Plugins GaloreWeve gone plugin crazy this edition with new, old and essential plugins.

When

the

guy

the

made

say we were impressed is an understatement. Not only that, we took Vertex Tools for a test drive too, and debunked some of the often overlooked features of RoundEdge.

Theres also links to some cool cars, dynamic molding tutorials and Autodesks 123D. Enjoy this edition!

Artisan, BoolTools and Profile Builder asks you to test his latest creation, SketchUV, you bite his arm off. After weeks of testing and tweaking we have an exclusive first look at SketchUV and to

dynamic molding04 Create an intricate molding. Adriana Granados shows you how to utilise the power of dynamic components.

Vroom Vroom11 Ultra Lo-Poly cars? Richard Jeffrey shares some exquite models for your NPR scenes plus an extra treat for LayOut users.

layoUt tips14 LayOut workflow. Aidan Chopras SketchUp to LayOut tip makes scene setup so easy.

sketchUV reView18 Dales back with SketchUV. UV Mapping plugin gets chewed and reviewed. Is this a game changer for SketchUp?

gallery31 Are you featured? Our members submissions to the Gallery for February

Vertex tool28 Revisiting an old classic. A closer look at Thomthoms powerful editor.

Dynamic molDing onlayby adriana granados

To create the shape I found that the faster approach was to use the Curviloft plugin by Fredo6. The first step consisted of defining the contours of the knot shape.

ornate designs are more intricate but make a big differenceWhen designing an interior space, every detail counts. Crown molding can change the entire feel of a room. Usually having a profile and drawing a path to apply the Follow Me tool is enough to add this kind of details. Other ornate designs are more intricate and need other ways to create them. While cabinetry may be considered utilitarian, it is amazing what a difference a small half-round wood strip of molding can bring to a scene. In this tutorial I will show you how to make a half rope to place along an edge of the cabinetry or as the facing on the front of a shelf. To avoid having too many faces and overload the model I always try to create a model based on as many components that can be. In this particular case I created one knot of the rope as a component. Using the capabilities of repeating sub-components within Dynamic Components the knot will replicate as many times as necessary to cover a given length entered by the user. Note that I mentioned sub-components, so in order to achieve the repetition goal it is necessary to look up this creation process. The main issue when creating a replicating sub-component is the spacing between each replicated part and how the part is replicated

Using the Create loft based on Spline Curves the contours were selected as shown and the knot was created.

Another shape was created for the initial piece of the molding.

Both rope groups were converted to components (right click > make component) named Part A and Part B with alignment set to None. Select both these components and make them a component named Rope with aignment set to Any.

Right-click on the Rope component to display the context menu. Select the Dynamic Components > Component Attributes menu option.Note: A list of attributes will only appear if you have constrained the component before trying these steps.

Add a Position attribute to Rope and a custom attribute named Length to have a field where you can input the strip length. In the Length attribute Details dialogue box specify the following parameters.

Right-click on Part B (the replicating component) to display the context menu. Select the Dynamic Components > Component Attributes menu option. The Component Attributes dialog box is displayed. Add Position and Size attributes. Constrain the LenX parameter by typing (=) before the number that it is displayed. This will prevent of changing the X size if you use the Scale tool.

Add a Position attribute to Part A.

In Part B add a custom attribute named Length and then point with the mouse to the Length attribute in Rope.

Create another custom attribute called Spacing. Enter a (=) sign and type the distance that each copy should be apart.

Now right click your Rope component and choose Dynamic Comonents > Component Options. In the dialogue box that appears input you can input your required length and your molding dynamically redraw.

Add the Copies attribute from the Behavior list and type inside the value field =Length/Spacing.

Finally change the X position to =COPY*Spacing.

This formula uses a predefined attribute called Copy to determine X positioning for each Part B. The Copy attribute is simply a counter that begins at 0 (for the original component) and adds one for each additional copy. So, Copy is equal to 1 for the first copy, equal to 2 for the second copy, equal to 3 for the third copy, and so on. Your final Part B parameters should looks like this.

a kings ransomby richard jeffrey

Long time member, Richard Jeffrey, recently shared a set of ultra lo-poly cars that are great for NPR scenes or as plastic/cast models in photorealistic renders. Each model weighs-in at less than 100kb which is testament to Richards skill with SketchUp. To work best in sketchy NPR type renders, the critical curves of the surface have been smoothed and a group of minimal line work added over the surface to maintain lines where needed to illustrate the panels.

