HI Luke! There are a couple different options available here.
One would be to use Fredo6's Curviloft plugin, available in the plugin forum. Another would be to take the second image you posted and do a simple clark-catmuller subdivision on it, or us the subdivide and smoot plugin if you have it.
Also you might try the Extrude Tools package, probably EE by Rails. This is a very handy set of plugins also available in the plugins forum. great if you start getting into more curvilinear work.
Some folks might recommend the soapbubble plugin, but I have never really had much luck with it myself.

ANyway, hope this helps!

Cathryn

@tridem said:

I'm pretty new to wings, but I believe it's very improved since then, with features like sculpting, tweak mode, boolean operations and so on...

So I gathered from reading the PDF manual. Looks pretty good! Still not perfect, but I don't expect perfect when using Freeware, which I am still going to be doing until my budget has room for other than rent. If there were any justice in this world, software and food would be considered necessities, right along with beer and wine.
I think I will be checking out w3d this weekend. I'm swamped with school stuff this week. >sigh<
Anyway, once again, thanks!

Hi Fletch, Marcus, tridem!

Thanks, all of you for your recommendations. I think I'll download both of those converters and see which one works better for me.

Tridem, thank you so much for reminding me about Wings3d. I used to have a copy (before Sketchup) and used it all the time, but that was 4 computers, a divorce, 6 moves, and a burglary ago....I had completely forgotten that it exists.

Anyway, thank you all. One of these should do the trick.

OK, I know that there is currently no way to >directly< import a .obj to SU7 free version. Do any of our resident geniuses (genii?) have a recommendation for some sort of (freeware) conversion software other than DAZ3d to convert a .obj to .3ds or .skp? Any help or guidance would be quite greatly appreciated.
I picked up a copy of Sculptris awhile back. I like using it for organic work, but the native paint and render tools in it just aren't as nice to work with as SU7 and Twilight. Ok, to be honest, they are a PITA, so doing the organic modelling in Sculptris and then importing to Sketchy for paint / render would be my preferred workflow. Unfortunately as I understand it the programmer for sculptris has no intention to go further than he has at this point, therefore the chance of a mod allowing export as anything other than .obj is null.
Anyway, any assistance will as I said, be gratefully and graciously appreciated.

Thanks,
Cathryn

@unknownuser said:

Did you guys see my post on The Daily CatchUp about this thing? Isn't this wild?! You can even print another RepRap with it, at least with the v2 of it.

http://news.sketchucation.com/reprap-a-symbiotic-factory-in-every-home/

Thank youin the extreme for this link, Coen. My SO and I were talking about getting a MakerBot 3d printer, but were not impressed with the high price. This sounds like a much better option!

@unknownuser said:

it's not that they need to be vertical per se but the profile splines should be parallel to get your desired results.. it's just something i noticed with curviloft and the orthogonal settings.. (fwiw, in rhino, the profiles can be tilted like you have them and the lofted surface remains straight on the bottom/top_

Ooooohhh-k...Now I get it. Still having my morning coffee, so it took a moment to get it. Thanks, now I understand what you meant.

@unknownuser said:

i redrew all the profiles using fredo's BezierSpline plugin.. it makes a smoother curve and evens out the segmentation..

Downloading that plugin today! Looks like more options and less of a PITA than the native bezier stuff.

@unknownuser said:

here's a video showing the whole process.. i did this on a laptop using the trackpad so i apologize about the jumpy navigation etc..

Excellent! Thank you for the tutorial and the time you spent on this.

@unknownuser said:

also - i copy/pasted your lines into my own template.. i noticed with yours that they are drawn upside down.. the solid blue axis line should be pointing up instead of down.. if you turn on sky or ground, you'll see what i'm saying + the navigation is weird (for me) in your file

%(#0000BF)[OOOOOps! um, yeah...There was a reason I set it up like that. I was aware of that, but I just forgot to put it back the normal way way before copying the file. I guess I need to take better process notes as I'm working, and reread them occasionally. My apologies for that, Jeff; and also you Fredo, if you have taken a look at this model.
Anyway, once again, thanks very much for your time and effort explaining things and helping me on this Jeff. It is greatly appreciated. ]

@unknownuser said:

hey spooky,
if your loft lines were vertical then ortho would do what you're asking it to..

%(#0000BF)[Thanks, I actually was unaware that that can make a difference. I definitely will be keeping it in mind for the future, although my question to Fredo about this still stands, because either the program was operating wrong before, and started working the way it's supposed to, or it originally was working right and something went wrong. Either way, it seems odd that a plugin would change behavior midsession like that. Then again, I do have a talent for breaking things, so who knows..... ]

@unknownuser said:

as it is, the splines are perpendicular to your profiles..

I guess I'm a bit dense, but perpendicular in what way? No sarcasm, I just don't exactly understand what you mean.

@unknownuser said:

curviloft lets you make global adjustments to the segments etc (in the main curviloft display) as well as individual sections (while in edit mode, click in one of the sections which will highlight yellow then adjust segmentation in there)..

