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way77
If its any consolation, after years of using SU I still have to keep reminding myself "group", "group", "group".
I think the ease of use of SU lulls you with its simplicity - then suddenly you realise you have created a spiders web of complexity, and unraveling it can be a nightmare (does this sound heartfelt - it should!)
David
Possible solution -
In the layer stack (on the right hand side) make sure that you are putting the dimensions on the top-most layer. If they are on a layer below the 'model' then they will be obscured. You might also want to create a completely new layer ('dimensions') make sure it is on the top and put all your dims on this layer (so they can be turned off if you wish).
Of course it could be something else altogether!
David
Linea
I am currently working my way through some projects using only SU and LO. I am at the Building Reg. stage so your drawing 3 is very relevant to me.
My experience so far, using LO, has been that it is quite tricky to use - almost too easy to inadvertently make scale, rotation, and move changes. However by carefully locking layers as you go I think I have overcome this issue.
As regards the section, my approach has been, for detailed work, to draw the roof eaves section in 2D and extrude it, which seems to work quite well. Given that 'hatching' is essentially a drawing board technique, pre-dating CAD, I am accepting that I don't need to hatch everything - sometimes a simple tone will do (just what SU is good at!). I have created a squiggly line to represent insulation, made it into a component and just stick it where it is needed.
I realise (as can be seen on the attachment) that you need to be very tidy in the modelling, as all the little stray bits will show up.
At times LO has driven me mad, but I am sticking at it and hope I can make it work.
Here is some work in progress - still needs more notes and tweaking, but you get the idea.
Davd
Tyler
Thanks for the response.
David
Using the new version (7.1), pipes (cylinders) on plan, which showed up in the previous version, now disappear in the latest version.
Am I missing a setting somewhere?
This image is from the SU model - the pipes simply disappear in Layout
Thanks
Gaieus
Amazing results - must update right away!
Thanks Google.
I have been tricked all this time into thinking this was the sketchup users forum - clearly it isn't, otherwise I guess we would have been advised of this release. Still, it does look interesting, but I'll wait for all the fuss to die down before loading it!
This sounds more like a 'printing' rather than a 'rendering' question.
If you want to print an image say 10" wide @ 300 dpi then you need an image 3000 wide.
Set the output in vray (ouput) to 3000pix wide. Set the output (ie resolution) from your favourite image editor (PaintshopPro etc) to be 300dpi
David
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
Mike
This Tutorial is about blending a model into a photo (rather than applying textures from a photo onto a model)
http://www.sketchupartists.org/?page_id=1972
David
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
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
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
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
Check out this RIBA Drawing archive site (There may be a fee involved, but the stuff is top notch)
David
Tim
I have been following your progress with the working drawings, as I intend preparing my next project in this way. I'm impressed with what you have done.
I would like to get some different line thicknesses into my plans and I hope to use the section cuts to achieve this. I'll let you know how I get on.
David
Simply stunning!
Your work gets better and better. What a pleasure!
These are looking ok, and you can always position a bush, or overhanging tree to get some life into them (or maybe a burnt out car or two!!) I think the thing to avoid is acres of grass or tarmac - never makes a good image.
David
R3DEYE
vray takes the UV info from SU. So assuming that the bump map and the texture are the same size (!), then vray adjusts the bump to suit the scaling you have applied to the texture. - neat!
David
R3DEYE
What version of SU and Vray are you using?
The reason I ask is because the latest version of Vray (I think it is 01.05.30 - see 'about' in your options menu), automatically creates a vray version of each SU material, so there is no need to 'link' materials, which you seem to be implying (this was how it was in an earlier version of Vray).
scaling and positioning is now done in the SU Materials editor, then 'bells and whistles' i.e. bump and reflection layers etc is done in the Vray materials editor.
David