Electric draughtsman

News: Away learning FLASH!

2007-06-09T08:37:00.000Z

As mentioned in my Shoutbox - I am wholley consumed by my current work projects at the moment - both based on my SketchUp work btw!

I have another week to go until my work deadline, so my blog activity is 'on hold'.

On the plus side, my new FLASH skills will be useful for presenting my SketchUp models online.

See you again in a week or so's time - and I'll post up the resultant SketchUp related material!

Web tour: Flash version SketchUp campus model

2007-06-04T19:45:00.000Z

While planning of my next hobby model goes on, one of my work projects involves making a Flash web tour using my SketchUp model of The University of Hull campus.

Over the next week I have to make a online 'virtual tour' of our campus. It's a bit of a first for me, but highlights yet another way of presenting your SketchUp models on the web.

Above: One of my rough colour tests for a map which will be included in my Flash web tour. The maps will include a variety of magnifications and locations, designed to give the prospective student a quick overview of the facilities available to them at the university.

One of the great things about Flash is that it is vector based, and so accepts SketchUps EPS file format output. This is ideal for presentations where you want to magnify your artwork, as vector graphics can be scaled without any loss of quality.

The catch is this is my very first Flash project - and I am learning the program as I go along! So do go expecting something all singing and dancing, I'll be glad if I can make a fairly modest 'click and show' presentation. :)

Additionally, here is the link to the simple HTML web tour of the campus I made from my SketchUp model (see above) - again, this shows a means of presenting your SketchUp model online: The University of Hull web tour

General news stuff: Next projects

2007-06-01T09:48:00.000Z

I'm coming to the end of a couple of my SketchUp projects at the moment, and spending a bit of time planning my next models (hence the little lull in posts at the moment). However, this coincides with a couple of pieces of good news.

First of all, I am now the proud owner of a full SketchUp 6 Pro licence for my Macintosh, thanks to work. This is just as well, as Google seem to have caught on to the fact that many users - like myself - were using the free version for the majority of projects, but then also using the demo of the Pro version to output in the various advanced file formats! :)

Above: The 'missing' SketchUp manuals - basic and advanced. These books include tips on using some of the more esoteric SketchUp functions, including the 'sand box' tools. The advanced manual also covers how to use Google's new 'Layout' software which come with SketchUp Pro 6.

Secondly, along with the licence I purchased the official Google SketchUp manuals! Why? Well, despite the fact that sometime I do some SketchUp modelling techniques that could be considered 'advanced', I still make some fundamental 'bloopers' as I have never been privy to a basic manual.

So, I now hope to 'fill in' my beginner's education in SketchUp, and with the Pro version and the manuals boost my skill set to 'intermediate'. :)

Next projects...

All this comes at a good time, as I said, because I am coming to the end of a couple of projects and am now looking for some new ideas to model in SketchUp.

Well, I have been mulling over a few ideas - both in what I will model and how I will present my posts on my modelling.

Thus far I have been showing my progress with blog posts and pictures, but I sometime find it hard to articulate some of teh processes I want to show you with static text and images. So, I have started looking at a way of recording my work as a narrated movie using a tool called 'Snapz Pro 2' (Apple Mac) which record screen activity as a QuickTime movie. There are similar WIndows PC applications.

Above: Scarborough Castle, my next SketchUp project. Bereft of a proper visitor's centre, the visitor to our castle is left in the dark as to what the castle looked like when it was in one piece. Click on picture for larger version. Photo credit: Paul Davis

Hopefully, I will host a couple of these movie tutorials by way of tests over the next month to see if you find them more useful. I'd appreciate your feedback as to whether you prefer the 'old' way of blogged posts, the newer movie posts or a mix of the two.

As to my next model projects, I have started research on our local castle - a partial ruin. I hope to recreate what teh castle looked like before it was destroyed during the English Civil War.

My house: Inner structure complete

2007-05-30T07:25:00.000Z

My SketchUp model of my house plods on. But, with the major inner structures now complete the model does begin to look very interesting. As you can see in the following picture I have added the interior doors, and this gives the model a peculiar dolls house effect.

I have the exterior 'shell' to apply now, including the window frames and front and back door. I have noticed quite a few nice windows available from component resources like 3D Warehouse and Form Fonts.com that look similar to those of my house, so I will give these a try.

My mind is also turning to doing a couple of different versions of my house model. A simplified version - without all the extra walls and parts I have included in this model - which I will texture, and also my fully modular animated version.