Tho collection includes: BMW X5 CITROEN XSARA HOLDEN ASTRA HOLDEN MONARO MERCEDES A CLASS PEUGEOT 307 TOYOTA RAV4 TOYOTA TACOMA VOLVO S80

Not content with sharing this excellent collection Richard also shared a very stylish CD template designed in LayOut.

I have been using this for a few years from a word document so decided Id reformat for use in Layout. It is a simple 2 fold printable CD envelope. Can be printed front side only. It certainly works best with a bubble jet printers that can print to the edge on 200-250gsm Matt stock (gloss coated stock tends to curl). If setting up for printing on any printer that doesnt allow printing to the edge the artwork should be designed to suit. It is always worth scoring the fold lines before folding and this should as always be done on the back of the fold (front printed side). It is also worth folding and gluing before cropping to get a better finished product. Clients love receiving these as they give a very polished feel to your deliverables. I hope to see some examples of use. To grab your copy of the ultra lo-poly cars you can click here or for the stylish CD template you can click here. Dont forget to show your appreciation by commenting on the threads.

sketchUp pro tip: sketchUp scenes to layoUt Viewportsby aidan chopraVoil! Your scene is now associated with your model Heres a juicy little factoid that experienced SketchUp Pro users know: When youre working with multiple SketchUp model viewports in LayOut, it really helps to create corresponding scenes in your SketchUp model. The primary reason for this is pretty simple. While its easy to pan, zoom and orbit your model view around in LayOut until its exactly right, theres no easy way to save that view in case you need to come back to it later. If theres a particular camera angle you want to use in your LayOut doc, itll save you time in the long run to open the model in SketchUp and create a scene with the view you want. Follow these steps to associate a scene youve created in SketchUp with a model viewport in an existing LayOut file: 1. In LayOut, right-click on a model viewport and choose Open with SketchUp from the context menu. 2. In SketchUp, use the navigation tools to frame the view you want. 3. Add a new scene to your model (View > Animation > Add Scene). 4. Save your model. 5. In LayOut, right-click on the model viewport and choose Update Reference from the context menu. 6. Make sure the model viewport is selected, then open the SketchUp Model dialog box (Window > SketchUp Model). 7. In the Scene drop-down menu, choose the scene you created in Step 3. viewport.

Using section cuts in LayOutThere are a few situations when you MUST use SketchUp scenes in combination with LayOut viewports. One of these involves section cuts. Because you cant create, activate (or de-activate) section cuts directly in LayOut, you have to set up scenes to be able to make use of them*. In this example, Ive modeled J.R. Davidsons Case Study House #1, and I want to create a two-page LayOut doc as a presentation file. The first page will show a birds-eye perspective; the second page, a first-floor plan. I use a horizontal Section Plane to produce the plan view (see below).

Still in SketchUp, I save a scene for each of the two views I want to present in LayOut:

*Its technically possible to show/hide section cuts in LayOut by making clever use of Styles, but even that has its limitations. Section cut visibility in Styles is either on or off; as soon as you add two section planes, youre back to needing Scenes. For this reason, I prefer sticking to Scenes all the time -- its simpler and it works all of the time. For more information about J.R. Davidsons Case Study House #1 and many more case studies you can head on over to: http://www.artsandarchitecture.com For up to date Google SketchUp news head over to: http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/

In LayOut, I create a two-page doc and insert the CSH#1 model on each page. Using the SketchUp Model dialog box, I assign one scene to each of the two viewports (one on each page).

sketchuv plUgin reViewby rich obrien

Clicking the Mapping tool immediately allows you to spin(roll) your view to align your geometry if needed. To map your model you need to have geometry selected then simple right click and choose from 6 mapping methods. Planar, Spherical and Cylindrical are view based mapping methods meaning that it is dependent on your camera position. With planar, similar to the native projection method, you can get notable distortion of textures that are at sharp angles to your camera.