Right. That I was aware of. One of the many things I love about Curviloft.

@unknownuser said:

that aside, i think you'd be better off using a different approach as you'll see in pics 3&4 + in the attached skp

[attachment=4:obxht400]<!-- ia4 -->1.jpg<!-- ia4 -->[/attachment:obxht400]

[attachment=3:obxht400]<!-- ia3 -->2.jpg<!-- ia3 -->[/attachment:obxht400]

[attachment=2:obxht400]<!-- ia2 -->3.jpg<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment:obxht400]

[attachment=1:obxht400]<!-- ia1 -->4.jpg<!-- ia1 -->[/attachment:obxht400]

[attachment=0:obxht400]<!-- ia0 -->handle.skp<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:obxht400]

@unknownuser said:

i hope this makes enough sense.. i posted this with a 1am vino filter

No worries about the vino filter Jeff. You're speaking clearly enough, and 1 am is the perfect time for that... The model you sent back looks great. I had not even considered using the skinning function as you did. I definitely should have tried that. Whatever changes you made to the profile curves certainly worked out well, and I most certainlydont mind in the slightest. Although, so I can learn from this, what changes did you make and how did you do it?

@tig said:

@unknownuser said:

Particularly with reclaimed herringbone pattern tongued and grooved mahogany parquet blocks that have to marry into some existing ones ! I sanded....I sanded....I sanded....

Oh the Hororors! The HORROR of it all!! Yeah, that is the worst part about wood flooring is all the joins, especially if you are using reclaimed stuff

@unknownuser said:

the change in the weather means that dusty cutting 'outside' etc is awkward

The UK's infamous equinoctical rains, I presume? I live in the desert, so its sunny and 43c one day, and 25c with monsoonal thunderstorms the next, at least through autumn. The rest of the year it's just in the 40's and sunny...Lovely....

Anyway, best of luck with the flooring.

@unknownuser said:

SpookyChick1013

1) Error with Matchbox
I have no clue what the matchbox plugin has to do here (especially if it is not present on your disk)
Neither do I. For some reason SU just refuses to acknowledge that the darn thing is gone, but it has never been a problem,so I haven't worried about it.
, but you seems to get an error from CurviloftPalette which is rather strange. Did you download Curviloft from Sketchucation?
Yes. Latest versions from right there on the first post of this thread. Oh, and I also DID go ahead and redownload and reinstall the whole thing today. Still getting the error.
2) Error on model
I don't see exactly what is the problem.
Sorry, Fredo, I forgot to circle the problem area.
Maybe it could be a good idea to post the model, so that I can have a look. Here you go.gAUSS pISTOL 2copy.skp
There are still plenty of issues with all functions, and some simply depend on the order of selection, or orientation of curves, which may explain why it works one day and not the other.
By the way, did you get a crash (bugsplat) in Curviloft the night before you start having problems? No. Curvi just started doing this after I had been modelling for 2-3 hours. I'm not sure exactly why, either. Of course, I don't know much about writing plugins, just quite a bit about breaking them (self-deprecating humor)

Fredo

Thanks for being willing to take a look at this Fredo. I admit I don't know much at all about coding. I'm an enduser not a developer, so ruby script might as well be ancient Sumerian to my eyes.

Tig, with regard to the mahogany parquet, you have my deepest sympathy. I've done that ONCE. Never,ever,ever,EVER again.

Our next house we are going to build and since I am designing it the floor is going to be stone or ceramic tile. ( my partner won't agree to something simple like epoxy coated cement, even though it would be SO much easier.):lol:

@ EarthMover; Yeah a plugin like this would be handy. BTW nice renders, especially the tile. Which render program do you use?

As always, BEAUTIFUL work, Charly!

Hi there Fredo! I've had Curviloft in my plugin folder for quite a while, and only recently figured out how to make it work. (To Whom It May Concern; Thank you all for your tutorials!) Curviloft is an awesome plugin and extremely useful. Once I figured out how to use it, I have had no problems until just recently, (say, a week ago?) when I started getting the following error message:

I think we can safely ignore the matchbox plugin error, as MatchBox is not even installed and has not been for over 18 months (it would not play nice with other plugins so I vaped it...)and Curvi worked fine until after i downloaded and installed the latest version( Curviloft 1.0c, and LibFredo6 35c.) Curvi still works ok for the most part but I have started to get strange behavior from the orthogonal curves setting. I figured a work-around, but I was curious if the reported errors had something to do with it.

Once again, thank you so much for all of your hard work and genius! >hugz'n'cookiez, because I don't have any beer today<

@jbacus said:

@pitrak said:

Is there a roadmap for Back Edges mr. Bacus?

As a matter of policy (both Google's and before that @Last's), we won't comment on unreleased features or future directions for the product in any but the broadest possible terms. I recognize how much you'd like to know what's coming next, butwe need to preserve a quiet space in which the team is free to experiment with projects that may not work out. Software development is more like painting than manufacturing, and you're better off in the end if we're free to be creative.

john
.

