, it is very interesting.

EasySite is ideal for modeling any type of terrain challenge. Here is a shot of it in action on a site needing some major stormwater design love.

Give me your interchanges, intersections, roadways, parking lots, bridges, tunnels, commercial sites, earthen dams, concrete spillways, soccer fields, golf courses, airports...I have done them all using EasySite.

[Mario Pende]

Im trying the demo out, and its great!
I see you have a version for Autocad, I think thats called EasySurf, right?

[Claudio Branch]

Im trying the demo out, and its great! I see you have a version for Autocad, I think thats called EasySurf, right?

Wonderful...perhaps you can post up some progress for us.

I haven't used EasySurf. I don't even know what it's used for...

[Jonas Callewaert]

Hello!
Does amyone know a good and fast way of modeling 3D terrains in Rhino from input curves or points?
Thanx!

the RhinoTerrain plugin?
http://www.rhinoterrain.com/




easysite is good for civil stuff to add to the mesh that you make from the topo. I had recently done a fly over on a proposed roadway using rhino/bongo from geometry created in easysite, some geometry like the bridges etc had to be cleaned up.

[Mario Pende]

Yeah Rhinoterrain is great, but you dont have any modeling options on created terrain.
Easysite has an advantage there!