Texturing surfaces for 3D models?
-
I'm just starting with SketchUp and 3D modeling in general, so the usual pointers are always helpful.
I'm interested in generating game models for a 3D printer to print, and I cant find a good way to do the following:
Given an icon (like, say, this one), I'd like to be able to orient that icon on a surface and then push/pull it so that when my model is printed, the icon shows up on the plastic.
In a similar vein, if I want to model a brick wall, I'd like to be able to take a texture of a brick wall, apply it to a face, and then push/pull it so the bricks actually appear on the side of the wall.
Are there any plugins/tutorials you could point me to that would be able to do something like this?
-
Welcome to the forum, Zach!
There are some plugins that attempt to do this inside of Sketchup - TIG's Image Trimmer and Thomthom's Bitmap to Mesh plugin are two of them. These can work, but I have found other methods to work better.
Cura Slicer will automatically make an STL from an image. You can then print the model directly, or save the STL and import it into Sketchup for further work.
Shapeways 2D to 3D utility will make a model. You can then download the model and convert to STL with Netfabb Basic for further work.
Convert the image to vector format using Illustrator or Inkscape, then save as DWG and import into Sketchup. This method usually makes the cleanest lines.
There are other methods you may find by searching "image to stl".
Hope that helps!
Advertisement