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Surface Paint (land-cover materials on a surface + plan hatches)

A whole site shaded by what is on the ground - on the surface itself - from the closed polylines already on the plan. Each land-cover layer maps to a material; one run adds a render-only mask per polyline to the surface with that material and hatches the plan from the same map, with the areas in a table. Switch the viewport to Realistic and orbit: that is the picture.

Command VDCSURFPAINT · VDC Plans tab › Plans panel
A whole site shaded by what is on the ground - on the surface itself - from the closed polylines already on the plan. Each land-cover layer maps to a material; one run adds a render-only mask per polyline to the surface with that material and hatches the plan from the same map, with the areas in a table. Switch the viewport to Realistic and orbit: that is the picture.
VDCSURFPAINT - closed polylines by layer → a render-only mask per polyline on the surface + a hatch per polyline on the plan + SITE MATERIALS table Plan: one layer per land cover → hatches in the material's color C-SITE-LAWN → Lawn C-PVMT-ASPH → Asphalt C-PVMT-CONC → Concrete C-BLDG-FOOT → Building C-SITE-POND → Water Surface, Realistic visual style: a render-only mask per polyline masks named VDC Paint - <material> - <handle>; smallest polygon first, so the building (first-added mask) shows on top of the lawn SITE MATERIALS (net areas: a building inside a lawn is taken out of the lawn) LAWN42 areas612,400 sf14.06 ac61.2 % ASPHALT6188,900 sf4.34 ac18.9 % CONCRETE 31 · 56,100 sf · 1.29 ac · 5.6 % BUILDING 38 · 143,000 sf · 3.28 ac · 14.3 % (CSV in VDC Reports)

What it does

  • Paint: one render-only Outside surface mask per closed polyline, each with an AutoCAD render material made from the library (flat color, or a texture image tiled every Size ft), added smallest polygon first (Civil 3D gives an overlap to the mask added first). A polygon with other polygons inside it is masked as hole-free pieces, hidden polylines on the C-SITE-PAINT-MASK layer, because Civil 3D shades a mask with several islands as a fragment. The surface is switched to the VDC Surface Paint style (triangles + border on, in plan and 3D) and the style it had is stamped on it; the viewport is set to Realistic.
  • Hatch: a hatch per polyline on C-SITE-PAINT-<MATERIAL> in the material's color, pattern and scale, associative where AutoCAD allows, 50 % transparent, sent to the back; the SITE MATERIALS table (areas, net sf, ac, percent) placed once and refilled in place; a CSV with the totals and every polygon.
  • Re-run / Clear: masks are named VDC Paint - material - handle and hatches are stamped, so a re-run replaces and Clear removes them all, switches the surface style back and purges the unused VDC ... materials. Polylines and layers are never changed.

Modes, seats & caveats

  • Mode: Paint + Hatch (default) / Paint only / Hatch only / Clear. Polylines: whole drawing on the mapped layers (default) / picked / inside a window.
  • Library: Lawn, Asphalt, Concrete, Gravel, Pavers, Mulch, Water, Building, Woods shipped as typical values for a drawing in feet - edit, add, reset. The layer map and the library are remembered per seat.
  • Civil 3D only (the masks, the surface style and the surface itself); it ships in the Civil 3D set alone.
  • Nothing shows in 2D wireframe: masks render only in a shaded visual style and only where the surface style shows triangles. A rough presentation aid from the polylines as drawn - not a rendering, a takeoff or an impervious-area calculation; every output carries the draft notice. Settings at %APPDATA%\VDC\SurfacePaint\settings.json (env VDC_SURFPAINT_SETTINGS).

Dialog

Surface Paint (land-cover materials on a surface + plan hatches) dialog
Surface Paint (land-cover materials on a surface + plan hatches) - VDCSURFPAINT

When to use it

  • A proposal, a neighborhood meeting or a client review wants to see the site, not read a hatched plan.
  • The design surface is done and a colored plan with material areas is wanted from the same polylines.
  • An exhibit needs a quick lawn / pavement / building breakdown with the areas beside it.

How to run it

  1. Draw (or keep) the land-cover areas as closed polylines, one layer per cover. Run VDCSURFPAINT.
  2. Pick the surface and the mode; in the Land cover grid give each layer its material; edit the library if a color or pattern should change. OK.
  3. Picked or window scope: make the pick. Read the summary: masks added, hatches, the table, the CSV.
  4. Orbit in the Realistic visual style; adjust a color in the library and run again - the earlier masks and hatches are replaced.
  5. Done with it: Mode = Clear removes the masks, hatches and table and switches the surface style back.

Options

  • Mode: Paint the surface and hatch the plan / paint only / hatch only / Clear.
  • Polylines: every closed polyline on the mapped layers, the ones you pick, or those inside a window.
  • Material library: name, color R,G,B, hatch pattern and scale, an optional texture image tiled every Size ft; Reset restores the shipped nine.
  • Surface style: switched to 'VDC Surface Paint' (triangles on in plan and 3D) so Realistic has faces to shade; Clear switches it back.
  • Table + CSV: net areas subtract the polygons of other materials nested inside; the CSV lists every polygon.

Watch out for

  • Nothing shows in 2D wireframe: the masks render only in the Realistic (or another shaded) visual style, and only where the surface style shows triangles.
  • A polyline that crosses the surface edge is masked only where the surface is; an open polyline is not read at all (close it first).
  • Overlapping polygons of different materials: the smaller one wins on the surface and is subtracted in the table; a lawn polygon drawn over the whole site is fine.
  • A rough presentation aid from the polylines as drawn - not a rendering, a takeoff or an impervious-area calculation.

Related: Auto Hatch · Cover Fill · Terrain · Curve Numbers