It does not seem like a year since Dale Martens released Artisan which coincided with the release of our very first CatchUp. Now 12 months later Dale is back and has given SketchUcation an exclusive look at his latest tool SketchUV. If you are familiiar with Dales current plugins then you know that they are always pushing the boundaries of SketchUp, whether BoolTools or Artisan, Dale has a knack of creating just what users want. Well, he has gone and done it again with SketchUV. One of the top requests for SketchUp 9 is as UV the mapping current

at best with external applications needed for proper results. So, does SketchUV bridge the gap to proper mapping in SketchUp? SketchUV does make mapping much more intuitive and very easy to do for any user level and comes with some very clever tools that can knock hours off otherwise fiddly texturing. The toolbar itself is limited to just 2 buttons, a mapping tool and a path select tool, but within the mapping tool there are a plethora of options. The mapping options come in 2 flavours, view based and UV based and these are initiated via a context menu click.

Both Spherical and Cylindrical methods work as expected with the best results coming from aligning your camera to front view and parallel projection. Even though this method of mapping isnt anything new it is a dramatic improvement over the current system and the added camera spin function makes aligning

always pushing the boundaries of SketchUp

a breeze. Once you apply a texture (SketchUV will apply a default map if theres none applied) you can perform further tweaks using either the VCB or the arrow keys. Textures can be rotated or scaled by holding either CTRL/Shift and pressing the arrow keys. This is also view based so the further you are from geometry the larger the transformation. The VCB commands are standard affair with numerical values rotating textures and values ending with U or V with scale. For example entering *2u in the VCB will scale your texture by 2 in the U direction. This gives total control over the mapping that is very simple to use.

improvements

method of mapping textures on organic shapes are rudimentary

The Box Map method is a very simple method that places a texture based on a box enclosing the selected shape. This is best used on objects that do not have many rounded edges and are roughly box shaped. A quick and dirty method of mapping but saves alot of time. The Tube Map method is great for pipes that the geometry is all quads. Or any tubular shape where the geometry is quad based. In a matter of clicks you can texture what would normally be a painstaking task. The final mapping method is Quad Face Map which will map your texture within each quad face. If your already familiar with Thomthoms QuadFace Tools then you can appreciate how useful this is within SketchUp especially when your geometry is quad based. Further options with the SketchUV Mapping Tool are Triangulate and Load/Save UVs. The Triangulate

Personally, SketchUVs strongest feature is the export/import UVs option. This is already available via UV Tools Pro Beta 0.1 but has gotten a complete overhaul for SketchUV. Now rather than export an .obj file to your appdata folder you can now assign a location where to export the UVs to. This allows you to map your model in an external application and then import back into SketchUp. When you add the scaling and rotating features to the mix you now have a complete mapping solution within SketchUp. Dales approach to SketchUV is catered to all users levels. Meaning if you have very little mapping experience you can easily texture with the view based methods. If you are some what proficient with SketchUp the Tube and Quad mapping methods will give you great results. Or if you regularly UV map externally then this process has been more streamlined. Overall the mapping element of

function helps when export to external render applications that do not play nice with SketchUp geometry but an added feature is that it automatically remaps UVs after triangulating to remove distorted perspective textures. The Load/Save UV feature comes into play when you want to swap out textures. Just select the area you want to change, save the UVs and the paint your new texture and load the UVs so the texture now obeys the mapping.

SketchUV is fairly robust. But theres that second tool that that we have not mentioned as yet. The Path Select Tool is designed to breakdown the mapping even further. Even as a standalone tool this is an excellent addition to SketchUp. It is basically a form of loop select whereby you pick a start point and it will run along a continuous edge and update live on screen to show the path it is taking.

SketchUV caters for all users levels

The advantage of this is that you can now mark seams in your geometry and apply one of the mapping methods to it. This increases the mapping process by a factor of ten compared with previous solutions. The mapping on this soldier took minutes to achieve using no external application. I was really surprised at how effective view based mapping can be when you have the ability adjust the camera and textures with such precision. Overall SketchUV is the best solution available to map in SketchUp. It does require you to invest some time but the rewards are worth it and at only $15 it is a bit of a bargain. You can purchase SketchUV here and make sure check out the video links below to see a thorough overview of all the features in action.