Link: Barnabu.co.uk - London skyline in SketchUp

2007-05-25T08:09:00.000Z

Here's a nice SketchUp site with some lovely models of buildings that make up the London skyline and some interesting Google Earth animations.

I've yet to really get to grips with Google Earth implementation for SketchUp models - though this has a lot to do with the fact that my home town is one of those in the UK that is not covered in detail by Google Earth. But I hope to move into this area soon.

Barnabu.co.uk is a wonderful showcase of just what can be archived, as well as showing some beautiful pieces of architecture. The Google Earth animations are well worth a peek too.

Link: Barnabu.co.uk

My house: Ground floor stairway

2007-05-23T20:53:00.000Z

Added the lower stairway to my SketchUp model of my house. Stairways are easy enough to make so I won't go through the process, but it's probably a good idea to save any stairways like this as a component. You never know when they might come in useful for another house project.

This concludes all the major structural parts of the building, now I have to create the windows and doors. And, again, these can be added to a component library for re-use.

WWI fighter: Part 6 - the final model

2007-05-22T09:53:00.000Z

I have completed my SketchUp model of a World War One fighter aircraft, and have - I think - met the original criteria that I set down for it's production. The model is simple, yet reassembles the original, was quickly assembled (in total hours) and I managed to avoid the over-complication and over-ambitiousness that marred some of my projects to this point.

Above: The final render shot of my Neiuport 17 fighter - in Royal Flying Corps colours. I am using SU Podium for my renders, because of it's simplicity and speed. I could have perhaps elaborated on this render by additional post-production rendering in Adobe Photoshop, to give it an 'authentic' WWI aerodrome backdrop. Maybe in the future (I may even add a pilot)!

The main purpose of this project was to stop me getting over-engrossed in unnecessary detailing and to match the complexity of my models to it's purpose. In other words, why built a 100% authentic 3D replica of an object when all I want is a component part in a larger illustrative scene?

I have uploaded this model to Google's 3D Warehouse if you would like to examine it: Click on this link to navigate to the Google 3D Warehouse download for this model (download size is 1mb)

I hope you have enjoyed following along with this project, and if you would like to see the progress of it's construction in pictures then take a look at the supporting Flickr set here: SketchUp Nieuport fighter - Flickr set

...Or, click on the 'labels' below to follow the blogged project journal.

SketchUp basics - fighting over-complexity

2007-04-28T12:20:00.000Z

One question I get asked is 'why have you so many unfinished projects?'. The simple answer to this is my over-ambitious nature (and the fact that I'm the design equivalent of a 'tinkerer').

No sooner do I take on a new project than my methodical character immediately starts to over-complicate my initial modest goals.

Take my next 'fun' project; I would like to make a fairly simple model of a First World War fighter aircraft. I decided to start with the engine - a Gnome rotary piston engine, pretty common among early allied fighters.

Above: The Gnome rotary. Mmmmmmm - detail! ('Move away from the over-complexity, Beaty!')

However, no sooner had I found a suitable piece of reference, than I started to research how a rotary engine worked. I started gathering more and more highly detailed reference material, trying to find information on each mechanical function and nut and bolt!

Off I go again!

Matching ideal to purpose
Never shy of being hypocritical, I recently told another SketchUp enthusiast that a major part of the planning process for a SketchUp model is deciding on purpose for the model and then matching the relative complexity of the construction to your goal.

Wise words - pity I don't listen to my own advice! :)

Above: A simplified version of the Gnome Rotary. This took me 3 minutes to make - and can't you just tell! I want my complexity back (boo-hoo)! But then again, as this will be hidden under a engine cowl, does it need to be any more detailed?

So I am using my fighter plane project to try and be strict with myself about simplicity of construction, and with a set goal about when I should finish (which will hopefully encourage me not to elaborate).

This is going to hurt! :(

WWI fighter: Pt. 2 - The upper wing

2007-04-30T16:12:00.000Z

SketchUp was initially an architectural 3D modelling tool, it has only slowly developed the tools to create more organic shapes through several versions.

Above: The upper wing is made of a series of 26 panels of varying shape. Thick at the curved leading edge, they gently slope back to a shallow curve at the trailing edge. Therefore, the majority of panels were slightly different.

The wing sections really tested my knowledge of getting nice curves in SketchUp, and I had to cheat a little and 'clipped' the wing ends as I couldn't think of an easy way to do the rounded tips.

My Flickr album - showing more construction detail - can be found by following this link: Flickr set - Nieuport fighter

WWI fighter: Pt. 1 - The fuselage

2007-04-29T10:05:00.000Z

It's funny, I feel like a kid again, making an Airfix kit! Except I'm using SketchUp instead of that very messy glue (and small fiddey parts that get lost).

