Colored Surfaces

SketchUpNoobie · 29 May 2010, 16:09

Hello, I am new to SketchUcation and just wanted to ask a quick question. I am working on a lamp and when I try to color the surface of the shade, it messes up the color. I have tried reversing faces. Why is it doing this and how can I fix it? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Gaieus · 29 May 2010, 16:52

Hi John (and welcome, BTW).

It really looks like "Z-fighting" from here. It is caused by several faces occupying the same space and SU cannot decide which one to display.

In a 2D app, this is solved by something like "stacking order" (when you click and tell the program what to "bring to front" or "sand to back") but in a 3D environment this should not happen as (theoretically) everything has some thickness and (theoretically) this should rule what is displayed in front of something else.

If you could upload the file maybe...

SketchUpNoobie · 29 May 2010, 17:24

Here's the file.

lamp.skp

Gaieus · 29 May 2010, 17:48

Yup. that's it. Z-fighting. You have different groups there with several, overlapping faces.

Right click > Explode...
Keep repeating this until you do not have the Explode menu item available. Then the faces will merge and you can paint everything just fine. At the end, you can still select all and re-group the whole thing to be able to work it conveniently.

SketchUpNoobie · 29 May 2010, 19:04

Thank you so much Gaieus! Finished it. It's pretty bad, I know, but I'm getting better.

lamp.skp

Gaieus · 29 May 2010, 20:40

So is that a lampshade you are trying to make here?

SketchUpNoobie · 29 May 2010, 22:01

Ha ha. Unfortunately, yes. It's not connected at all to the stand, pretty basic. About the shade, I just did regular colors at 99 opacity. I was going for more of a stained glass effect such as this. http://www.americanblankets.com/cimage/images/dtif/8655-551-lg.jpg Any suggestions?

pilou · 29 May 2010, 22:18

Maybe you can use the lattice Maker by Tig
That is useful for stained glass window.

You can also use my alternative
Multiple face Offset by Remus is a very useful plug

And if you want random colors try the Random Painter by Chris Fullmer

Gaieus · 30 May 2010, 08:50

Are you going to render it with some photorealistic rendering package of "just" use it with native SU? (The lampshade effect will vary from rendering app to rendering app of course).

SketchUpNoobie · 30 May 2010, 11:59

I am going to render it in Kerkythea.

Gaieus · 30 May 2010, 12:47

Good. Kerky has some really good material tweaking possibilities for such things.

SketchUpNoobie · 30 May 2010, 17:29

Ok. Also fairly new to Kerkythea so any tips would be appreciated. Also, how do I get more materials for use in Kerky?

Gaieus · 30 May 2010, 17:45

Over the Kerkythea site there is a download section with a bunch of materials that have been created with physically accurate settings. Also, on their forums there are a lot of materials shared by users.

It is a very friendly place with a bunch of helpful people, I can recommend registering and looking around there.