This one is free http://www.smustard.com/script/SceneExporter They also have a $10 'better' one... search their site...

Hi Pavan and welcome! I will have a look at the surveys (ATM my wife is pestering me to go shopping with her...)

As for creating spirals,this one might also come in handy: http://www.armanisoft.ch/webdesign/spiralizer/Spiralizer.html

It does!!!

Anyway, you might want to check out iichiversii´s posts, like this one: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=40854&p=362700&hilit=rigging#p362700

I'm just starting to learn Sketchup and I utilized it also for a photo match made for After effect (but I had this export plugin for After Effects): Now I'd like just to import a Photo Match data in Maya... and I hope you have a solution! Many Thanks!

I use this method frequently to help keep file size down. Here are a few hints for you. [image: 5890226823_22c8458c07_z.jpg] In this image I have drawn a gear made up of smaller segments. In the background you can see the before hiding. In the center I've hidden the edges but you can still see the back face color bleeding through because the vertical faces are still there. In the foreground, you can see that I've deleted the internal faces of the segments and so there's no bleed through. Also, these segments are components so hiding the edges on one hides them on all. [image: 5190512797_5e0876427d_z.jpg] In this closeup view of the top of a turned post, notice the hidden radial seam edges intersect the circular edge at the midpoint of the edge segments. This results in coplanar surfaces on either side of the seam line. The benefit to this is that there'll be no shading difference at the seam. Play with dividing a simple cylinder at the midpoint of edge segments and also at vertices. Look at how the shading occurs. [image: 5190404813_6dcffb137d_z.jpg] This shows the entire turned post. As you can see, it is made of eight instances of the same component. Neighboring pairs are mirror images of each other. [image: 4284864786_6e320fc9e7_z.jpg?zz=1] These bin pulls were created using this method of mirrored halves. I used the idea of the coplanar faces along the center line. The faces don't have to be very wide to make this work. [image: 4782683811_1fc61907aa_z.jpg] This applique uses the exact same method. [image: 5018580153_82e977bd99_z.jpg] As does this chair seat. And in this case, with the wood grain texture ends up with a book matched appearance.

Watch your poly's, careful UV mapping, components and symettry.

KT support normal mapping (I don't know about displacement maps, anyway, displ. maps take long time to render). Normal mapping is the best choice for that kind of pattern. There are several software that can do normal maps from photos. If you can model a segment of that pattern (it doesn't need to be concave, because you will map the texture that way, on the ceiling ornament), you can use this plugin to make a normal map from SketchUp directly http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=33183, then map it on the concave surface and make the KT material

I understand wanting to stick with it until you get it right. Good luck doing so. As to KT being easy, well, I'm probably not the best one to ask. I think it is easy but I only ever do very basic stuff and I usually do essentially the same thing every time. These renders only took a few minutes to complete and other than making some adjustments to the material using a preset, I didn't really do anything special. The background in the last one is just your concrete material inserted as the background in KT. A few seconds to do and I think it really improved the way the ring looks. Keep plugging away and you'll have it.

If you don't mind sharing the model, I'm sure the plugin author would like to use it to figure out what the issue might be -- but for feedback from him you'll have best results posting here: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=107 Best, Jason.

ok got it. thanks. never heard of that term before.

Since I found this an interesting discussion, at least for me, I made this video, showing how I drew the molding door on Jeff's hints. I hope it will be useful and interesting for someone. [flash=800,600:7ro5mgri]http://www.youtube.com/v/D4yh_df7flo[/flash:7ro5mgri]

Trees from 3D Warehouse: http://sketchupland.posterous.com/best-3d-trees-from-3d-warehouse

You're likely to become overwhelmed attempting such a model if you're new to SU. I would suggest starting out with something a little simpler (like maybe a rowboat? ). Just a suggestion.

I'll put it into the SU9 wish list Thanks for your help Gai

Hey! That's really cool! Thanks Mark!

It's a very good software.

Thanks Dave!

Hi mitcorb, I tried some of them and no one can produce proper result with the situation in the screenshots - they all break where the 3 edges meet. Pipe Along Path is not processing the request , it complains because the edges are not a valid path. It could be I did something wrong when using the plugins, or maybe none of them is intended for this scenario. The best results I got are the ones using Follow Me on various sub-paths and then intersecting and cleaning the mesh, which is still a viable choice if the mesh is simple but it becomes a no-no when things get too much complicated! [image: compedg.JPG]