@cdubea said:

Can I ask an ENORMOUS favor? Can your menus be included in the right mouse button menus?

@Chris and TIG - PLEASE, TIG, NO! My R-Click menu is already WAYYY too long as it is.

Chris, simply set up a shortcut button to the xref options, Try 'x' if you didn't assign that to 'explode' already... No more stuff in our menus that isn't absolutely necessary, please!

That said,

Thanks for this, TIG! I have finally found the time/necessity to experiment with this thing. Seems ok so far with small stuff. I'm wondering if you have a tutorial explaining how it all works, as I'm a bit confused (I've been using AutoCAD for years and years, and am one of the office's 'CADMasters' (their word, not mine)... so I know xref-ing very well.

1. I need to know: I know I can choose to DELETE the xref in the xref manage... but I want to unload it, that is, I want to keep the info and path to the xref inside the SU model without completely deleting it. How do I 'unload' the file, so that my model is much smaller, but then I can reload the file quickly again to see the xref again next time I open my model to work. (I'm doing a hospital addition, I have a huge hospital/site/context model I want to xref into my 'addition building' model... I want the 'addition' model to stay 'small' in size... so I want to be able to quickly unload the context model, and reload it at will)

2. What is the advantage to/workflow suggestion of converting components to xrefs? Though I convert them to become xrefs, aren't they still making my file bigger? (hence why one may want an 'unload' option)

3. Is there a way we could have an option kind of like ACAD where you can define the automatic insertion point of the xref to be the origin of the current model? This is important because sometimes the origin is difficult to snap to, buried deep inside/under other geometry in your model, and you just want your context model to pop in with the same 0,0 origin.

TIG, one last thing... it would be really cool if you could tell me how I can move the xref manager to the Tools pulldown, as my plugins menu already drops down past the bottom of my screen... but I have lots of room under the tools menu... and I think of this as a great 'tool'.

ps - if you get 'unload' working... then one more function would be very cool... 'unload all xrefs' and 'reload all xrefs'... these could then be a shortcut key and life is beautiful.

why Rick, it's fascinating you didn't mention it... maybe you mentioned it very quietly?
I do see you mention that it's not yet finished...

combine this with FFD and you can get some very cool forms very fast...

@gaieus said:

Gee, Fletch, #11e thanks! It was driving me nuts that I could not adjust instances within the instanced groups!

Pete, it seems that finally you should give a shot to Kerky

Hi Gaieus,
where in the world do you find time to actually build and render anything?! I thought you just read/reply to forums all day You must type even faster than me!

I mention step "11e" very clearly in the instancing brush video tutorial... you may have just missed it. I found I watched the SketchUp video tutorials over and over and always learned something new every time... or rather, that the info finally 'sank into' my thick skull.

hmmm...

problem is that Tomasz has inexplicably removed 'export instances' from SU2KT before releasing it to the public.

I can export the model for you in about 12 secs or less with my beta version Then they will all come into KT instanced already.

But you say SU has issues with the model? So this may be an issue...hi-poly chairs?

Anyway. to bring these into KT and instance them around in there:

1- you export the floor, the Table, one computer, and corresponding chair, positioned properly at said table in SU... export using SU2KT.

2- answer 'yes' when it asks if you want to open in Kerkythea

3- adjust materials on the objects as necessary.

4- as you have it made the way you want it, save each material to a "current library" (there are plenty of pre-made materials for download, find one that's closest and tweak as needed is the quickest approach). This is done from an individual material's editor dialog with this button... choosing 'current library'.

5- open the materials libraries dialog using Settings>Materials.

6- you will see your materials you were sending to 'current library' on the right side pane.

7- hit the save button and name the library

8- Now Group the objects you want grouped (make all the parts of the chair into a group), (all the parts of the computer a group), etc.

9- Now group the computer group and the chair group together... lets call that group 'Workstation'.

10- Now go to Tools>Instancing Brush

11- Now we just have to 'load' the brush with the workstation and paint it around the table...

11a - Select the group called 'Workstation' and
11b - click on the word/button that says "Instance".
11c - Now select ONLY your floor material and choose the word "Canvas".
11d - leave everything else default. Click 'Brush' and give the group of instances you are about to paint a name. As you click your mouse quickly once on the floor now a box will appear on the floor representing your workstation. (Hit "V" for "View" to change to solid view mode or back again to wireframe)
11e - to FINE-TUNE the placement of a particular instance, hold ALT and click on the middle of that instance box frame (try option on the Mac - you're a mac user, right Solo?) This can be touchy, as you must alt-click the geometry inside the instance box, even though you can't see it's there... so keep clicking if it doesn't 'grab' it right away.
11f - now you should see your object highlighted as a yellow wireframe and see a gizmo, to change gizmo modes, hit 'g' for 'gizmo'. move and rotate that baby right up to the table.
11g - place the other 3 or 4 instances around the table the same way.
11h - now GROUP ALL OF THOSE INSTANCES + THE TABLE TOGETHER... call it 'TableGroup' or whatever.
11i - now you can 'load' "Tablegroup" into the brush and paint that onto the canvas all over, and adjust each of them as well.

