A Welcome Message to New SketchUcation Members

Gaieus · 1 Dec 2011, 17:25

Try again, Chevy, they did not attach. Don't use the multiple attachment feature as it is broken. Attach one file (add file) and then add another one.

chevy · 1 Dec 2011, 17:37

Let's try this again ... hope it works this time

Cabinet Door 3.skp

Gaieus · 1 Dec 2011, 17:43

Do you only want the wheat or also the grey background on the door?

If yes, the image needs to first of all be converted to png with a transparent background instead of the grey now. Then we can move on. Can you do that? Do you have a proper image editor?

Gaieus · 1 Dec 2011, 17:57

This would be without any recessing or raising - just placed on the kitchen door as an image entity (I made a not too good quality, transparent png image of it and added some wood texture to show how it would look like when you paint the door). To raise or recess, we need to explode the image and process it with a plugin that will create real geometry around the edges. Warning: it may become quite a heavy model that way.

Cabinet Door 3.skp

chevy · 1 Dec 2011, 18:21

What I was hoping to do is to just transfer the wheat image onto the door facing and somehow raise or recess the image it as if the wood facing has the wheat image carved or routered into the wood. Once I get all of the doors taken care of, I have drawer facings that need to be embellished to match the doors. Just so that you will know, these items are for a kitchen island with cooktop that I am designing for the wifes upcoming MAJOR kitchen remodel. The wheat jpg is actually a pattern for etching glass that was used on a couple of glass panels in her China Cabinet. Obviously, she wants the island to mimic and match the cabinet.

As for the image editor, I have Photo Shop and Paint Shop Pro. Both of which should come in as useful tools to use with SketchUp. All I have to do is to learn how to integrate either one or both with SketchUp. AS I stated in my first post, I am a newbe to SketchUp (only a few weeks of use) and have a lot to learn. I have a lot of hand drawn renderings collected over the years that I have drawn and hope to recreate them in the program rather than having a 3 ring notebook filled with paper, dividers and tabs.

@gaieus said:

Do you only want the wheat or also the grey background on the door?

If yes, the image needs to first of all be converted to png with a transparent background instead of the grey now. Then we can move on. Can you do that? Do you have a proper image editor?

Gaieus · 1 Dec 2011, 23:53

Okay, so I made the image into a png with transparent background. You will also need to develop this technique.

Another completely different issue is that it is still an image "floating" in front of your cabinet door. Just like a painted pattern over the wood texture.

In order to raise (or recess) it, you will need to

turn it into a face with the image applied as a texture on
somehow trim the texture so that there are edges around the visible parts.

1 is easy: select the image, right lick > explode...

2 can be done with this tool (a plugin): http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=33445
(I have never used it so I have no experience with it)

chevy · 2 Dec 2011, 00:36

Thanks for the tips! I have been "tinkering" with this off and on for most of the afternoon. I appreciate the advice that you have given, it was/is very helpful! With the use of Paint Shop I have started the process of "cleaning up" the wheat image and removing the gray background. My workweek begins tomorrow so I guess that I will pick back up on this sometime Monday or Tuesday. Again ... Thanks for the help!

Chevy

quote="Gaieus"]Okay, so I made the image into a png with transparent background. You will also need to develop this technique.

Another completely different issue is that it is still an image "floating" in front of your cabinet door. Just like a painted pattern over the wood texture.

In order to raise (or recess) it, you will need to

turn it into a face with the image applied as a texture on
somehow trim the texture so that there are edges around the visible parts.

1 is easy: select the image, right lick > explode...

2 can be done with this tool (a plugin): http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=33445
(I have never used it so I have no experience with it)[/quote]

Chistabo · 13 Dec 2011, 19:15

Hello to SU community!

My name is Simon, from Slovenia.

Using SU7.

I have drawn simple Astrology SU file, and am currently manually moving the Planets around the chart. With Component Attributes / RotZ, to simulate moving of Planets in Degrees.

There is a Swiss Ephemeris (SE or sweph) from Astro.com, that has Planets positions calculated from x BC to x AD. It is written in C language. All major astrology software uses this SE file for calculations.

There is also sweph4ruby wrap-up.

Currently I am trying to find the way for Planets to be moved in real-time, using some Ruby programming and SE or sweph4ruby.
That is, program some script to read sweph4ruby (or original sweph or sweph.dll) and apply Planets coordinates to SU components.
Absolute beginner with Ruby.

Can you please point me to someone with similar interest or who is willing to give some advice to newbie like me? Will learn on the go, have done it before.

I know majority of you guys and gals do not believe in Astrology, but that is not the matter of discussion now.

Thank you for your help,

Best regards,

Simon

chevy · 14 Dec 2011, 14:08

I want to thank the SketchUcation Forums along with the people involved for such an expansive knowledge base. In particular Gaieus and Muriel (whose post I no longer see in the thread) for helping me with the "issue" that I had with my FIRST real project. Thanks to these two, I finished my blue prints and delivered them to the cabinet maker for construction to begin. Although I was about a week behind schedule which in turn put me lower on their completed waiting list, it was worth it in this instance. He was so impressed with the detail and clarity of what was designed utilizing SketchUp that he said that he was going to check out the program himself.

