A realistic road

[alimarafia]

Hi,

 

I generally use a simple texture/color for roads but have seen some great renders with realistic roads ( stripes, dirts...etc)

 

Is there any complete tutorial about mapping a road for a complex terrain ( not linear with intersections ) FOR A NEWBIE.

 

I would be interested in these steps in particular:

 

Extracting the road geometry from the model.

preparing the texture according to the last geometry ( In photoshop or Gimp) .

Applying the map.

 

 

I would be interested if any other process.

 

Thanks in advance.

[troyhome]

I'd also be interested in that!

 

 

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[TomA]

Hi Ali

 

The only tutorial I can think of that deals with roads off the top of my head is Christopher Nichols freeway tutorial as part of his Gnomon Workshop exterior Vray GI lighting and rendering training video, but you will have to pay for it. You might also pick up some tips from this: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/photoshop-postwork-the-shipyard-breakdown/

 

However, I appreciate that neither of those are exactly what you are after, so...

 

How to extract road geometry from a model? I guess this depends on what 3d package you are using, but in 3dsMax I would use the UVW Unwrap modifier - Google it to see various tutorials. You could also use the more simple UVW mapping technique (if you know the basic dimensions and shape of the road), tweaking the settings and alignment to get the right fit. In order to apply the texture, add a jpeg of your road map into the diffuse slot of your road material. Adding additional textures e.g. Into the bump or opacity map slots can also add a lot of depth.

 

As far as the texture is concerned, it depends on the size and extent of your road in relation to your overall scene, but generally a bigger, more detailed map will give more impressive results, but this is also greatly affected by your lighting and render settings, and number of passes.

 

In terms of creating the map, you could use a 2d cad plan or hand drawn road markings as a guide in Photoshop to start with. To create the right texture, there are various ways to achieve this, from basic techniques such as using a dark grey base and adding noise to give the impression of Tarmac, then using various brushes to add dirt etc, to using stock photos, seamlessly stitched together, and built up in layers blended together. The latter will probably give the best results.

 

Once you have rendered the road, you will probably want to go over it again in Photoshop, tweaking exposure and contrast, adding shadows and highlights, blending in reflection render passes, etc, to make it more convincing.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Tom

Edited September 11, 2013 by TomA

[troyhome]

Thanks Tom- I will check out those tuts much appreciated.

 

 

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[alimarafia]

Thanks, I've also found this link:

http://www.evermotion.org/tutorials/show/8012/making-of-student-residence

 

I hope to see more.

[TomA]

Great tutorial - thanks Ali!