Terrain2Sketch

Extensions
1

– Making terrain import into SketchUp almost effortless. 🚀

Over the past few weeks I’ve been developing a tool that converts GeoTIFF elevation data directly into a ready-to-use 3D terrain model for SketchUp.

Working with terrain in SketchUp often involves several manual steps—processing elevation data, exporting, importing, browsing for the correct file, and waiting for everything to finish.

My goal has been to make that workflow as simple as possible.

Select a GeoTIFF → Click “Export” → The terrain is automatically imported into SketchUp.

The video shows a terrain model from Skien, Norway. From the moment I click Export until the terrain is ready in SketchUp takes about 8 seconds—completely automatically.

The project is still under development, but the workflow is now very close to what I originally envisioned.

I’d really appreciate your feedback.

Would a tool like this be useful in your SketchUp workflow?

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This is an IMPORT operation. Users would be looking for a button or option called Import.

If implementing in Ruby, your extension should leverage the Sketchup::Importer class.

If coding import in C/C++, you should use the SDK SketchUpModelImporterInterface.

Either one of these paradigms, the user will access import via the File > Import… dialog.

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SkjermbildeGUI
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Is this an actual extension that runs inside of SketchUp’s process?

Add why does the button say “Export OBJ” but then write out a GLB file?

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Hehe. That is just because I started with Obj and now it is glb..

7

For now it´s a Mac App that works with Sketchup.
The plan is to make it a Sketchup Plugin.
It´s really fast

Terrain2Sketch_White_Paper_v0.1.pdf (24.2 KB)

8

Yes. Could be very useful. Looking forward to see it develop.

Any idea of the release window as a SU extension?

9

Hi db11
I can´t tell yet when it might become a windows version.
It´s all build in Swift so it should be ok to port over to windows too.

This is what it has become so far :slight_smile:

  • Import one or hundreds of GeoTIFF files in a single project.
  • For now it supports terrain data from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the USA.
  • Reads both tiled and strip-based GeoTIFF files.
  • Supports No Compression, LZW and Deflate compressed GeoTIFFs.
  • Supports 32-bit Float and 16-bit Signed Integer elevation data.
  • Create lightweight terrain meshes optimized for SketchUp.
  • Adjustable export resolution (0.5 m – 10 m).
  • Crop any area before export to reduce file size.
  • Export directly to GLB for extremely fast SketchUp import.
  • One-click re-import of updated terrain into SketchUp.
  • Replace a small terrain area with a much larger one in seconds.
  • Keeps real-world scale and elevation.
  • Designed specifically for architectural visualization and site planning.

Typical workflow

  1. Select a folder containing GeoTIFF files.
  2. Choose the terrain area to export.
  3. Select mesh resolution.
  4. Export GLB.
  5. Import directly into SketchUp.
  6. Start modelling immediately.

Perfect for

  • Architects
  • Landscape architects
  • Urban planners
  • Civil engineers
  • SketchUp professionals
  • Visualization artists

Why Terrain2Sketch?

  • Extremely fast workflow.
  • Handles very large terrain datasets.
  • No GIS knowledge required.
  • Creates SketchUp-friendly terrain instead of huge GIS models.
  • Built specifically for real-world architectural projects.

Instantly replace a 20 × 20 m terrain with a 500 × 500 m terrain while keeping your SketchUp model in place.

10

Sounds great… if I can get terrain data for Canada!

By release window I didn’t mean release for Windows, but rather the expected release date. I have both Mac and PC, though I do most of my modeling on the Mac.

11

if you like I can build one for you that you can test.. It´s still in Xcode but it’s no problem to build you a test version. In fact that would be a good help to get your opinion.

Just say..

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If you can send me a small sample GeoTIFF (or a download link), I’d be happy to test Canadian data as well.

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I’m busy on a couple of projects right now and don’t want to get sidetracked.

I’ll contact you next month about testing it, and will track down some Canadian terrain data in the meantime.

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Thats ok.. good luck with your projects.. what kind of projects are they?

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Thanks. I’m working a couple of house designs (w/ construction drawings), one is a new build and the other an addition / renovation on an existing house.

It’s the drawings that take the time and (over) occupy the mind!

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hehe.. I know how that works.. its mind consuming sometimes

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image
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This is a Canadian terrain that was created with Terrain2Sketch. This was HRDEM so it was nearly 1 gb of download, but it’s a huge area. Actually it’s 10000x10000 meters. Nothing you would normally do but I have to stress the engine a bit :slight_smile:. But if you normally work with normal house and extension and so on you don´t need that kind of numbers. And then its s very fast to import terrain.
A lot of the files I looked at in the Canadian web portal was 20 m, but it´s better if you can get 1 m or HRDEM.

Quicreference.pdf (887.9 KB)

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Added Skirts to the terrains as an option, set the the depth of your skirts as you like. Here it´s 5 m

Skirts
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Looks great. I can’t quite tell, is this plugin already available to try out? Can I test it?

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Thanks!

At the moment it’s a macOS application with a companion SketchUp plugin for importing the exported terrain directly into SketchUp.

I’m still adding features and polishing the workflow before releasing the first beta, but I’ll definitely post an update here when it’s ready for testing.

Thanks for your interest!

And just for the fun.. here’s a video that is created inside the app from the same mesh as the Sketchup model receives..