John, Whatever else I may have said, I do want to say thank you for the link to this article. Being the daughter of someone who considers himself a "computer SCIENTIST" (his emphasis, not mine,) I had never actually thought about software development in this way. Having studied painting though, I can see where the analogy may be true. Thank you for lending a valuable perspective on this. Also, I do very much understand the need for a peaceful creative space for developers to experiment in.
While we may disagree on some points and likely never agree on the direction SketchUp is moving, or the SU8 release, I think I understand now a bit more of the dynamics involved for the dev team.
If I ever actually begin making money off of my CGR efforts with SU, I actually will go Pro. Until then, well, the price tag is out of my league, which is a crying shame, because I would like to be able to support the dev team and keep them in cheese sandwiches.

Oh, the reason I keep using SU, in spite of the PolyLimitation, and sometimes annoying flaws? It is still simply the best freeware modelling program available for my working style and workflow needs, which is invaluable for those of us who are trying to learn CGRengering and want to someday be as good as some of the heavyweights like Solo.

Cathryn

@unknownuser said:

But tbh the suggestion that people unhappy with SU8 Free should then go on buy the even more underwhelming SU8 Pro is utterly ridiculous. I'm disappointed by SU8 Free and wish it could have been better, but there's no way on earth that I'd toss Google $500 in the hope that the extra sales will spur them to make improvements. I don't think the world works like that. I think if Google knows they'll get enough sales with minor improvements then that's all they'll do. The best way to "vote with our money" is to not buy the pro version because then the message will be driven home that it doesn't offer enough for $500/$100 update fee/

Thank you. This perfectly articulates my point about things.

I'll be honest here. I am extremely displeased with Google's lack of response to user requests in their development of this release. Most especially, I find the fact that they REMOVED the ability to set the north angle in free version highly inconvenient, and a bit of a slap in the face; as has been said previously, you don't remove features. This is a tool I use frequently, but in all honesty, I cannot afford (or justify) the nearly $500 pricetag for the Pro version, just to keep ONE tool, and that is what it would cost me to go Pro edition with things. Solid Tools only available in Pro? Well, they would have been nice, and should have been in SU for years. Upgrading the push pull tool? good work. This is something that needed to be done for a long time. Supposedly increased support for animation, I. Don't. Need. It. I honestly could care less about animation. Not something I use. Several of my plugins being b0rkd at start up? Why am I not surprised? Further, the fact that Google has failed to get with the program and accomodate multi-core processing, and also failed to fix the poly-count issue really is ridiculous.
At this point, I highly doubt that I will be using SUv8, either free, or Pro, until plugins become available to make up the deficiencies, notably the north angle setting. I am NOT asking for super high-end performance, I am just asking for something that works right, and has all the features I have come to expect from previous editions. I could not care less than I already do about Google Earth modeling, and frankly, the idea of retrieving components from 3dw is repulsive, considering the garbage quality of quite a few of the models, and the widespread use of the scramble plugin. Hint, folks; If you don't want other people using your models, don't upload them to a place like 3dwarehouse. Common sense here.

What it comes down to in the end?

"Don't be evil..."?
Google=EPIC FAIL
-10,000
Translation: Don't be evil? Google; you have failed completely and utterly!

Edit:Oh, and a simple rearrangement of the icons on the toolbars does NOT help qualify this as a new release, either.
Yes I will still be using this program, until something better comes along, because there are not many other choices available. I did want to make my opinion known, however. Not that Google gives a rip what I as a user and potential customer want...

Thanks Chris. I figured that was the case. No harm in asking though. I knew about the ongoing polycount issue, but I was unaware that the abort process idea had been discussed. Too bad that it isn't an option. Oh, well!
Thanks for the quick response, and thank you VERY MUCH for the awesome plugins you have done. Greeble 2, shape bender and Perpendicular face tool are fast becoming indispensable tools in my modeling process. Keep up the good work, it is really appreciated.
I gotta go, machine is rendering my partner's birthday gift.

Is there any possibility someone could write a plugin that will in one fashion or another offer the option (probably via the esc key) to "Abort the Current Process / Operation? Y/N"
This would really be a nice plugin to have, especially in view of those times when I select something to intersect, and as I click the intersect command in the menu, SU decides to take that as a command to select something else, and begins busily intersecting the wrong stuff. (Off to the races!) This is not of course, the only time I wind up wanting the ability to abort a process. Like everyone else, I have had it with SU's poly count problem. Anyway, just an idea for one of you ruby geniuses, if you feel so inclined.
Thanks.

Very simple. An option to "Abort Current Process / Operation" Even if SU could handle high poly stuff, I would still want this.

Oh, I'm quite familiar with this little bug. It can be infuriating at times, can't it? I don't know if there is a solution beyond what you are already doing to compensate. If you find one, let me know?