Creating a Project in Lumion - Mastering Lumion 3D - page 41

Modeling a 3D terrain
An additional option is modeling a 3D terrain to use in Lumion. The way we will
approach this solution really depends on our skills and the landscape information
available. With some projects, a landscape plan can be provided and usually these
plans not only provide information regarding the type of plants required, but also
the elevation data that can be used to model the terrain. Modeling the terrain can be
part of the solution used for the scene because we can add more detail to areas that
will be close to the camera and use a height map for the more generic areas.
However, how can we use this 3D modeling inside Lumion? Is there any way we can
blend the 3D model with the existing terrain? Yes, we can.
The Landscape material
The Landscape material is a fantastic material that is easily assigned to a 3D terrain
and then can be blended with the rest of the terrain. It is like the 3D model that we
imported as a part of the terrain and this means that we can change the textures or
even paint textures on the 3D model imported.
After importing the 3D terrain, we will click on the Edit Materials button and
select the 3D terrain. Then, we will click on the Add material button and select the
Landscape material from the Custom tab, as shown in the following screenshot:
We mentioned earlier about the opportunity to paint textures on the terrain, but that
is something we will cover in Chapter 4 , Applying and Creating Materials .