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    • T Offline
      twharvey
      last edited by

      Hi,

      I remember Gaius mentioning someplace that most of the cars in 3DW were done in some other modeling programs and imported into SU for uploading to 3DW. For a project I'm working on, I need to model a bunch of irregular objects that have rounded edges (rocks). I've been trying everything I can think of in SU to model these objects; so far just frustration!

      Does anybody know of a simple 3D Modeling program (preferably free or cheap) that exports to SU that I could use to build these objects?

      Thanks for help,
      Tom

      Tom

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      • soloS Offline
        solo
        last edited by

        Do you have an example of what you require?

        I am sure SU can do it, I will attempt a few if you can show me what you require.

        Other wise MOI may be what you require.
        http://moi3d.com/

        http://www.solos-art.com

        If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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        • G Offline
          Glenn at home
          last edited by

          Maybe have a look at Wings3D. It is a free polygon modeler that should model rocks just fine.

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          (www.wings3d.com)

          SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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          • P Offline
            pav_3j
            last edited by

            this is definitely possible in sketchup, especailly now we have subsmooth and FFD

            pav

            Just won the 'Who is Least Competitive Championships' where trying to win will make you lose. Trying to lose makes you win which makes you lose. Not trying at all makes you lose which makes you win which makes you lose.

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            • L Offline
              lewiswadsworth
              last edited by

              Glenn beat me to it. Wings3D is free and exports to 3DS for import into SketchUp. The Smooth function increases polygon count and turns everything into a blob.

              Link Preview Image
              Wings 3D

              favicon

              (www.wings3d.com)

              You could also use free toy modeler Smooth Teddy to make odd rock-like things, save the file as VRML, and use a piece of shareware to convert it to something that SketchUp imports.

              Link Preview Image
              Takeo Igarashi

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              (www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp)

              I did a major project requiring many odd boulder-like shapes this way. I used Rhino (which is not free) to translate the files, but there are plenty of sharewares available. A bunch are listed here on the Kerkythea site:

              favicon

              (www.kerkythea.net)

              col sporcar si trova

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              • T Offline
                twharvey
                last edited by

                Solo,

                Here's an example of one of the stones. Obviously I have to have views of all sides of these to see the model. I've tried to do it with the sandbox tools and with Push/Pull-Scale tools. Maybe it needs more practice. Thanks for your help.

                Others,

                I'll followup on these leads and let you know.

                Agaion, thanks a lot,
                Tom


                Stone7Out.jpg

                Tom

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                • T Offline
                  twharvey
                  last edited by

                  James,

                  I followed that thread and got some good ideas. The problem I have is that I'm not trying to make any good looking rocks but specific ones so I have to madel the 3d shape AND the real texture on the correct sides.

                  I guess I needn't be coy: I'm doing a model of Stonehenge as it is today. Most of the models in 3DW are idealized ones of what it looked like 5000 years ago when all the stones were similar. In the interim, they've weathered and eroded individually.

                  Tom

                  Tom

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                  • L Offline
                    lewiswadsworth
                    last edited by

                    Tom,

                    I'm probably the only one on the whole forum besides yourself who has modeled megaliths.

                    301 Moved Permanently

                    favicon

                    (www.sketchucation.com)

                    The article links are dead, but here's a Picasa gallery with the renderings.

                    http://picasaweb.google.com/LewisWadsworth/PavilionForOblivion?authkey=DMWxr8ayGWE

                    The stones were made with that Smooth Teddy program. I thought it simulated the megaliths fairly well, in that it proved impossible to actually make too correct a slice through a solid. However, the Stonehenge megaliths by this point have been photographed from every angle and at all levels of detail. You might want precision when you model them.

                    --Lewis

                    col sporcar si trova

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                    • soloS Offline
                      solo
                      last edited by

                      Tom, I only noticed now you added to your comment.
                      What sort of accuracy do you need?

                      I guess it could be modeled in SU but definately not correctly textured due to the UV issues.

                      Here is an image of the Sub-smooth method I would suggest, if you need more clarification or assistance let me know.


                      http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/836/rockahw1.jpg

                      http://www.solos-art.com

                      If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                      • D Offline
                        dylan
                        last edited by

                        What a good project to take on Tom. I would like to see it when finished.

                        I think solo's suggestion and example would work really well for you.
                        The image above that Pete has posted shows just how good Subdivide and Smooth is.

                        http://dmdarchitecture.co.uk/

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                        • FrederikF Offline
                          Frederik
                          last edited by

                          @Pete - did you also texture that rock in SU (Photomatch) or in Vue..??

                          Cheers
                          Kim Frederik

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                          • soloS Offline
                            solo
                            last edited by

                            Frederick, i textured in SU using projected surfaces (i projected on 3 axis)

                            http://www.solos-art.com

                            If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                            • D Offline
                              dsarchs
                              last edited by

                              Solo,

                              do you mean that you split the model into 3 pieces and each have a different projection or is there a way to have multiple projections somehow apply to the same group?

                              I've been curious about the best way to apply textures to rounded/irregularly-shaped objects for a while and I'd be curious to see your approach. I apologize if this should have been addressed in a different thread.

                              Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination.

                              -e.e.cummings

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                              • R Offline
                                remus
                                last edited by

                                This might well not be how pete did it, but its probably how id go aobut it.

                                Turn on hidden lines (view->hidden geometry) roughly select the overalyl face you want to apply the texture to. Then sample the relevant projected texture and apply it to the piece. Because youve pre-selected the geometry it should apply the texture to all the faces.

                                Repeat for the different aspects of your object.

                                http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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                                • soloS Offline
                                  solo
                                  last edited by

                                  It's very dificult to explain with just words, I really need to get around to a video tutorial some time soon.

                                  There are many ways to apply textures from scaling correctly to the many ways of using the projection method.
                                  Mapping a sphere is by far the most difficult thing to do in SU, if not just outright impossible (for now until the good folk at Google come up with a fix in the next version hopefully)
                                  Another aspect of texturing that is often overlooked is the texture image itself, for straight forward texturing a standard image will suffice but for large faces and irregular shapes you may need to tweak your textures in an editing app like photoshop.

                                  Alan Fraser has also got some pretty cool tricks and techniques, I am sure if he reads this he will be able to give some better clarity.

                                  http://www.solos-art.com

                                  If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                                  • T Offline
                                    twharvey
                                    last edited by

                                    OK, I've now got the Subdevide-Smooth tools. It will take me a little while to learn the moves, but this is real progress.

                                    Once I get closer to a final model for Stonehenge, I'll start a new thread to let you know how it's going. Thanks to you all for your help.

                                    Solo, Isn't it the middle of the night in Dallas?

                                    Tom

                                    Tom

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