Here is a recent project-Twin Tunnels widening on I70 in Colorado...for those of you who attended base camp, you drove through these (and quite possibly sat in traffic because of the project...)

Existing terrain came from LIDAR processed into triangles in Microstation. Everything else was modeled in SU from CAD drawings and largely from scratch. Getting the geometry of the sprial 'hood extensions' on the tunnels was challenging because of the rotation of the form combined with the curvature of the spiral combined with the tapering of the form (the 'cap' tapered in size and the distance it stood off the rest of the form tapered as well).

I will probably be taking this one into Vue in the next month or two.

Comments welcome!

I also attached a photo showing a comparison of the tunnels before and after widening, and a photo showing the inside while under construction.

Jon

Thanks for the comments.

Yeah I agree on the paving-good catch! I was considering adding some vehicles too for scale, which may have helped, but the focus needed to be on the architecture of the building and the use of the project site.

As for Vue, the main reasons I love using it are the vegetation tools (ecosystems, solid growth plants, etc.) and the terrain editing tools (although I created the terrain for this project in SketchUp).

Jon

Hi all,

its been a while since I have posted...here is a recent project that I completed. It is for the Plant Environmental Research Center (PERC) of a large university. The entire PERC operation may be relocated to this location in the future, so the Greenhouse facility is a proposed building (the architect and the university were my client), and the site is shown as being redeveloped for research sites ranging from crops to research trees to wetlands to water quality areas.

Model was built in Sketchup (Greenhouse began as floorplans in CAD), and the rendering was done in Vue Infinite. As always, comments welcome!

there is a full size rendering of it available in this forum:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=40151&start=30
could maybe ask alvis to post a hidden geometry view, might be worth the $3 to explore the details of the model though...

if you click on the banner, it will bring you to the list of tutorials-i think this one is MP07

C&C welcome...

3d warehouse:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=2ddd600ece6acc46fe6934cbf16f842a

could you provide a picture of what you are trying to model?

This was a quick little interior project for a multi-purpose room (remodel) in a library...feedback always welcome! p.s. Im not a big fan of the white silhouttes (they kinda get lost), but these were done to match the style of previous renderings done by the architect for different areas of the same project.

Once you have the mesh created, you can use the Tools on Surface plugin and the Joint Push Pull plugin, but it would take a bit of time...

Halroach,

All of the things Brodie states are good advice, one company I have been very satisfied with in the past is Xi computer. I bought my current computer from them about 3 years ago and have been very happy with it. Also, they were very helpful with determining what I needed based on what type of work I do. I dont know if this is still the case, but when I bought mine it was much cheaper than Dell or HP and they do offer good customer support as well.

jon

@sdmitch said:

Jon, After further testing, it looks like my last "improvement" wasn't an improvement at all so I have re-posted the privious version. I haven't been able to eliminate the "kinks" yet but it is still something that I am thinking about and have a few more ideas to try.

Sounds good, thanks Sam! Its a really cool plugin, in the past I have used the draw curves plugin for helixes, but this plugin gives you some more control over the helix, in addition to the follow me feature.

Hmm...still having issues. Take a look at the images below-the line and arc both had the same parameters plugged into the helix plugin. I also tried changing the number of segments in the arc (to change the length of the segments) anywhere from 2 segments up to 92 segments. It seems where 2 line segments intersect, it creates a crooked piece...Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Jon

Not sure if im missing something obvious, but mine are coming out very choppy...:

I modelled this for the last retro challenge, then I added some extra (added the wingnuts and cord, if I remember right) after the 30 minute limit and rendered it, here it is:

Really like this image Dave, thanks! Ive read a lot about fotosketcher but have still yet to try it-think I need to, it seems to produce some really nice effects.

Thanks John-I think they pretty much do the same thing, profile builder does have the ability to save a profile (of a rain gutter, for instance) for use on future paths, which I dont think pipe along path has. I just came across profile builder earlier than pipe along path so thats why ive never really switched...

I agree with you about the plugins, although some of the more complex ones do come in handy with unique architecture(like the roof in this recent project of mine: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=38886 ) or site design (im a landscape architect). Anyways, love your work and keep it up!
Jon

John,

Is there an advantage to using pipe along path over profile builder? Ive used profile builder a long time and have been very happy with it, just wondering if pipe along path has any additional benefits?

Thanks,
jon

Great work! Your amazing textures really take these renders to the next level.

Check this thread:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=38995