[Plugin] Sketchup Ivy

Pixero · 17 May 2011, 16:49

hi
question for the experts?
I'm going out to the garden to collect some english dog rose stem, leafs, buds and flowers to make up a set.
what would be the best size, resolution, etc... to use with this. The originals seem huge to me, is that necessary?
Obviously transparent background png's
john

That depends on how close the camera will be. A general rule is to use sizes such as 256x256 pixels, 512x512 etc. since they use the least amount of memory compared to it's size.

tomot · 18 May 2011, 00:39

@solo said:

Oh yes,I agree the leaves need to be .png's with alpha channel, especially for render purposes, I'd like to have something similar to fur plugin that I can choose what to use as leaves if possible.

Face me would be awesome.

I don't know where all this **"png with alpha channel"**stuff is coming from, certainly one can do a precise cutout using PS and SU only, that's how I make the new Ivy leaves I posted in my rar file. Granted its a little more work. Also everyone in the photo-reproduction industry I know, is NOT a .png fan, and will always ask to convert to .jpg before printing.
If you use my .jpg ivy files they will also load easily into the fur plugin.

solo · 18 May 2011, 01:44

Tomot, the reason I insist in .png is because for ivy you going to have a lot of geometry with the branches, now using your jpg cut out leaves will add 112 edges per leaf as opposed to 4. So imagine having 1000 leaves. I was more concerned with the huge geometry than the shadows in SU as I would be rendering anyway.

rodrigonotor · 18 May 2011, 02:18

@solo said:

So imagine having 1000 leaves. I was more concerned with the huge geometry than the shadows in SU as I would be rendering anyway.

Good point Solo.

Regards

tomot · 18 May 2011, 14:36

@solo said:

I was more concerned with the huge geometry than the shadows in SU as I would be rendering anyway.

fair comment! I very rarely use Vray rendered images for presentations, I'm more a fan of the Dennis presentation technique hence I want leaves without borders. I suppose that's the trade-off

rodrigonotor · 18 May 2011, 16:12

@tomot said:

fair comment! I very rarely use Vray rendered images for presentations, I'm more a fan of the Dennis presentation technique hence I want leaves without borders. I suppose that's the trade-off

Sorry, you are rigth, I was thinking only in the render process. I'm also denni's tech fan.

Alan Fraser · 19 May 2011, 11:24

Is there a way to change the parameters of the number of segments in the stems? To be honest, I don't think it's necessary to be using hexagonal stems metres off the ground. You could probably start with a square cross section and quickly move to triangular(as in earlier releases) without any visible difference...especially as most stems will be hidden behind leaves.
This plugin is looking really good.

justinplunkett · 20 May 2011, 09:18

It looks like an awesome Plugin, unfortunately as previously mentioned it's not working on Mac Sketchup 8.
Hope you resolve it as it would be fantastic to use on an upcoming project.
Tx
Justin

driven · 20 May 2011, 10:46

@justinplunkett said:

It looks like an awesome Plugin, unfortunately as previously mentioned it's not working on Mac Sketchup 8.
Hope you resolve it as it would be fantastic to use on an upcoming project.
Tx
Justin

Hi Justin,

it does work on Mac with SU version 8, but I need to load it after startup from ruby console, or with as_pluginloader.rb.

to use with either method of loading, I would suggest the following-

go to LiveIvy.rb (in your plugins folder) >> right click and color it green >> drag it into LiveIvy Folder >> start SU >> open Ruby Console >> type load "LiveIvy/LiveIvy.rb" hit return >> draw or select a surface/shape/group... >> last item in plugins menu should be Ivy.

or use plugin loader to do the same, navigate to then select the green file... that's why I color it...

the standard image files can be improved by editing the .skp's in the folder, and I haven't got my head around all the settings yet.

but they do work.

john

rodrigonotor · 21 May 2011, 02:04

Just a quicky test with others leafs

rodrigonotor · 21 May 2011, 13:01

Here are a spanish translate from version 0.5.4. I'm going to translate version 0.6.x when is more stable.