The above picture shows how the SketchUp construction method co-incidently echoed the real construction method of ribs and spars. Having created these ribs I then used the 'stitch curves' Ruby script to fill them in (or 'skin' them).

I chose a World War 1 fight because of it's -relatively - simple construction. I hoped that this would help with my goal of avoiding over complexity. In this case, the model is loosly based on the French Nieuport 17.

Just like making an Airfix kit, I found this process very relaxing. ;)

My Flickr album - showing more construction detail - can be found by following this link: Flickr set - Nieuport fighter

UTube SketchUp house build

2007-05-21T09:48:00.000Z

Here's an interesting movie from a guy called Nick Kujawa. Now what is interesting about this is seeing 'a' process of building in SketchUp, not necessarily the right way, but neither is it wrong. But there are snippets which do make you go 'nice idea' (the making of the stairs for example, I've never seen them done like this).

No. 6's residence - progress to date (film set ceiling)

2007-05-21T09:12:00.000Z

My SketchUp model of Number Six's apartment from the TV series 'the prisoner' has taken a bit of a interesting turn. Originally I simply wanted to make a model based on a floor plan published in the book 'The Village Files', but now I have started to think of the model in terms of it's function as a reconstruction of the film set.

Above: The 'film set' ceiling is complete. High and open, this 'false ceiling' is what I assume the original set must have been like to accommodate lighting and cameras. The red area is my latest addition, a sloped ceiling as I imagine the original set to have been like.

The fact is, that although my 'assumptions' are based on what I can see from the DVD footage of the series, without actual firm reference and schematics of the film set I am stabbing in the dark. Although, so far, I have been unable to find out if a technical drawing or photographs of the original set construction are available.

I'm not even sure if there was just one version of the set - as sometime you can see the rooms with ceilings, and sometimes there are hints that the walls in some sequences are much higher (perhaps with no ceilings to accommodate cameras and lighting rigs).

I am sure, over time, as I collect more data a third and forth model will be made!

No. 6's Residence - SketchUp for 'forensic' set design?

2007-05-19T19:35:00.000Z

One of the unsung advantages of modelling in 3D and SketchUp, is that when you see an object in three dimensions, and are able to 'move' around it in virtual space, this tells you a lot about that object that you otherwise would not know from a 2D photo or movie.

As it turns out, this is exactly what has happened when I created my model of No. 6's residence from the TV series 'The Prisoner'.

Above: This stage in my model shows the enlargement of the bathroom (immediate foreground) to accommodate a sliding door, something not allowed for in my previous model - which was based on currently available data. You can also see that I am beginning to make the wire frame for the extended wall/ceiling area - another set feature allowing for lighting and filming from above.

My initial model unearthed a slight anomaly with the dimensions - some of this was due to lack of accurate reference about the original set design, and in part also to do with the difference between the set design and the real building as it exists in the village of Portmeirion.

The picture above shows my second version of my model with a correction added to the dimensions of the bathroom. My original models apparently showed that the current thinking regrading the size of the bathroom was incorrect - and I have recreated the dimensions to match clues to the true size and shape that appears in the DVD of the series.

OK - so on the surface of things this does appear to be a little 'geeky'. But when you consider the serious study of historical Film and Television, and the interest in re-creating stage and film studio sets for a better understanding of important works for the screen(s), then the use of SketchUp as a kind of 'forensic' set design tool is yet another string to the bow of this impressive piece of software!

Credit and appreciation goes to Tim Palgut - author of the book 'The Village Files' - for his kind correspondence and help in this project.

Link: SketchUp Component Library

2007-05-19T09:40:00.000Z

Found a terrific component resource for SketchUp this morning. Called, simply, 'The SketchUp Component Library' it has a stock of very good quality furnishings and accessories.

What marks this site out from a lot of the free stock components out there is the very nice styling of the items. A lot of thought has gone into these objects, and they are far above the usual box constructions that are the norm in the 3D Warehouse.

I'll be using this resource regularly - and I've placed it in my link list of good resources. Well done the anonymous - student architect - author of the site!

News: Release of V-Ray for SketchUp

2007-05-16T06:33:00.000Z

As part of my current interest in rendering Sketchup models I found the news of the release of the V-Ray rendering plug-in noteworthy.

