Thanks for your query! Absolutely, there are many excellent beginner tutorials for creating neon signs and text. YouTube is a great place to start; search for "neon sign text tutorial" or "neon sign effect for beginners." You'll find step-by-step guides covering software like Photoshop, Illustrator, or even free alternatives like GIMP. Websites like Skillshare and Udemy also offer comprehensive courses on neon sign design. These resources will provide you with the knowledge and skills to craft stunning neon light signage, whether for personal projects or professional design work. Happy creating!

@juju said: @launok said: Gosh, access too! I can remember a banner message which states that from 1 Jan 2017 downloads for models prior to SU 2015 will no longer be available but nothing regards access to the site. I hope this is not the case as I am a newbie who has uploaded 1 model so far to the warehouse and would like to share more in future. Oops, my bad. That sounds more correct... Sorry to cause you worries... Quite fine! Well it's the 1st of a new month, sounds like maintenance then. EDIT: And whoopey, site is back up again!!!

@solo said: My first question is why are you modeling in Sketchup if you plan to rig in Blender, has Blender not got better suited tools for such organic modeling? Organic modeling with Sketchup is possible but will require practice and a few plugins, maybe a couple commercial ones. Look at some Artisan (plugin) tutorials for an idea of proxy to subdivision and sculpting options. Solo, thanks for your reply. I have to be honest here, I have actually no experience with Blender too! Just saw on forums one can do rigging with Blender, Max, etc. I have both. I am just now looking at youtube videos on rigging as well in all the programs I have, and on how to use Artisan in Sketchup. Both Blender and Max is not easy for a beginner. I was once trying a building in Blender but stopped it. When I tried the building and finished it up easily in Sketchup I thought everything else will be better too. I do this only for myself for fun. But at times I get confused with the multitude of tools and options. I have also downloaded now Artisan manual. Actually I have used Hexagon 2.5 more with help in the Daz3D forums but not on character creations, just how to cut a pre-made clothing mesh.

the techy answer to this has got to do with server load. every person browsing the forums opens a session on the server. If we let every session launched to remain open then the server would buckle under the sheer volume. so to keep the experience for everyone zippy and nice we kick out people not actively using the system after a set duration. the next evolution of the site is factoring all these things in. we learn as we go...

I think Dave Richards will know of some good videos on moving objects. Basically you want to move it by grabbing at a sensible location. Go to move your component--say a chair and put the cursor so it snaps to a vertex at the bottom of the leg. Then when you move to the floor look to see the clue "On face" then you know you when you click to let go of the chair the point you started the move with will end up touching the face of the floor. That's basically it grab things (usually components or groups) at the point which you want to touch or align to other objects. The rotate tool is pretty straight forward. You need to learn to get the different orientations. The basics are orientation to the model xyz directions. If you hover the tool over the ground that will give you the orientation of Blue protractor. Then press "shift" key to keep that orientation. Move to the logical point of rotation (hopefully on a an object or the ground, but not required) and rotate your (pre-selected) object. There are many features to getting the orientations but that's the main idea. Many videos at the SketchUp Trimble website for the basic tools. Also Aidan Chopras videos on Utube. Here's one from a search, but I think it's a little old. The info right but there are probably better videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e095bSztLs

Beside all the hints and tools I would recommend the freeware Greenshot. Greenshot has some useful drawing tools, can highlight or pixelize areas etc. I use it almost every day... In addition to some standard formats, you can save your screenshot in a certain Greenshot-format, if you want to continue editing later. http://getgreenshot.org/de/