map creation

[ankurpatwa]

how do i add roads and garden-patches on a landscape lwo?
should i go for textures or edit surfaces?

[nthused]

How close is the camera going to be...or how big is the rendering going to be when printed.

[ankurpatwa]

How close is the camera going to be...or how big is the rendering going to be when printed.



the map is too big...lets say 1000 times bigger than the buildings

[nthused]

Will you print this or is this for video or computer presentation?

My first thought is - use mapped images.

If you need topographic features use a displacement based on textures (see NewTek's tutorial section for landscape creation).

For buildings use very simple polygonal models. It's very likely you're never going to see a lot of detail at the scale I think you're talking about.

For roads, parking lots, etc. use a black image for a bump map draped over the landscape - it should be enough to give the impression of pavement with curb without the time it would take to model those features.

[ankurpatwa]

thanks,
the buildings are ready and placed on the landscape.
i tried subdividing the polygons of the landscape to give them road/garden texture. but the detials are very minute.cant work on them.
it will be used for a video shoot which will focus on a building for 2-3 seconds.
there are 15 buildings in all.

[nthused]

OK. Sounds like you're going to be close to the landscape. You'll need to model. What I do is create the ground.

If the topography is flat...

In another layer create the road. Place the road layer in the background, the terrain in the foreground layer - do a "Template Drill" This will drill the road onto the terrain. Use bevel to create curbs.

Do this for foundations, sidewalks, planting areas, etc. until all your pavement and landscaped areas are done.

Email me, I'll send you a PDF of a tuturial I wrote to do this.

[ankurpatwa]

thanks again.
i textured the map (it was a mountaneous region) with an image of the "urban developments". it worked. it gave an easy way to place my models. i knew exactly where to put them.