the best way to model streets?

[kyouko]

Hello Cg Architects,

 

I was modeling streets, and decided to not look for easy shortcuts in the begining. So I decided to model the streets of a exterior ilustration using poly modeling. It was a little bloody using edge extrudes and so.

 

Well, The ilustration is doing nice, but now I need to do lots of more roads (it is a city, residential area).

 

Theres something that can helps to build roads without the need to extrude edges manualy?

 

I saw at procedural dot com something named city engine, but it is a little expensive and I am not sure if it does the work as I need it.

[Dave Buchhofer]

I'm always interested in a good way to do the tedious work also, and it doesn't get much more painful than a large civil type job, while browsing around i saw this: http://www.procedural.com/cityengine/provided-examples/modern-streets.html which is looking simply amazing, when combined with the import of the OpenStreetMap stuff also.

 

shame its ~5k usd.

 

I'd love to hear options people use in actual practice, I personally just have a bit of a library of common parts

[Bruce Hart]

I'm not sure if this helps you, but I tend to leave the street kerbing as splines, and use the bevel modifier to extrude up say 50mm then level 2 with an extrude of 100mm and an outline of -100mm. This makes a kerbing block with a gutter edge that simply sits on top of a road plane that goes underneath everything. An alternative would be to use the sweep modifier.

 

If roads are undulating I use spline cage modelling - ie the surface/cross section modifiers applied to road edge splines. The glue plugin can be used to drape renderable splines down on the road surface (if you don't want to map the linework on)

 

Hope this helps.

[Brian Smith]

you can check this...weeks 1, 2, and 3

 

http://www.cgarchitect.com/upclose/VI/default.asp

[kyouko]

Hum, very interesting. Im sending to the printer these 3 weeks. The subsequent weeks looks very interesting too!

[kyouko]

Brian, your book is what I was looking for.

 

I want to ask you something. I like to work with 3dmax 9. It is okay to read your first book (on max 8), or do you think its better to get one of the lasts ?

 

The last book hardcover (june/2010) is amazing!

[Brian Smith]

Brian, your book is what I was looking for.

 

I want to ask you something. I like to work with 3dmax 9. It is okay to read your first book (on max 8), or do you think its better to get one of the lasts ?

 

The last book hardcover (june/2010) is amazing!

 

Thanks for the kind words. The Beg to Int and Int to Adv books provide support files in Max 9. Both books are about 99% compatible with Max 9. There is very little that would be different if they were strictly Max 9 books. I wouldn't suggest the Max 8 book as it is a weaker version of the Beg-Int book and is in black and white.

[Flint]

Thank you Brian. I've been looking for something that explains creating site plans for ages. Great tutorials. Have a drink on me

[kyouko]

Hum... a last question?

When using boolean to detach the street from terrain, theres something good to create splines from the edges of the street mesh? Or it is to manually select by hand?

[Brian Smith]

Hum... a last question?

When using boolean to detach the street from terrain, theres something good to create splines from the edges of the street mesh? Or it is to manually select by hand?

 

within edit mesh or edit poly, there's a 'Create Shape from Open Edges' feature. use the linear option. that should be what you need. it's in the tutorial btw.

[kyouko]

Thanks Brian. I have the bad habit on only reading tutorials and practice later. Maybe I should practice the tutorials exercises in read time too.