Full overview of SketchUV

increase the mapping process by a factor of 10!

http://youtu.be/0V6nn3hqG8w

box Mapping Tutorialhttp://youtu.be/clGnQdahseM

SketchUV to roadkillhttp://youtu.be/nXS6_WdXZ3s

Mapping a roadhttp://youtu.be/leoM55ilbok

Exporting to other appshttp://youtu.be/baQwxL6mgMQ

belkin liveactionby mike lUcey

Yet again, this months gadget is iPhone based! This time it is the Belkin LiveAction iPhone Camera Remote Release, a very simple to use remote shutter release for the iPhone. What I initially liked about the little device was that I did not have to read a boring instruction manual, just view some self explanatory images. After opening the box promptly delivered by PhotoJoJo (more about the box further on), I had it up and running in a few minutes. The device consists of a sturdy hand remote with an on/off button, a Bluetooth pair pin button, a camera and a video button. The package even came with the two AAA batteries required to run the device.

The second part of the device is a slide out iPhone swivel prop. The swivel prop is spring clamped

to the iPhone and the user can then position the iPhone at the desired angle by adjusting the plastic arm, ready to take shots from a distance of 30 feet / 9.14m away.

A minor drawback is that the device can currently only be used with the LiveAction app. Ideally Belkin will in time provide a universal update to the LiveAction app and I feel this will probably happen soon as it would broaden its appeal to iPhone photographers with other camera apps. The bottom line for me is that I have been waiting for a remote release for my iPhone / GoPano / tripod set up for interior panoramas which eliminates the need The software end of the package is again simple to set up with a quick download of the free Belkin LiveAction app from the App Store. The app is quite robust and easy-to-use. A useful feature is the ability to take a still shot while shooting a video Images can be sent to FaceBook, Emailed or Saved to Camera Roll for further editing and not to forget canceled if required. to use a shutter time-delay and quickly vacate the room. Price wise the RRP of the Remote Release at Belkin is a little on the high side at $49.99. I ordered from a small but very efficient company called Photojojo in

the USA. They sell for $40 plus $2.50 USA shipping and $12 International First Class shipping. Oh, and the box it came in! There was a Warning - This shipment may contain a Stow-way-assaurus! notice and the box did indeed contain a dino!

Photorealistic Rendering Plugin

IRender nXt

plUgin tip : roUndcornersby rich obrienIf you use plugins then it is highly likely you have heard of, and used, Fredos epic collection of tools. But what most people do not seem to do these days is read the associated user manual that Fredo packages with his plugins. There are lots of hidden treasures staring you in face while you use RoundCorners that make a straight forward tool even more powerful.

IRender nXt is an easy to learn, yet powerful plugin for creating photorealistic renderings from right inside Google SketchUp. Create stunning images of your designs with this amazingly flexible, surprisingly affordable, plugin. If you can draw it in SketchUp, you can render it with iRender nXt.

While some are fairly obvious options others are often overlooked or simply forgotten about. For instance, Pivot Direction can orientate the rounding using the arrow keys. Here Ive selected 3 edges meeting at a corner. By tapping the arrow keys I can cycle between each edge to align the rounding. This only works when rounding and not for SharpCorners or BevelEdges. Still pretty nifty feature though.

Next little treasure is the Strict Offset and some experimentation

with this will yield interesting results. With Strict Offset you can force the rounding to remain constant with the specified distance. In these examples you can see the yellow area has Strict Offset on and the rounding is contant with the chosen distance whereas the red area shows how turning Strict Offset off yields a rounding a much larger rounding. Super truly Rounding incredible is feature a of

RoundCorner but at times you may need to achieve a rounding that has a harsher appearance. Here you can see the difference between Super Rounding on (yellow) and off (red). Also you can dictate what RoundCorner does to the rounded edges using the Border Edges/Inner Edges options. Edges can be hard, soft, smooth and hidden. Here you can see how I set the yellow rounding border edges to hard and the inner edges to soft and smooth. Whereas in the second example I reversed the settings. Finally, once you have RoundCorners parameters set to your liking dont forget you can use the Save Current to keep the settings. If you have not already tried RoundCorner you can download it here. Or if you do have RoundCorner but need to locate the User Manual try Tools > Fredo Collection > RoundCorner > Documentation... You can download RoundCorner here and make sure to read the installation instructions carefully.

