Walkthrough of models
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Hi Kevin,Hi Brodie,
The problem with GE is not necessarily that it takes ages until they upload your stuff to the 3D layer since you can always provide a link either in the WareHouse of hosted elsewhere (that said,it can be as complex as you want).
The main problem is that if it is really complex,it will be very hard to naigate even if one downloads it.
Another problem might be that it is rather hard to "fine navigate"in GE and you can easily find yourself stuck between walls or miles away. You cannot "enter" a building because when you are too close,it will simply clip off and you won't be able to stay within walls.It is more for some kind of "flythrough" rather than "walkthrough".
There are much more proper ways for a commercial company to present their ideas. Have a look at the different demos at WireFuion's website here:
http://www.demicron.com/gallery/ -
Thanks Gaieus for the GE info. Good to know.
Stagg, that makes sense to me. Could you provide the website you're referring to? I'd like to see that sample. I guess I'm still not clear on the use. You are the facility, and you're thinking about sending this rendering job to an arch. firm (or are you doing this yourself?), then who will be the "clients"?
As far as detail, it shouldn't take a great deal of skill to achieve the level of detail I think you want. SU can make really complex models if you have lots of skill and time so I don't think the program should hinder you in that regard. It won't be Photorealistic w/o using some other programs, but it doesn't sound like you really need that. You can represent a building very well w/o having to make it photorealistic.
-Brodie
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Sure Brodie:
http://sketchup.google.com/green/mkd.html
The first video there on the page is 2:52 minutes long. Watch that video, especially from 2:13 thru 2:19 where it shows one navigating through their home.I would be doing this mockup myself and am comfortable with web design software, but have never done anything remotely like SketchUP and its CAD-like feel, so this will be new to me. I am sure I can "pick it up" however. I am a trainer in our corporation (which deals with handling of industrial wastes, recyclable material, etc..). The customers would actually be our own employees as they would take this as a training element. Perhaps we were to talk about our recycling efforts and we would want to show them the inner workings of one of our recycling centers? So we could show the trucks dropping off the materials at the warehouse bays, and then to where the material is cleaned, sorted, etc....
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Gaieus and Brodie - thank you so much for all this information. It is proving itself invaluable. It is really helping me get a better grip on what I need to concentrate on and how I would tackle this task.
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Gotcha. Yeah, I've seen another video I think of the same Architect, very interesting. I think you're on the right track w/ what you're doing and looking at.
Here's the video I referred to above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPh7pj3onqk It's not the best example but it conveys the point pretty well w/o having to know to many fancy SU tricks.
If you're primarily looking at this as a training tool for staff on hand then I actually quite like the method that was used in the video you mentioned. She sort of walked you through the kitchen area and towards the living room. You could imagine her doing this w/ a client and explaining various features as she walked them through as a real estate agent might walk buyers through a house. So maybe something like that could work for you, or if it isn't all in-house perhaps doing an animation of the same thing while recording a voice-over and then joining the two together. I guess there's all sorts of ways to do what you're wanting is the point.
But I think the basic answer to your question seems to be, yes. I think SU is probably the tool you're looking for. It'll get you quick results w/o much of a learning curve and you shouldn't hit a dead end where you get a model finally done and then find out you can't use it. Once you've got the model you can show it directly, animate it, put in on Google Earth, put it into the 3D warehouse, make 2d images of it to print out, etc. Any other 3d program is either going to be too limited (SL or buying some $20 architecture visualization software from Best Buy) or too time consuming (learning Rhrino, Viz, or many of the other 3D modelers takes quite a long time).
To get started, I recommend what I did. I just sat down and watched some of the SU training videos (you can find them on youtube or under the help menu in SU I think) for a couple hours. You could just sit down and start into SU and teach yourself but I think eventually you'll watch some videos and kick yourself for doing things the hard way or finding things you didn't think you could do which are actually quite simple.
I also highly recommend the videos at http://www.go-2-school.com/podcasts which I just found awhile back. There very helpful and actually quite entertaining in their own right.
Good luck, feel free to keep asking questions as they come up.
-Brodie
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Again, good to hear I'm on the right track. Thanks for the tips and when I get to a point where I can show you something, I'll put something on my server for you to look at.
Many thanks -
Kevin
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Look forward to seeing it.
-Brodie
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Hi folks I've been seaching all over for Michelle Kaufman house models, nada anywhere not even on her web site. Ive been trying to follow the tutorial on youtube, u know sketchup show. Is it wrong to ask anybody if they have copies of her models to share.
Dave -
what about walkabout3D http://www.walkabout3d.com/
it let's you create a walkthrough of your model that clients can interact with for about a hundred bucks. try the demo!
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What I am anout to suggest may not be the simplest road to follow, BUT it will give you the best interaction possibilities for your clients.
Once you are done modeling with sketchup, import the model in Blender. If do a search for game blender you can then implement a first person moving camera in the model. Once texturing and lighting is done (although I have no idea if texturing passes correctly from one program to the other), you choose your first viewing angle, then save an exe file that works exaclty as a first person shooter videogame. Except from the part with guns and monsters/zombies
give it a try it's easier than it sounds!
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