Extruding a non-planar surface

[jonnys777]

Hi everyone, unable to share model as too large;

I need to extrude up various sections of a large area of terrain I’m modelling to simulate the height of some vegetation.

The problem is that the areas of vegetation are complex shapes, and they are not flat (brought through from import geometry tool), so I cannot use the extrude tool.

I copied in place the model in 2d, and traced around features I was interested in (e.g. buildings) before using the drape tool to get this outline on the 3d base model. The vegetation has been traced.

I was able to make the buildings (which were flat when brought through with import geometry) as I had traced round them, then just drew some verticals (using blue inference) and joined the vertical to create a nice flat surface that I could then extrude to the correct height. It probably wasn’t the most efficient, but I didnt have too many to do so it worked ok.

Now I have a lot more areas extrude up, and the shapes are much more complex (so more verticals to draw).

Is there a smart way to extrude up the vegetation sections to the correct height? I was thinking maybe copy in place in 2d again and extrude down through the model or something like that?

NB - I need them to have a ‘volume’ like a building would for further modelling after transferring out of SketchUp, so graphical fixes won’t be suitable.

Best

Jonathan

[Wo3Dan]

A couple of screenshots may help.
Or a link to the moder that has been “parked” elsewhere, like 3D Warehouse or DropBox.

[filibis]

I didn’t understand much from your long paraghraph but if you are looking for a way to extrude non-planar surfaces as you described in the header, check this plugin: Joint Push Pull Interactive. Also check this plugin to draw on non-planar surfaces: Tools On Surface.

[jonnys777]

Thanks both!

filibis - the joint push pull tool was just what I needed - thank you!