... seems complicated when I write it out, easier to do than to type, IMHO.

Let me know if you have problems.

There's a very nice video tutorial on the finer intricacies of the instancing brush and all it's power here. You can also find the SU2KT video and Skippy tutorials here.

of course, Skindigo may indeed be a good way to go... I haven't tried it, but seems very nice!

guess you're right guys... please excuse my lapse in logic... so how's this coming Gareth? anything further? I'm very interested to see how this one turned out...

yes, these models could come in handy one day... hope you will consider sharing in the components section

ps... don't forget the thin glass shader in KT! and inserting the infinite plane model to get some shadows.

Hi Koosie... I really like your concept... it's ART!

As far as the renderings go, if you're happy and having fun, that's what's important!

some of us get too caught up in trying to create 'photo-realistic' when all we need sometimes is some light, shadow, and reflections.

It's very cool that you had a concept and carried it out so well!

all that said... a fun trick in Kerkythea is to set the sky color to almost white, and render with preset 6 or 7, the render time will not be long at all with any of these shots, and you will like the lighting.

also, there's a render preset called 'ambient occlusion' if you want a fun quick cartoon-style render method, you may give that a shot.

that's funny.

and YES... this would be VERY COOL INDEED.

holy mackerel! thanks for sharing the skippies Solo... who made them? I recall d/ling a bunch of model of sea creatures from somewhere a couple years back... so was curious.

btw - do you have the mackerel in skippy? (the one in the upper right of your first shark shot) ... that was the first fish I shot when I started spear fishing in the Adriatic off the coast of Croatia. man... that's bringing me back to some good times...

hmm... I can see 2 ways to do this with FFD rather quickly... but as far as mm acuracy goes... not so confident.

Draw harp shape with general thickness in elevation. Use a higher-poly arc so that the segments are not as bad. The group it and FFD... x3... I think. Then you should be able to play for a while to get it to look as you want.

hmmm... thinking... why are there no reflections in your glass if you are using the Thin Glass shader? I'm guessing then that your b/g image is not a spherical/hemispherical sky? If it were, it would liven up the scene immensely... by giving the glass something to reflect.

at your service, Whaatever you say!

use the basic materials pack in KT and choose 'Thin Glass' for your glazing (glass) material.
use the 3D hi-poly aspen tree from SU.

some more mat. work on the surfaces... they seem flat.

great start!

Link to Basecamp thread.

that's pretty cool, Wikii.

Thx Rick! Ashley answered me that Ashley will not be able to assist, Ashley's too busy right now.

man!
Ashley and Kim are very difficult names via email and forums...

My father is a heating/cooling guy (for years and years)
I sent him this and he wrote...

@unknownuser said:

This is basically a scam! (how they are marketing it)

Not the fact that it is a Freon based water cooling system just like 25 % of the units are in the US. But in the fact of HOW they are trying to sell it.

They have changed up some of the words to make this system sound new and wonderful. They have redesigned the condenser to make it more eye-pleasing to look at (I like it's look). They are heavily stressing the "environmental" buzz words, that are politically correct of today. They call it a "Heat Pump", which it is not.

Bottom line: It's the same old Water Cooler that is used to good effect in a lot of houses (and almost all commercial buildings) today. I noticed that they call it a "Heat Pump", it is not. A Heat Pump can both cool and heat the house but is a direct expansion unit. I see in the writing that they say if you need heating you have to put in an augmented heating system. This unit is a water cooling system. It cools water and the cold water is pumped through the house. I love these types of systems. They deliver a more efficient and better distributed cooling (or heating) effect. Fewer cold or hot spots. They are generally cheaper to run, however, more expensive to install. That's why you hardly ever see them in the lower to middle class houses.

@sk.lion said:

...when it could be simply done by themselves at the click of mouse....

.obj exporter already exists for GSU6Free... If you're making money doing it for them, you're smarter than they are on several levels.

If I put a ruby in the SUtool... then move the ruby to a folder in my plugins folder called 'backup' in order to shorten my list of rubies in the pulldown menu... I lose my ability to use my ruby with the shortcut I had set up for that ruby... any advice? (for now, I just put those rubies with shortcuts back into the plugins folder.