"ASGVIS has released V-Ray for Sketch-Up. This release brings users various performance enhancements, an out of the box rendering solution, and many great V-Ray features to Sketch-Up. V-Ray is a rendering plug-in that enables Sketch-Up users to take advantage of the power and speed of the Chaos Group™s V-Ray rendering solution."

Link to reseller: ASGVIS website - V-Ray for SketchUp

'Du-oh!' Tip: Copy/move array - equal distance

2007-05-15T19:19:00.000Z

OK - sometimes reading the manual pays off! But that's the downside of the free Google SketchUp, as such there is no paper manual to refer too, so you miss some fundamental operations.

Here's an example of one of those 'du-oh' moments of realization...

Creating a banister for 'My House' model
I wanted to make a set of banister spindles for the stairway of my house model. The problem being to create a set of spindles all of equal distance from each other up the banister rail. Of course I *could* just measure the distance divide it and copy/move each individual spindle up the rail...

But SketchUp includes the cool ability to automate tasks such as this by means of the entry field. For example, if I wanted to make a series of equal-distance columns, I would simply copy/move the first column to the position of the second, then type in '10x' - and 'poof', as if by magic 10 columns appear!

But, what if - as with my banister - I want the objects to fill a specified distance exactly?

Well, as it turns out there is a text entry formula for this too. But this time, instead of moving your object to the second position in your desired array, you move it to the LAST position in the series - then you type '10/' (divide by 10, or whatever number you want) and SketchUp will FILL IN equal distant objects between the two positions.

Fantastic. This saves a lot of time and fiddling about.

Credit: Thanks to Mike from 'School' who shows this technique in Episode 24 of their video-cast.

Tony's 3D Modelling Service: Beautiful brickwork

2007-05-14T20:04:00.000Z

I came across Tony's blog during one of my blogesphere recces, and although it's actually less of a blog than a shop window for his excellent commercial modelling using SketchUp, it's well worth a look.

One thing which immediately struck me was Tony's fantastic brickwork rendering. I'm still puzzling over quite how he did this:

Quite beautiful isn't it?

But, is it texture applied to the model? Surely it can't be post-production rendering in Photoshop? I'm stumped!

But anyway, see more of Tony's wonderful models here: Tony's 3D Modelling Service website

The Prisoner: No. 6's - version 2

2007-05-13T16:44:00.000Z

I was a little unhappy with some aspects of my SketchUp model of The Prisoner's apparent! So I started from scratch again. I'm happier with the proportions this time, and I've also been able to work in some minor detail which I missed out on my first attempt.

In this view you can see two interesting features. First of all there is the two levels of the apartment, interesting because the top level doesn't actually exist in the real building as it exists in Portmeirrion.

This section only existed as part of the set built for the TV series, 'The Prisoner' (the real building is called 'The Roundhouse', and now serves as a shop selling 'Prisoner' memorabilia).

The second feature I have added is the very small balcony on the lower level (you can see slightly protruding from the door on the right of the model). This does not appear on the floor plan I based this model on - taken from the book 'the Village Files'.

Oh! And one more thing I have done, having started afresh, is to build the model in a modular format - like I used when building the model of my house. The walls are wholly separate entities, which can be stripped away to reveal the floor plan - rather like a film set. This adds a little more polygons to the model, as usually walls would be part of the building 'shell'.

Above: Here you can see the model's floor, the red outline marks the outer wall thickness, the wall having been constructed as an independent object to allow the apartment to be taken apart.

As is my practise now, I am building a Flickr album to show the progress of my project in pictures: Flickr set - No. 6's residence

Rendering test using SU Podium

2007-05-12T17:37:00.000Z

I have started to test SU Podium as a means to render SketchUp models. SU Podium is a plug-in rendering tool that works from inside Google SketchUp or SketchUp Pro. On the surface it is a easy to use gizmo with not many controls to set. Here are my first couple of tests:

Despite the lack of complicated controls, the theory behind SU Podium is a little tricky to grasp, especially for interior lighting - in my humble opinion. But at least it offers quick previews so you can adjust your render until it's to your liking.

Personally I would like to see more controls in order to model directional lighting easily.

SU Podium is available from here: SU Plug-ins

Scarborough Campus: Hypercosm test

2007-05-11T12:49:00.000Z

Hypercosm is a set of SketchUp and browser plug-ins that allow you to display an interactive version of your SketchUp model on the web. With Hypercosm visitors to your website can manipulate your model in 3D space by downloading the plug-in (just 1.30mb). Great for displaying progress to clients at a distance quickly.

