This may end up in Cafe Society, but since it’s not arts-specific I’m adding it here…
Is there a software product that allows a layperson to construct/map a realistic, 3D representation of an original city or town? I mean something where you can easily add streets, natural topography such as hills/fields/bodies of water/trees, houses and different types of buildings? I don’t need it to “come to life” (such as in a Sim type of game); my idea is to use it to create a map and images to illustrate a serialized story online. Ideally there’d be a floating camera effect where I could get close-ups of different areas within the map.
In the past, I’ve used Photoshop and other graphic programs to ‘draw’ such a map, but I’d like something more attractive and (nearly) photorealistic.
Does this sound like something that exists? Thanks in advance for any ideas!
You can create some pretty sophisticated cities in the later versions of Sim City. It’s a game, but I’ve created a pretty realistic model of my neighborhood with it.
If you want photo-realistic, you’ll have to go with a decent 3D package. Sure, there are programs like Maya, Lightwave, 3D Studio Max, Cinema4D that will create stunning works, and I know Cinema4D has tools for creating architecture more easily (and I use Cinema4D professionally)… but software like that costs thousands of dollars, and there’s a learning curve, to be sure.
There’s also Blender, a free, open source 3D modeling package that has come a long way, and can certainly to the type of work you’re looking for, I’m sure… but I’m not certain there’s any specialized tools for creating city plans and buildings. Most of these packages just have your moderately advanced modeling tools and ray-tracers.
I’d recommend trying out Blender, and see if it’s something that fits the bill.
Ooh those are all interesting options. Thank you for the suggestions so far!
Suppose I really should check out the Sim City game, as it might be both affordable and functional. And I guess ‘relatively’ photorealistic would be good enough for my purposes. Although some of the things you can do with modified games (such as Half-Life 2) are amazing, and I wish I had that sort of ability.