Here is a conceptual model I did for a client which they liked and I subsequently built. Model was done very quickly as I was going on holiday and they wanted the job fitted before I flew off.

C&C welcome

D

copy Study 3.skp

Guys thanks for all the replies

Remus - sorry for posting twice - the original post was in the woodworking discussions and I wasn't getting a reply so I thought I was outside my discussion area with the topic - consider my wrist smacked!!!

Solo / Dylan - I dont want to break the bank so I suppose I wanted a package that was below £600 Stg, wasn't too difficult to use, had good tec support and good training and which worked well with sketchup not necessarily within it.

I am a rookie modeller who has spent £3500 on a kitchen design package which has very basic photo realism and is limited in its design capabilities. SU gives me so much more scope to develop bespoke elements within a design and ultimately enhance my design provision to my clients. I want to show top end kitchen design in sketchy / watercolour / photo realistic styles which will bring the clients to the inevitable conclusion that I can deliver their dream!! Thats all!

I need to be sure that any further financial outlay will bring these benefits but that I am not left to struggle through the software on my own (not excluding the fine advice available here)

Dermot

Guys

As a rookie, I was wondering what is the best / preferred rendering package for sketchup so that you can get photo realistic images. I am modelling kithens/bedrooms/studies and have used Piranesi but was wondering what the general consensus was out in the forum as to the best package to maximise the WOW factor?

Look forward to hearing your replies.

Dermot

Thanks Solo

I need to take time to convert all the images I've saved and just get on with learning by doing now. I appreciate all your efforts.

Regards

Dermot

Thanks Solo

Just downloaded it and tried to reduce the image but I really dont have a clue what I'm doing as I don't fully understand how or what the program is asking me to do - the help files do not open when I try them to get some instruction. My biggest problem is that I dont understand what the program is looking for me to do - not just this program but PS aswell - can you point me to an article which explains file compression / size so that I dont continue wasting your time on something probably very simple!

Dermot

Hi Guys (Dave, Gaieus, & Solo)

Just tried a few tweaks of a model I'm doing for my own office - the same stage earler today this model was about 20mb and its now down to 183kb so it was all down to materials and your help so far has been brilliant. I know i have so much to learn to get decent output so I will just have to keep doing the hardwork and learn not only SU but Photoshop and Piranesi aswell to get to where I want to be.

All guidance will be gratefully received on this journey!!!!

Cheers
P.S. I attach the model for your critiquesWotyacollit Office Model Stage 2

Thanks Solo

Those images look practically identical to my untrained eye - in PS CS2 there is an image size option but I dont see one specifically for compression - am I missing something or am I just thick??!!!

Dermot

Thanks Gaieus

I missed your last post before I sent mine - I just wish I had the technical know how in relation to image compression etc as I am a bit lost here!! - Nothing ventured though so I will try that option and see how I get on.

Cheers

Dermot

Thanks Gaieus

I have taken old jpeg that I fist scanned and sent exported them using Picasa as per Dave R recommendation and I am now trying to convert them to png files using PS CS2 and it is asking thhe follwoing when I save as a png file:

A PNG Options dialog box opens up asking if the image Interlace - None or Interlace - which one do I select?

I am then thinking of just saving the new files as materials and deleting the old directory which i have in the materials library - is this sensible or should I just edit them - one by one - which seems too confusing to me at the minute.

Dermot

Hi Gaieus & Dave

I am a real rookie at this so I would appreciate a bit of help in understanding what I need to do using the tools at my disposal. I have Photoshop CS to edit them but -
(1) what size should I make the images -
(2)they are saved in a directory in the google / materials library as skm files - how do I edit these?
(3) I want the models to look as close to reality without being huge.

All help greatly received!!

Dermot

Hi Solo
The solid colours vary in size from 64kb to 634kb whilst the woodgrain colours / textures vary from 953kb to a whopping 4934kb. I saved them as bmp files and as both horizontal and vertical files so I could mimic the real life applications.

I intend to use Piranesi as a rendering package once the models are complete but I have had some training on the package and the trainer recommended that the model be brought in without the materials being applied to that level.

I also need advise on a good spec for my hardware as I am struggling with performance in a big way - sorry to go off topic but they are all connected albeit loosely!!

Hi Guys
I have spent a few hours scanning A4 size samples of melamine chipboard to cover all colur variations in kitchen fabrication in Ireland at present and converted them to materials. I now realise that when used they cause the file size to become too large to work with easily. How can I edit the images to make them suitable for maintaining small file sizes?

Hi Guys / Gals

Joined in March but was a bit intimidated by all the knowledge so I thought I would go away and play with SU for a while and I now realise I will learn more from you guys than from sitting on my own struggling to understand a very big and powerful piece of software. I am a kitchen designer / installer and see massive potential to use both SU and a rendering package (Piranesi) to help create much better visuals for my clients and was wondering what advice you guys had for me in terms of the steps I need to take to move up the learning curve?

All help greatly received and appreciated

Regards

Dermot