Hi Mike,

I make models of buildings and try hard to make them photo realistic within the constraints of GE. I always start with a large number of photos of the building. This gives you an idea of shape and proportion as well as the textures to paste onto the surfaces of the model. I use PaintShopPro; Photoshop is probably better or easier. The important thing is to manipulate the photos so that they fit properly on the model's surfaces. Little details are important for realism. Also, I find that using colors from the Materials menu don't look real: they're too even and smooth. Real objects have flaws and mixed colors.

There are some good tutorials on the SU web site that deal with this stuff.

Hope this helps a bit.

Tom

Gaius,
There are 8 new ones now in 3D Warehouse, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=a1a371eeb03012877aa0f8729b37a541, that haven't yet been included in GE. I guess I should write to CraigD and let him know.
Tom

Hi Gaius,

Yeah, long time. My wife and I went to the US to visit family plus all the holiday stuff.... Back now and still doing my churches.

Regards,
Tom

Correction: the line, "When I try to use the View in Google Earth link from a model page in SU" should read, "When I try to use the View in Google Earth link from a model page in 3D Warhouse".

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this problem; redirect me if needed.

When I try to use the View in Google Earth link from a model page in SU, I get the following error message:

C:\Documents and Settings\Thomas W. Harvey\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\8A203BK3\House[1].kmz

This Parameter is incorrect.

Does anybody know how to fix this problem?

Thanks and regards,
Tom

Thanks Gaius & Jim,

I hope your holidays were pleasant.

The links and scripts you mentioned, I think (I'm just setting up a new web site to use as a test pad), take the user to the image in 3DWH. What I have in mind is some way to open GoogleEarth with the model imbeded in it. This would not be a permanent inclusion of the model in GE, but a temporary view of that model only.

Is this right?

If this is possible, I whould think it has some considerable commercial attractivness.

Regards,
Tom

Hi all,

I'm working on a modeling project for dude ranch in Montana. The idea came up that it would be cool to have a link on the ranch web site that would open google earth with the model in it. I would imagine that there could be a lot of interest in this kind of facility.

Does anybody know of a script that would do this?

Thanks,
Tom

Hi Craig,

OK, I painted the icons out on the Cathedral model. I checked in GE and it looks fine now. From now on, I'll know to turn off the icons before downloading from GE ot SU.

thanks for the advice,
Tom

Hi Modelhead,

I do the same thing for small, unimportant areas. Fussing with large terxtures to get them just right in small areas takes a lot of time. Also, using a dark gray or some neutral color doesn't draw attention to the area.

Tom

Modelhead,

Thanks! Her's the link to my churches collection: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=a1a371eeb03012877aa0f8729b37a541

Tom

Gaieus,

I just thought of this: you should have a look at Kilpeck Church. It's one of my models, but the really interesting part is the carvings, both christian and pagan themes. Try this web site for detailed photos: http://hoary.org/snaps/engl/kilp.html

Tom

I liked your church! My first SU project was to model the central part of my town, Leominster. I think that with the experience I've had with these churches, I'll go back and improve the town models as well.

Tom

Gaieus & Modelhead,

I did the same thing: with Sandbox I built an artificial level above the GE terrain then adjusted the model upward to fit the new terrain. After a bit of fiddleing around, it loked OK. Then I paintd it with the color photo from the original GE scene and tried it in GE. It looks good. This works OK because the building is isolated and there is no direct comparison with other buildins in the area.

Here's the link to 3D Warehouse: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=93904ab7955ebeeb409a1897981810e0

Thanks for the help and ideas,
Tom

You don't have to appologize for talking about interesting stuff.(my wife is an amature archiologist. So, I have some interest as well.)
Tom

Gaieus & Modelhead,

OK, I get it. So it becomes a style issue if, in the real world, the building is below the surface that is shown in GE.

What do you guys do in this situation? I looked at your town hall file, Modelhead, and saw you "platform". I've done the same thing for buildings that are above the GE terrain. I could just shift the model upward, which isOK if it's a stand alone building. But if there are other buildings around, it looks kind of funny.

Thanks and regards,
Tom

In a model I used Sandbox tools to modify the downloaded terrain to more closely reflect the real land under the model. When I placed the model into Google Earth to see how it looked, the terrain changes didn't get through.

How can I put my terrain adjustments into GE?

Thanks,
Tom

Gaieus,
It was the blanks in the names of textures. I changed the names to ones with no blanks and it woks OK.

Thanks for your help.
Tom

Thanks, Jon. I checked for double faces: no. There are 40 textures in the model; I've done others with a lot more than this. The model is pretty well optimized. Interestingly, there are two faces with the same texture. Both of them have the same problem. The names of the two textures are similar: one is "Front Eliv 2" the other is "Front Eliv 4".

I exported the .KMZ model, but I can't figure out how to view it in GE.

Cheers,
Tom

I made a model (Old House, Hereford collection) with several materials. When the model is viewed in 3D Warehouse it looks fine. It can be downloaded to SU with no problem. However, when you view it in Google Earth, one of the faces has acquired a different material. The switch is to one of the other materials in the model. How do I prevent this from happening?

Wow, this is really fun

The kml file for the location I mentioned earlier is attached as a .zip file ( I Hope.)
Tom

GE Zip Files.zip

Gaieus,

Maybe I should sak this in the Newbie Forum: What's a kml file?

Tom