6.0 Creating 3-D Models

Every landscape designer wants to clearly transmit their ideas for the development of a site to the client before construction begins (or to win the job). This is most often done by producing 2-D landscape plans. We have demonstrated in earlier projects that a 2-D plan drawn using CAD software such as GardenCAD, together with and incorporating images of some of the plants and hard elements proposed for the design, can assist in communicating design ideas. Be that as it may, some clients still have great difficulty understanding 2-D landscape plans - you may well hear the phrase "I am afraid that I cannot get my head around what it is that you propose".

There are various techniques which can be used to help clients overcome this 'perception' barrier. These range from:

• Producing hand drawn, one and two point perspective drawings,
• Using image editing software such as Photoshop to create a view,
• Printing wire frame 3-D views of a proposed design and hand rendering the print,
• Exporting 'stills' rendered inside 3-D modelling software and rendering in image editing software like Photoshop,
• Capturing and playing a sequence of stills showing various views of a site,
• Developing complex animations with full photo realistic renderings.

In this paper, we discuss some of these options.

Hand drawn perspectives

These hand drawn perspectives take much time and the quality is directly related to your drawing skills level.

 For detailed instruction on cretaing these perspectives, refer to the excellent paper by David Brown here at: http://www.diploma.gardencad.net/node/154

3-D Models created using computer software

Created and rendered in AutoCAD and with background image of site applied (adjusted in Photoshop)

3-D IntelliCAD model of portion of playground (rendered inside IntelliCAD)

3-D image exported from SketchUp model to Photoshop - gradients and textures added in Photoshop

Partly completed 3-D model of courtyard. Rendered in IntelliCAD

Client accepted the concept above - implementation of the design shown below

Most 3-D modellers work with several views of a model - here plan, elevation and iso view of a 3-D tree in IntelliCAD software.

Model of courtyard  created and rendered entirely in IntelliCAD

 SketchUp model of another courtyard (with perspective view turned off - isometric)

SketchUp model of rear garden. Light sources set in SketchUp and model subsequently exported to third party renderer and ray tracing applied.

SketchUp model of rear garden, rendered external to SketchUp (in Podium)

SketchUp model of gabion wall and seating

Rendering inside SketchUp - abstract design for a wall outside day centre. Snake motif created in AutoCAD and imported to a simple SketchUp model of a wall.

SketchUp model of kitchen exported to and rendered in Podium

Designs by YardStick

A circular argument

Although as you have seen in the early examples above, it is possible to create hand drawn perspectives to show a 3-D view of a proposed landscape development, these drawings are time consuming to create and (of necessity) are generated from a single fixed view point. There is an alternative - as you have seen in the latter examples above, computer software can be used to create 3-D models and provide an alternative to hand drawing. In a 180 degree switch, different types of hand drawing techniqies can be simulated by a single click of the mouse button. Several drawing styles have been applied to one view from a model and are shown in the three figures below.

Fig 1. Brush strokes on canvas

Fibg 2. Vignette

Fig 3. Pencil sketch

I think that you would agree, fig 3 certanly gives a strong impression that it was a genuine hand drawn sketch.

Ray tracing and photorealistic models

These 3-D models also have the advantage that the output can, if you put some effort in, be made almost photorealistic. The figure below shows a virtual scene. Every element is computer generated.

Animations

As an added benefit, it is possible to examine the model from any vantage point and if required, animations ( a sequence of stored images which are played at 30 frames a second) which metaphorically speaking, 'walk' the client through the design.

Software

It is possible to use a number of software tools to create 3-D models of this type (AutoCAD, IntelliCAD, DesignCAD 3-D, TurboCAD), but Google SketchUp is our favourite piece in this category. It (Google SketchUp) has the considerable advantage that it runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers and is free for non-commercial use. There is a very large amount of free online help in the form of tutorials and forums on the use of SketchUp together with a store of SketchUp models (3-D trees, furniture etc.) contained in what's called a 3-D warehouse which you can freely utilize.

This model (of the tree) failed to render correctly in an external render program.

 SketchUp can be downloaded from http://www.google.com/sketchup/download/

About Google SketchUp (and SketchUp Pro)

SketchUp enables the creation of models of your intended design in a 3-D environment. It aims to make you feel that you are designing in much the same way as you would with pencil and paper. The aim of the developers was to make computer modelling an intuitive process.

Once a 3-D model has been built, SketchUp contains tools which allow you to apply materials to surfaces in your model, create 'see though' and hidden line views, take sections through the model, orbit around the design, set light sources, render and create a walk through the 'virtual' site. Because it can do all these things, SketchUp is a tool much used by architects and other construction and engineering professionals. In summary, SketchUp can help those clients who find it difficult to read 2-D plans to understand a proposed design. 

The database describing SketchUp models differs markedly from those 3-D models created in GardenCAD, AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and MicroStation. These latter CAD tools use a complex mix of Coons patches, ruled surfaces, surfaces of revolution to describe their 3D model. SketchUp has a much cleaner and faster method of recording the model geometry than these aforementioned CAD tools because it uses a series of triangular meshes to describe the model. This is very efficient and as a result, SketchUp can be used effectively on quite modest computer equipment.