Create a preliminary surface using freely available data. Almost every land development project involves a surface at some point. During the planning stages, freely available data can give you a good feel for the lay of the land, allowing design exploration before money is spent on fieldwork or aerial topography. Imprecise at best, this free data should never be used as a replacement for final design topography, but it's a great starting point.

Master It Create a new drawing from the Civil 3D Extended template and bring in a Google Earth surface for your home or office location. Be sure to set a proper coordinate system to get this surface in the right place.

Modify and update a TIN surface. TIN surface creation is mathematically precise, but sometimes the assumptions behind the equations leave something to be desired. By using the editing tools built into Civil 3D, you can create a more realistic surface model.

Master It Modify your Google Earth surface to only show an area immediately around your home or office. Create an irregular shaped boundary and apply it to the Google Earth surface.

Prepare a slope analysis. Surface analysis tools allow users to view more than contours and triangles in Civil 3D. Engineers working with nontechnical team members can create strong meaningful analysis displays to convey important site information using the built-in analysis methods in Civil 3D.

Master It Create an Elevation Banding analysis of your home or...