[Tutorial > Modeling] How a Pro Builds a House in SU pt 1
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Hi Kristoff,
I only just found this thread and I'm finding it very useful indeed as I'm modelling my house in order to plan various improvements and alterations to services etc. I've got about six versions so far in various stages of completion which I realise is going to cause me major problem. Your tip about layers will be invaluable. Going right back to the beginning, would I be right in assuming that you could treat an imported 2D .DWG file in exactly the same way as you've used a .jpg image ?
Thanks again for all your great input.Bigyin
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yes you could use the dwg file, although you would explode it and make the actual lines of the dwg into SU lines.
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Thanks for that Kristoff. I think I'm gonna restart my model as I have a .DWG that friend produced and following your approach will help me keep the versions much better organised.
Cheers,Bigyin
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Bigyin...
start a thread in the gallery and post your work as you go, people will stop by and drop encouraging notes and advice that you can't find by asking, the kind that pops into their head while they see your progress.
good luck.
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I am having problems with step 4.
What do you mean when you say open the group?
If you mean edit, I am editing the group and measuring with the tape measure, but it is not asking me to resize the group?
BTW- I am using the free version of SketchUp.
Thanks from an aspiring SU user!
(Online)
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online...
after measuring a lined that you have drawn, you type in the box on the lower right hand of your screen, the measurment that you wish the line to become.
does that help?
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I am doing that and it is only making a construction point where the measurement would be?
(Online)
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Online,
Don't bother with the construction point!
Do as Kris told:Do the measurement, click second time and before doing anything else, just start typing the desired measure (don't put your mouse into the VCB and click - just type) When finished, hit Enter and answer the question that pops up.
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Wow, that was easy!
I feel dumb now.
One more question, how come I am getting this black junk on my screen with zooming in?
(Online)
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if you are at scale already... then that's a videocard issue... if it's not to scale it may be clipping, to fix that a known GSU issue, you'll have to turn off the perspective view and use parallel view.
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@krisidious said:
if you are at scale already... then that's a videocard issue... if it's not to scale it may be clipping, to fix that a known GSU issue, you'll have to turn off the perspective view and use parallel view.
Well I am at scale already.
On the existing plan that I made a material out of, I can zoom all the way in and it is at scale already?
(Online)
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if you are in the top view... square
and you have parallel view enabled...
and you still have this issue, I would say you need a better videocard or at very least to update your video card drivers...
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Thank you so much!
(Online)
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Hi there,
i amnt very good at this but im just wondering where to get a picture at the start of the guide if anyone can post one up that would help very much
thanks
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i've got problems with step 6. after right clicking and choosing "use as a material" i don't know how to apply it to the square.
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Thanks James,
That's what I tried. Then I get the materials window, but my plan is not in it, so I can't select and drop it in my square.
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First off, thanks for this tutorial, its very helpful.
I have followed along through all steps and am at the part where I trace the plan. The problem I'm having trouble with is when i trace the entire perimeter of the plan and connect it to where I started, the lines get thin from their original thick. This then results in a hollow center when i use the offset tool to set the wall thickness of 6".
I am baffled by what I am doing wrong, can someone please help me out?
Thanks in advance for your help.
John
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John,
Thick lines are called "profiles" and are merely used to either indicate that they do not close a coplanar face or to give some "perspective look" to your model (meaning that the outlines and front edges of a 3D model are usually displayed with them).
I personally don't like profiles and even turn them off (Style window > in mode > edit > edge settings).Now when you just simply close a face (tracing over the image) they should not turn into thin lines (that are called edges when surrounding a face) since they are still the "outlines" of your face.
Is there a face created at all? If not, you have done something wrong, i.e. I assume that your lines are not on the same (red/green, horizontal) plane. This is essential for SU to be able to create a face.
Try (at the same style setting as above) to set the line display to "color by axis" to see if your lines are coplanar (all lines on the red or green axis should be coloured red/green now). Of course if you modeled completely out of axis, this won't help.
Also try to put a text label onto every endpoint you drew. By default it will give you the coordinates. If you hit enter twice, that will be the text label. Wherever you se a different value of the last number (the z - blue - axis) it means that you are not coplanar.
Or just post your model here for us to see.
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@gaieus said:
John,
Thick lines are called "profiles" and are merely used to either indicate that they do not close a coplanar face or to give some "perspective look" to your model (meaning that the outlines and front edges of a 3D model are usually displayed with them).
I personally don't like profiles and even turn them off (Style window > in mode > edit > edge settings).Now when you just simply close a face (tracing over the image) they should not turn into thin lines (that are called edges when surrounding a face) since they are still the "outlines" of your face.
Is there a face created at all? If not, you have done something wrong, i.e. I assume that your lines are not on the same (red/green, horizontal) plane. This is essential for SU to be able to create a face.
Try (at the same style setting as above) to set the line display to "color by axis" to see if your lines are coplanar (all lines on the red or green axis should be coloured red/green now). Of course if you modeled completely out of axis, this won't help.
Also try to put a text label onto every endpoint you drew. By default it will give you the coordinates. If you hit enter twice, that will be the text label. Wherever you se a different value of the last number (the z - blue - axis) it means that you are not coplanar.
Or just post your model here for us to see.
Thanks for the response Gaieus. I am getting a face, it was just picking up the image below it a dragging it up. I guess I just assumed that when I dragged the face up it would be solid white in color, so that threw me off.
The problem I'm having now is when i try to place a window on one of the walls i have drawn, it doesnt cut through the wall and its very hard to actually put on the face. sometimes i get to the point where it looks like its in place, but the top half of the window is still white (the color of the wall) and most (but not all) of the otherside of the window cut through.
I imagine there's an easy way to place the window on a face that I'm missing. Thanks again for your help!
John
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Note that in SU components can only cut an opening on a single face. This means they neither cut through a thick wall nor can cut two adjacent - though coplanar - faces (i.e. if you divide a face with a line and insert a component that should cut both faces, it will only cut one of them).
To get some ideas about the workarounds to cut thick walls, look at this tutorial (do NOT miss the link to Susan's further enhancement of the tut at the bottom of the first post).
Also, Didier has come up with a brilliant, new script, see the discussion here.
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