LivIvy_0.5.4_ver_esp.rar

j40 · 22 May 2011, 12:35

Thanks for the great Plugin!

a4chitect · 23 May 2011, 10:04

thanks for this magnificent plugin!!

rombout · 24 May 2011, 05:27

Hi all,

Is posted before that i could get either of the plugin and its revisions to work on a mac. So tonight itried on my (pc) laptop using su6 and su7. And... Some error as on the mac! Sorry cant type the complete code (commenting in my bb, sorry) its that error about birth_stem line 236 , something about 'birth' line 223 and so on. I tried all the tricks i saw here in this post. But i dont have su8 installed yet on my pc so i got one option left. Everything runs untill the shift+click... And that the error starts with TypeError: reference to deleted group .....

Hope some can resolve this one on both my machines. Ps on the mac i do have su6,7 and 8 running

TIG · 24 May 2011, 08:29

Rombout

Are you sure you have installed all of the zipped files correctly ?
When you extract files for a zip you must keep them in their respective subfolders...
Usually there's only one or two .rb files that go directly into the Plugins folder... all other related files stay inside their subfolder [or even subfolders within that]
It you have inadvertently put some files into the Plugins folder that ought to be inside a subfolder, then they can auto-load and cause issues; so reinstall all of the tool's files as outlined above. Then recheck the Plugins folder and remove any files you find in it that should actually be in the subfolder[s]... Restart Sketchup and see if it works now...

Oxer · 24 May 2011, 11:24

@rombout said:

Hope some can resolve this one on both my machines. Ps on the mac i do have su6,7 and 8 running

Hi Rombout, I use mac too and for me only works the 0.6 version, the Keys on Mac:
Cmd+Click : Make the ivy grow towards the mouse position.
Alt+Click : Grow Ivy leafs.
SHIFT+Click : Finish the Ivy.
Key 'i' : Start over.

The line 68 of Lively_tool.rb file is different for Pc and Mac.
For Pc: if key == 73 #i
For Mac: if key == 105 #i
This is the version works for me on Mac

Sketchup Ivy version works on Mac

Say me if this version works for you or not.

rombout · 24 May 2011, 17:28

@driven said:

@justinplunkett said:

It looks like an awesome Plugin, unfortunately as previously mentioned it's not working on Mac Sketchup 8.
Hope you resolve it as it would be fantastic to use on an upcoming project.
Tx
Justin

Hi Justin,

it does work on Mac with SU version 8, but I need to load it after startup from ruby console, or with as_pluginloader.rb.

to use with either method of loading, I would suggest the following-

go to LiveIvy.rb (in your plugins folder) >> right click and color it green >> drag it into LiveIvy Folder >> start SU >> open Ruby Console >> type load "LiveIvy/LiveIvy.rb" hit return >> draw or select a surface/shape/group... >> last item in plugins menu should be Ivy.

or use plugin loader to do the same, navigate to then select the green file... that's why I color it...

the standard image files can be improved by editing the .skp's in the folder, and I haven't got my head around all the settings yet.

but they do work.

john

still doesnt do any thing on the mac using this trick

> load "LiveIvy/LiveIvy.rb"
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/LiveIvy/LiveIvy_tool.rb;284; warning; parenthesize argument(s) for future version
true

here the ruby output

driven · 24 May 2011, 17:46

@rombout said:

load "LiveIvy/LiveIvy.rb"
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/LiveIvy/LiveIvy_tool.rb:284: warning: parenthesize argument(s) for future version
true

Hi,

It has worked, the TRUE means it works, the other bits just a warning about syntax...

So, to prove it works,

open SU >> open Components >> open Materials [select in Model view]>> open Ruby Console >> type load "LiveIvy/LiveIvy.rb"

you should see the components appear and the materials as well.

now draw a rectangle, then go to Plugins Menu and the LAST item should be SketchupIvy, click it and the WebDialog will appear.

let me know if it all works, or how far you can get... if you get this far there's one other trick to make it better on mac.

john

rombout · 24 May 2011, 17:51

jep oke, suddenly version 0.5.4. is working in SU7 mac?! in 8 i dont see what im doing and the shift+click only gives me a small part off a branch
i will check the other download with the adjustment for the mac

rombout · 24 May 2011, 19:48

here my test shot from thea?! no i need to go play with it! a lot i think?!
THink i need to modify those leaves, dont like that they are so flat