Can I create a proposed rock quarry in Google Earth?

Hello everyone, My name is Joel and I'm new to the forums. I'm an architectural illustrator by trade and use 3D modeling and rendering for the majority of my work (www.joelgray.com if you're interested). I have a potential client that I'm doing some research for and I'm trying to determine if Google Earth would be the right tool for the job. 

My client is a concrete company and they are nearing the end of the lifespan of their current rock quarries where they get the majority of their material (rocks!) for their concrete business. They have an excellent location chosen for their new quarry but they need to illustrate to residential neighbors, county government other officials that the visual impact of the proposed quarry is negligible at best if not completely hidden to most people within the immediate area. Hopefully, some of you can help me determine what I can and cannot achieve with Google Earth in this presentation. 

What I need to know is:

01. If I create a custom rendered image of the proposed quarry in plan view, can I overlay that image in place of the existing Google Earth imagery? From what I've read this seems possible, but... (see item 02)

02. Can I subtract away some of the topography of the earth to help represent the removal of some or all of the rock material on the hillside where this proposed quarry will be located? I have CAD data to help me model this if necessary, or maybe I can fake in a DEM file.?

03. And finally... Is it possible to bring the camera perspective closer to the ground in Google Earth, say, within a few meters so that we can illustrate the approximate view of the quarry from someone's house or a specific point on a passing highway that might represent what you might see from a car or truck passing by?

From what I can tell, I can definitely layover an image, but subtracting a volume away from Google Earth and the camera height limitations are keeping me from considering Google Earth as an accurate and valid visualization tool for this application. Any thoughts or help you guys could provide would be much appreciated! 

Thanks for entertaining my questions and for letting me be a part of your group!

Joel Gray
Portfolio: www.joelgray.com
Email: [e-mail]

Hi Joel,



Technical questions are usually best asked at the GM and GE Help Forum (link at upper right of top page). A number of regulars there are also members here, but as no one else has replied to your post, I'll venture an answer.



I'm certainly no expert, but I've looked at most of what was posted on the oGEC and the nGEC since 2006, and I myself have dreamed about creating negative space for modeling. My advice would be to give up on Google Earth as a device for showing your clients the lack of ground level scenic disruption from the presence of a quarry. Even if you could somehow figure out how to hack the GE imagery data, you are still dealing with proprietary material, and I wouldn't want to face a team of Google lawyers in court.

A tilted view from near ground view seems possible, but from that point there is usually so much error-artifact clutter, that the view would have much value except as a model for a hand-drawn rendering. The attached screen shot says the eye level is 12 m, but it looks pretty close to the level of the street view camera to me. My advice would be to explore other options, like 3D modeling software. If you come up with a solution, please stop by here again and share it with us.

Washi,

Thanks so much for your reply. I figured that subtracting away from the Earth surface was going to be nearly impossible. You've answered my questions well enough for me to do as you suggested; move on to creating this project in 3D. 

Thanks again!

Joel