Large Project Starting Point
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I would like to start to model our existing land and structures. About 60 acres and 3 buildings currently. I have some more buildings and landscaping I would like to model so I can see if I like the layout and visual appearance before we start. Some large stone retaining walls, driveways, etc....
Where to start?? Do I model the buildings first?? set up the terrain??
I come from a SolidWorks mechanical background and had some preconceived notions I need to get rid of. I was under the impression that people modeled every stick of lumber in the house.
Can Sketchup reference external model maintain a link to update the main model when the linked model changes.
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Hi Cady.
Well in 3d modeling, you model what you need. So if you are just mostly looking at how the buildings fit into the land, then to me it sounds ike the land is highly important and the buildings are important, but maybe don't need to be super detailed. So in this case, I think I would start with the land. And then tackle the existing buildings.
And yes you can make a model of a house for example and load it in as a component into your terrain model. Then when you edit just the house file, you can reload it in your terrain file and it will update the changes. Also, TIG has a plugin that helps with x-refing a model into another model.
What kind of information do you have for the terrain and building placement? Cad file, or GIS? Or are you going to get it from Google Earth?
Chris
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Well, Chris (who, BTW works with such large files anyway) beat me but it seems we are on the same track with possible solutions so I'll post anyway.
@cady said:
Can Sketchup reference external model maintain a link to update the main model when the linked model changes.
There lies the key. Yes, it can. I would suggest to create the terrain in one file. Then create the individual buildings in separate files.
Now when you are done, you can import the building models into the terrain file and even change them later as you proceed.
About a est workflow could be here to first model the builtings as raw blocks. Maybe the footprint completely detailed but other than that, just a PushPulled block.
Now when you imported this to your master model, you can "stamp" these footprints to your liking, add all the retaining walls and whatnot to modify the terrain.
Later, develop the individual building models to the detail needed. Save. In the master model, right click on such a component (when you import an skp file, it will come in as a component) and select "Reload".
Not exactly this topic,but some thoughts of external components (imported/reloaded) can be read here:
http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/36-intermediate/115-internal-external-components -
Thanks, I hope to starts soon. I modeled one barn we are in the process of building. Now I would like to tackle a bigger project. I still have a lot to learn on the orginization of the model. Barn kind of ended up an "outliner" mess.
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I admit I'm one of those who alomst NEVER opens outliner. I've done a few projects where I used it rigorously. I never felt like it helped. So if you like it and what it has to offer, then keep with it. But in my (possibly wrong) opinion, don't worry about it if its creating more problems than solutions!
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I have to regrettably confess that I do not use Outliner either. The only time I open it is when there is a question about it in the forums.
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