Indipendent styles in same drawing?

[pmolson]

I am wondering if anyone knows of a trick or two for applying different styles to groups or components within the same model file.
I am working on an addition to an existing home. The entire model has textures and materials applied that accurately represent the real world siding, roofing etc.

The new addition is a group and the existing home is a group.

I would like to be able to display some views with the existing home group with a monochrome style while leaving the new in a rendered style.

I am sure I am not the first to want to do this. I know I could copy the group, put it on a separate layer, apply a white material to the whole thing and then use a scene that hides one group and displays the dumbed down group, but I would like to avoid that process if possible.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

[dale]

You can accomplish this using the "Dennis Technique". I'm not sure this can be done in SketchUp alone.
The pdf tutorial attachment.TheDennisTechnique.pdf
It does require a few photoshop skills, most of which are well explained in the pdf.
Hope it helps.

[pmolson]

Thanks Dale, I am actualy hoping to find a way to do this within the sketch up model itself.
I am guessing what I want to do is not doable, but I have to ask.

I may try using a semi tranparent mask in layout to at least create a noticable difference between
new and existing.

Thanks just the same though.

p

[pbacot]

Since you have a pro, I wonder if scenes can be overlaid and manipulated somehow in LO. Then it would be a dynamic setup. Blending in PS would give you more possibilities though. Neat idea.

[pmolson]

pbacot,
I think you are on to the right idea. It wll be relitively easy to use scenes in layout.
Thats the route I will go unless I hear of a plug in or trick within su to accomplish what I am
trying to do.

Thanks

p

[Dave R]

There is no way to apply different styles to different parts of the model in one view in SketchUp directly. A I understand it, this is not within the capability of a plugin either. I frequently use different styles and make exports which are then combined quickly in an image editor. This is not difficult to do.

I would use layers instead of hiding and instead of applying a white material to the background stuff, I would use Hidden Line or make the front face color white and use Monochrome.

[Gaieus]

There's a plugin that allows you to eport a model with transparent background (you will need to turn ground and sky off though):
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=30819

If you export an image with group 1 hidden then another one with group 2 hidden (and change the style in the meanwhile or rather set up two scenes with different styles and different layer visibility for the two groups), it is easy to export the two groups separately and since you already have the alpha channel, simply put them in separate layers atop of each other in any worthy image editor.

[sonder]

You can easily achieve this with Layout.

[Dave R]

Indeed, you can. It's essentially the same process I used with the external image editor and it works quite well.

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[pmolson]

Thank you Dave
Thank you Gaieus
Thank you Sonder

I will not be rendering the scenes with an outside rendering application
and I also want to keep the model dynamic for further design developemant so
this leads me to using scenes in layout as you suggest.

Thank you for other ideas also.

Paul