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I wanted a rocky cutting and decided to use Displacement mapping to achieve it and this is how I did it. I work in max but blender also supports displacement maps.

Firstly I select a suitable tiled texture.



I then create a plane in max and add the texture to the displace function.



Then displace the plane by applying the texture.



I then add the texture to the finished model, which can be further enhanced with a normal map, if you wish.



Finally I modify the plane to create a cutting which can be lofted in the same way you would loft a viaduct or any other repeating scenery item.



Perhaps not exactly what Longbow wanted but does add some character to cuttings/cliff faces etc.

Thanks Phil. How would you create an embankment loft from this? The lofted shape illustrated would not sit correctly on a curved section.

longbow wrote:Thanks Phil. How would you create an embankment loft from this? The lofted shape illustrated would not sit correctly on a curved section.

It can be done.



Firstly, I duplicate the model and attach a copy to either end of the existing model which allows me to collapse the points where the models meet so they are aligned at opposite ends. I then delete all the polys I have added via the duplicate models except for one row, as highlighted below.



This row is to allow an overlap when the model is lofted. It helps further if the two edges are lowered slightly so the overlap slides under the next object

It is easier to do than describe and the hardest part of the whole process is finding a suitable texture.

Phil, that looks fantastic! Well done and thank you for showing us how you did it.

Kind regards,
Chris