Home › Raster & terrain › Stacked Terrain Builder
Stacked Terrain Builder QGIS 4 compatibility
QGIS 4 ready Active
Yes — Stacked Terrain Builder supports QGIS 4 (declared max version 4.99.0).
Turns any DEM into stacked "cut paper" terrain: nested elevation slabs, styled live in QGIS, with an optional ArcGIS Pro export.
About
Turns any DEM into stacked terrain art. Each elevation level becomes a solid slab laid over the ones below it, so the landscape reads like layers of cut paper. The tool appears in the Processing Toolbox under Stacked Terrain. Two views: Oblique lifts each slab away from the viewer, so its walls show. Nadir keeps every slab on its true ground position, with depth from shadows and lit edges, so the map can still be measured and overlaid with other data. Choose the view and light directions, one of three styles, and one of nine color ramps. Optionally clip to a polygon, and add shaded faces and a paper texture. The look is driven by layer variables, so the lift, view, light, walls, shadow, and ramp can be changed after a run without rerunning. File outputs get their own folder, with the style embedded in the GeoPackage and a .qlr layer file that adds the whole stack to another project. An optional ArcGIS Pro copy bakes the lift and walls into geometry and writes .lyrx files. Uses only QGIS, GDAL, and NumPy, which ship with QGIS. Adapted from John Nelson's ArcGIS Pro technique "Make this AI-inspired topo landscape please", which draws on Tanaka and Pauliny illuminated contours. Pictures of every style, view, and color ramp, and maps made with the tool, are on the plugin homepage (see Details). The full parameter reference is in the README in the code repository.
| Author | Stephen Conklin |
|---|---|
| Downloads | 155 |
| Latest version | 4.0.3 |
| Last updated | 2026-10-27 (16 days ago) |
| Min QGIS | 3.44.0 |
| Max QGIS | 4.99.0 |
| QGIS 4 ready | Yes |
| Maintenance | Active |
| Category | Raster & terrain |
| Tags | dem, elevation, terrain, relief, contours, hillshade, cartography, processing, 3d, arcgis |
Homepage · Repository · Issue tracker · Official page
Alternatives in Raster & terrain
- Profile toolQGIS 4 ready
Plots terrain profile
- Qgis2threejsQGIS 4 ready
3D map visualization and web export powered by three.js JavaScript library
- SRTM-DownloaderQGIS 4 ready
Downloads SRTM Tiles from NASA Server
Related plugins
- Terrain Product StudioQGIS 4 ready
Publication-grade terrain maps from one DEM: background download of Copernicus/SRTM/ALOS, Simple and Advanced modes, goal presets, DEM repai
- Ukiyo-e ReliefNot QGIS 4 ready
Renders a DEM as a Japanese woodblock print (ukiyo-e): flat colour plates, bokashi, key-block outlines, misregistration, wood grain and wash
- Terrain ViewerNot QGIS 4 ready
Interactive 3D DEM/DTM/DSM QC viewer with point/surface rendering, relief-shaded elevation and imagery RGB, cross-sections, contours, 3D mea
- MapTilerQGIS 4 ready
Street and satellite base maps with vector tiles
- Military Cartography ToolsQGIS 4 ready
Military cartography, MIL-STD-2525D/E and APP-6D/E tactical graphics, MGRS, and terrain analysis tools for QGIS. Runs fully offline - no ext
- USGS DEM Tile FinderNot QGIS 4 ready
Nationwide US USGS 3DEP multi-resolution DEM tool (1m/10m/30m) with auto-fallback, Parcel/Vector layer detection, seamless VRT mosaic & Hill
Maintenance: Active = updated within 1 year, Quiet = 1–3 years, Likely abandoned = over 3 years.