New SketchUp goodies!

Been playing around with SketchUp again, having set my kids the task of designing and building me a new piano...

This is the first grand I've ever built, though (please be kind)...

tis cool looking and looks like you spent a lot of time on it, i can almost hear it being played


where can i find this program looks intresting
is it called SketchUp, or somthing else ?

Never mind i got it , i cant belive they are giving this free, though i have not got a clue what i am doing i am sure i can com up with somthing to share with you just be kind i am a noob at art at the best of times

Edit 2.

I seem to be picking this up rather quicky, and the tutorials are great

here is the one i am one now

Please share anything you make, Matt.

just a quick Question though, how do you save them as images ?

and anywhere you know where i can get free textures

To save them as an image, go to File and Export - 2D graphic...

I found some really good places to get textures, hang on a tick...

Try...

http://www.texturewarehouse.com/gallery/search.php?action=search&type=detail&where%5B%5D=keywords&keyword=stone+wall

http://www.heyheydecay.net/thumbs/newseamless.htm

http://my.erinet.com/~cunning1/textures.htm

http://www.thedigitalartshop.com/textures/freetextures.html

http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-downloads/info/Backgrounds-and-Textures/Download-free-tileable-textures

and...

http://www.filterforge.com/filters/

cheers again

still trying to get through the basics, can just about do basic houses so i will post something, but it wont be ground breaking just yet

Still, though...

*Chants* We want Matt! We want Matt!

here it is so far basic box shape house, got any tip on how i could give it more life ? like how to make collums etc

OK, let's make a porch...

Switch to the pencil tool. On the line above the door, find the midpoint by hovering your mouse over it until it turns pale blue.

Draw a line going upwards only a short way, then draw lines from the end of it to the corners of the door. This should give you a triangle above the door. Rub out the first line you drew. Pull the triangle out to make a mini-roof over the door, and then switch to the Rectangle tool.

Look underneath the roof you just made. Draw a rectangle across the door and use it to create a square on each corner. Pull these down to floor level. Voila! Instant porch!

EDIT: I'm making you a tutorial video version of everything I just said, only my house doesn't look exactly the same as yours...

OK, let's try this... fingers crossed...

sketchup house.swf

EDIT: This will take AGES to load, so do it in a separate window. The original video is over 120MB, so I had to compress it.

In the View menu, go to Toolbars and tick Modification. It'll give you access to the Offset tool, which lets you create window frames and other nice touches. I'd also recommend that if you want to create parallel lines (e.g. as in the roof trim) you can switch to the pencil tool, run your mouse along the line you want to run parallel with, then draw. If the line turns purple, you're running parallel to another line.

This is the same shape with the offset tool and a few other simple touches...

Got a bit carried away and started decorating, too...

Wow, you have blowen me away with your skills at sketch up, I cant seem to get patients when it comes to fine details. its like i make one mistake, cuss loudly try again 1 or two more times before going bugger it.

but i will keep at it and post more soon

Just been building another piano... made a cool video of the piano building itself, too...

sounds neat, if you got time would you upload it please, i might learn a few tricks from seeing how its done

Did the last one of the house work? I know it took ages to load on my PC but it was huge to begin with.

yup it worked though i wish i could pause it, how did you do the lining up of the windows, like you brought up a guide line, not sue how to do that.

cinder144uk wrote:yup it worked though i wish i could pause it, how did you do the lining up of the windows, like you brought up a guide line, not sue how to do that.

I drew one rectangle for a window, then hovered my mouse pointer over a corner for a second or two. It should trail a dotted line as you point to where you want the next window to start. Click to draw the corner of your next window and then line up in the same way with the top corner of the first window. It takes a little practice but it saves a lot of time.

EDIT: Shiny (well, sketchy) new house!

Remember this?

http://feat.putfile.com/flow/putfile.swf?videoFile=How-to-make-a-treasure-box-in-SketchUp

EDIT: *Cough* Or here...