Starting from a three view
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Mike
Like you, and inspired by Silvershadow, I started to model a plane (a WW1 biplane).
My tips so far:
1 set up the 3 views so that they line up (in the 3 dimensions)
(also set up 3 orthogonal sketchup views - top, side, front - so that you can jump quickly from one view to another)
2 Model the parts in place, in other words I set up a vertical plane(!) along the centreline of the aircraft and started to build one half of the model on that
3 Just like making a model aircraft, make it in sections, so group each section. e.g. the fusilage, the wings, the wheels etc. each seperately.
4 Build half the plane and then mirror it.There are quite a few videos on youtube, and there are differing techniques, but for me (coming from making physical balsa models) the modeling it from sliced sections is the most appropriate for an aircraft, and can make use of the 'blend' plugin.
Here is just one of many youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlDxc2wyIhY
(Here is another, but using 3dMax, and just shows how much easier it is to do it in sketchup! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=389Fh0AdD1c&feature=related)David
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Hi David!
Would it be a problem to tell me which particular type of WWI biplane are you modeling? -
Its a 1916 Sopwith Pup - as they have one in the Shuttleworth Collection and there are some decent photos. I was thinking of making a visit to take more pics of my own. However, this is very much a spare time excercise, and I did want to try and model it in detail, so it could take some time!
David
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Thanks for the link. I am a bit freaked out by some of the awesome models posted here, but yes I will post progress. I find the tricky things most interesting, so I'm looking at the propeller at the moment.
D
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Pilou was kind enough to answer my newbie question about propeller blades http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=21757. If you come up with a different solution, I would really like to know about it.
Keep up the good work! -
I like it already.
I am very fond of WWI era airplanes, and I used to spend a lot of my free time in aircraft scale modeling - all that has survived is 1/72 Sopwith camel, SE 5A and some German fighters. Now I am trying to "resurrect" them in 3D.
I would really like to see your model, once it is finished ( I guess it is going to be a very detailed one ).
I have stumbled upon these photos http://www.ivyandmartin.demon.co.uk/martinphotos/pup_n6181.htm
Hope they may come in handy.
Cheers! -
@massimo said:
@unknownuser said:
is there a way to convert a JPG to a vector drawing or something that could be manipulated within sketchup?
You can do that with Photoshop+Illustrator (or Coreldraw for example). Open the JPG file in PS and select a shape. Make a path of the selection then export the path as Illustrator file. Open it with Illustrator and export the file as DWG(DXF). Open SU and import the DWG(DXF) file.
Take a look at these two videos part 1 and part 2.Are there any other programs that you could recommend? as I do not have (and probably cannot get) either of those programs
Maybe I should try and better explain the problem I have been having. Getting the 3-view jpegs imported and set up hasn't been a problem, however trying to recreate the lines in the 3-view in sketchup so that i can manipulate them has been a problem. I do have the plugin that allows me to import cloud points (.csv files) and have successfully used that to create a few NACA Airfoils.
I've attached one of the 3-views i've been trying to build off of. however, all attempts I've made to trace over the drawing have failed miserably. So i decided to ask around and see if there was a way to convert this image into a vector file or a set of datapoints that i can then import into sketchup and directly manipulate without having to trace.
thanks again
Mike
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You could take a look at this http://www.wintopo.com/
No idea about tracing problem. -
Mike - you say
@unknownuser said:all attempts I've made to trace over the drawing have failed miserably
but don't say how you have failed.
Personally I wouldn't try for a vectorizing program. Honestly it is really easy to trace over the plans.
Make sure that you group the plans first, so you don't get 'stuck' to them, then either trace over then directly, or create a surface in front of them, set up an orthogonal view and trace onto this new plane. For varying curves as on your plans, the various bezier curve plugins by Fredo are excellent.David
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Sorry but i don't know about other programs. Maybe you could try with Gimp and Inkscape? But, really, i don't know because i don't use those programs. Anyway i believe that your goal is not achievable in a "one click" way. If you don't have the Fredo's "bezier spline" plugin yet, that could be a good start to trace your shapes over the plans. I've made a quick search on the forum and i've found this thread that can be useful for you.
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@dcauldwell: lol well, as for how I've failed, its probably that I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these things. More likely than not I am making it more complicated that i need to. It probably doesnt help that most of the images I find of 3-View are not of the best resolution.
I'm trying that wintopo program as we speak, I'll let you know how that goes.
oh, and thanks for the link to that thread massimo, I'll try and check those out as soon as i can.
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Best of luck with Wintopo. I suspect that you will find that the limiting factor will always be the accuracy and resolution of the available plans, after all lets face it, they didn't build the original aircraft off raster plans! My feeling is that your own eye is going to make a better job of the tracing than a computer program. If you use bezier curves, then you can fine tune them to get nice smooth curves. The links in Massimo's post cover most of the ground needed, so I wish you the best of luck.
David
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Exactly. Applications like Wintopo may be good for vectorising a big area of contour lines (you would simplify them anyway at the end) but not for such fine "hadwork". Often cleaning up a badly drawn/vectorised model is much harder than starting it over from scratch.
Nonetheless, I wish luck and looking forward to what you come up with and I'm sure everyone will be inclined to help once you get stuck somewhere.
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