I have been coming to the forums pretty much every day since signing up here, reading the various subject posts and continuing to learn more about the program. I found a few plug-ins that sure would have come in handy during my designing phase that would have cut the "aggravation factor" along with the "time factor" way down. I have now downloaded and installed with the first one being BZRoundEdge(Being a "Newbie" ... I had no clue about them at the time).

My message and/or suggestion to the new users and new members ... read the forums! Use the tutorials! Watch the videos ... pause the video and practice with the new information as you watch it! IF by some chance an answer is not found ... Post your question(s)! Speaking from experience, reading the various post(s) will (more than likely) answer your question(s).

Now a message for Gaieus ... thank you for the "welcome" and a personal THANK YOU for the assistance!

Chevy

Gaieus · 14 Dec 2011, 14:56

He. Welcome...

@chevy said:

...He was so impressed with the detail and clarity of what was designed utilizing SketchUp that he said that he was going to check out the program himself...

Tell him that if he does not find enough time to explore the software himself, we are now an official SU training center, too!

We even have expert woodworkers like Dave Richards on board!

ArrowSM64 · 29 Dec 2011, 20:33

Thank you for the welcome. We're looking to find a obj exporter plugin to work with basic Sketchup8. In a Sketchup forum post, someone said to look here, but we can't find it in the plugin list. Thanks

TIG · 30 Dec 2011, 09:45

The 'OBJexporter' is readily available on the page linked by the big red "Plugins Index" button.
Learn to use your Browser's "find" tool [Ctrl+F osa] - it was the second match I think...

ccbiggs · 24 Jan 2012, 13:32

Hello all just thought I would quit lurking and introduce myself. My name is Cory I am from northwest Pennsylvania. I work for my father at Barens Inc we sell pressure washers, parts & accessories all wholesale, all over world.
I have been here since I turned 16 and am now 31, I started at the bottom scrubbing toilets and sweeping floors, pulling orders packing orders, manufacturing, accnts payable accnts receiving.
We have a few in house brands that we have manufactured in china. I am now learning SketchUP to design some of our parts & accessories. Pressure Washer Frames, Hose Reels, High Pressure fittings & swivels. And whatever else the boss wants designed.
The ultimate goal is to be able to send a technical drawing/blueprint to our manufacturer in china and them be able to build from it.
I would say I am making good progress learning this cool little program, I have been playing with it for only 6-7 weeks so far and have learned a bunch from this great site you all have here. And would like to thank you all for the info you have all provided so far and for the help I am sure will be needed in the future.
It amazes me how much better you all have made the vanilla sketchup with your plugins and ruby scripts.
I am also going to be learning autocad in time because I am not sure which will be better for our needs. But I will be focusing on sketchup for now.
Thanks again & nice to meet you all.

vedran1983 · 29 Jan 2012, 17:51

hi my name is Vedran, i cam here before but now i am looking for some plugins

Gaieus · 29 Jan 2012, 17:58

Hi Vedran,

Do you have any specific ideas what you need or just looking around?

vedran1983 · 29 Jan 2012, 19:03

just looking around, when I get stuck in drawing i google for answer, so i got here and i solved the problem

nice to bee here

IndyDog · 30 Jan 2012, 15:26

Hi all...noob here. I'm a remodeler in CT looking to learn as much as possible quickly on SketchUp. Looks like a great program and I'll be eventually designing additions, built-ins, basements, etc with this tool to help increase the professionalism of my company and hopefully make a few extra $$ and close deals. The forum looks like a nice resource for this pursuit and I look forward to be a contributing member some day.

No questions yet but I'm sure I'll be full of them in the upcoming weeks.

mountainjohn · 9 Feb 2012, 22:49

I am an ex-graphics artist, now master electrician specializing in overseas construction at american embassies and have used SU on more than one building remodeling project, at work and at home. I have been using the free version of SU, but I didn't make much progress until I worked my way through a few tutorials. Now, I build all my projects in SketchUp before I start the real thing. One thing I know for sure is that it would be easier to build models if I knew more shortcuts and tools. I got here following a link to Curviloft. I can see now that there is a whole lot more to SketchUp, especially with plug-ins. Thanks for the Forum!

Gaieus · 9 Feb 2012, 23:17

Hi John and welcome! Glad you subscribed to the SketchUpdate Newsletter!

Araubies · 13 Feb 2012, 08:35

Ok hey guys, so I am new to SketchUP, I hope someone is awake to help me, I am from South Africa. My name is Anne-Marie and I am busy drawing a house, eventually I will have to draw a whole factory, now I am panicked because I had the SU Podium as a free plugin, now that was a year ago, it has expired... Is there a plugin I can download that is user friendly, and foolproof??

Great to see so many people here!!!