I have created a test using my Scarborough Campus model (still incomplete), and you can see this by downloading the Hypercosm browser plug-in here (Note: PC platform only!): http://www.hypercosm.com/download/player/index.html

Once you have that loaded, you can then view my test model at this location: Scarborough Campus - Hypercosm test model

Instructions for use: The left mouse button ROTATES the model, the right button MOVES the model, and pressing left and right together ZOOMS the model in and out.

More SketchUp student work

2007-05-11T07:41:00.000Z

I mentioned a while ago that I had found a series of blogs done by students of architecture who are using SketchUp as part of their course. I've revisited some of these blogs, and found some really nice renders which I think are worth mentioning.

I really like this style, in particular the semi-transparent figures. These have been done in Photoshop as post production work. The renders have a nice West Coast USA feel about them - though I am still not sure which college these students are from.

I'll be trying to emulate this technique myself, and will report on the results in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy more of these wonderful renders at: http://stephenvarady.blogspot.com/

And here's the link to the my original post about the students' work: SketchUp class online work journals

SketchUp class online work journals

2007-04-23T06:37:00.000Z

Quite by accident I found what appears to be a college or university SketchUp assignment online. What makes this extremely interesting for the SketchUp enthusiast like myself is that there isn't just one of these assignment blogs, rather it looks like the whole class has to document thier lessons using a blog as an online work journal.

Above: SketchUp Section Perspective - credit: Kody Nathe

I wish I knew what college or university these bloggers belonged to, and what course they were doing (I presume, naturally, it's a architecture course of some sort).

But what really gets me excited - I'm easily excited! - is that they are using SketchUp in combination with my other favourite graphics package, Adobe Illustrator.

Above: Illustrator Section Perspective - credit: Kody Nathe

Check out some of the assignments:

Kody Nathe - Assignment 3 - Focus on Section Perspective
Eugene Locals - Perspective Section
Molly Petersen - Isometric for subtraction
Erin - Assignment 3
21 Jump St. - Spatial Variations

The last one - 21 Jump St. - is particularly interesting as it relates an assignment brief. The class were provided with a 'kit' of 2D part and then had to create a 3D model out of them in SketchUp!

The Prisoner: No. 6's residence

2007-05-10T19:20:00.000Z

Inspired by Go-2-School's videocast tutorials on making a house in SketchUp, I decided to attempt a very quick project myself. As it so happened I had a floor plan I could scan in a book right next to me so I used that. It is the layout of No. 6's residence from the 1960's cult TV series 'The Prisoner'.

No messing around with this one! Taking a leaf from the Go-2-School videos I tore through the initial build-up, using some of the tips they showed. I did have to take a guess at the height of the rooms (as the book I had - Tim Palgut's 'The Village Files' - didn't give any scale. But a quick search round the Internet found me a 'standard' height for rooms of 8 feet - so I tried this.

I *think* my build speed with SketchUp is increasing with every model, but I still have a long way to go in learning about styling the model and - ultimately - perhaps rendering it.

WWI fighter: Pt. 5 - The wing spars

2007-05-08T20:58:00.000Z

Just a few parts left to model now, including the propeller - which may prove tricky. SketchUp has made this an enjoyable project, and not too hard. By keeping things simple I haven't had to stress too much about how to create this shape or that, I have taken the simple option but still managed to create a model that resembles the original.

But, as always when working with SketchUp you are left thinking - 'I could do better the next time!' :)

Scarborough Campus: Accommodation complete

2007-05-09T20:33:00.000Z

Finished the accommodation block of my SketchUp campus model. The buildings are nearly all there, just one small block - Music Technology - to make and the diorama, of course.

I have a bit of detailing and cleaning up I want to do - including some further optimization (getting rid of some internal construction and guide lines). A process I will be talking about in a later post.

As you can see, no windows or such-like. This model is a simple directional map of the campus - although, I have included fairly detailed models of the disabled access ramps. As these are important points that will be highlighted in the final map.

All the buildings have been 'cut' ready for the diorama (base on which the model will sit), illustrating - simply - the various slopes the buildings sit on. Of course, SketchUp includes a very sophisticated 'sand box' tool set that allows you to model realistic terrain very accurately. But for this model a simple geometric impression of the terrain is all that is required (see bellow).

Above: The red line shows how I have 'cut out' a section of a building so that it sits on the base I will be making, giving the impression of slope in the terrain. For a more sophisticated and accurate model I would have probably attempted to create the terrain first using SketchUp's sand box tools, and then stamped a foundation for my buildings into the terrain, thus avoiding cutting into my buildings.