The latest gallery submissions on SketchUcation.comsolarisEach month we want to show what our members are achieving using SketchUp. if something takes your fancy just click the image to be brought to that topic.Maxwell guru Jason Maranto revisits a 3DWarehouse model.

SHOWCASE

c o M M U n i T y

cragsideJohn Higgins has way too much time on his talented hands.

Usmc x-1 theseUsAmazing what Khai can fit in his Tardis.

bye biAlejandes incredibly detailed model of a Bi-Plane is jawdropping.

loft remakeAllanxs unique style is always a winner and very pleasing to the eye.

in they goDale Martens showcases his latest Indigo exterior work.

kitchen markedJason Christiansen with Twilight and overlays gets great results.

bellissimoMassimo takes a Glenn Murcutt design and gives it some Thea love.

corners cUtRCossolis exterior and interior shots using vRay are exquisite.

tUrned pedestalDave Richards precision modeling and styling is feast for the eyes.

barcelonaFrederico revisits an old classic and injects something new.

moUntain chaletFreds still got the Twilight touch after a long sabbatical.

books.sketchUcation.com learn with the experts at your pace

There doesnt seem to be anything by the way of an instruction manual but I did find the instructional

'maybe there is no need for a manual?'

by mike lUcey

videos quite informative. Again, as I said the process is straightforward so maybe there is no need for manuals. For my test I took a selection of photos of a Coke can, 16 in total, 8 low and 8 high level. I uploaded these and the processing time

Im no fan of Autodesk software, particularly AutoCad, but like many I have had to use it, simply because its an industry standard. I have always found Autodesk software to be quite cumbersome and bloated but 123D Catch, part of the 123D suit, might just change my mind. Firstly, it is free, a word not normally associated with Autodesk products, so this was a good start. 123D Catchs slogan is Take and make and from what I have learned so far this is what it does, take picture and make 3D models. The process is fairly straightforward, just shoot a selection of pics of stationary people, places or things with a digital camera. Then upload the images for model generation in the cloud and once generated the user can save as a movie, .obj or .dwg. There are some inbuilt sharing options, YouTube and Email. I am still playing around with ways to get the model into SketchUp using the .obj files. I think with a little more work, the results should be okay.

Currently the app is for Win folks but it looks like they will be facilitating iPad users in the future. They have a Notify Me! section on the site for the future versions. They propose an Online version also which should be interesting but alas, no mention of an OSX version. The system requirements are as follows, MS Win 7 (32 / 64 bit) Intel Core 2 Duo 1 GB Ram 1GB free disk space OpenGL compatible video car with 256MB+ memory Internet connection MS run-time libraries

was quite short, about 5 minutes or so. The resulting 3D textured model was not perfect by any means but in fairness I think my photos where not consistently lit. I think with more carefully taken photos, possibly under daylight conditions the resulting 3D

output might be quite good. One use I am looking forward to trying on Catch is stationary person model production but to get the subject to stay still while the pictures are being taken might be a tall order! http://www.123dapp.com/

Login / account set up is required before the app can be downloaded. I installed the app on my MacBook Pro under Boot Camp and found the set up quite straightforward. Actually the app interface and navigation tools are very user friendly and intuitive, maybe Autodesk and mending their ways!

"I'm no fan of Autodesk software, particularly AutoCad, but...."

The Select Tool has 4 selection methods Rectangle,

Circle,

Polygon

Freehand

This makes any selection type possible. Selected vertices are marked red and if you context click you can change whether to ignore back faces which is a great feature that eliminates unneccessary Thomas Thomassen a.k.a Thomthom is part of SketchUp plugin folklore with a vast collection ruby wonders. But it is his one and only commercial plugin, Vertex Tools, that stands out in the crowd. are immediately familiar with each function. selections. The selection method has a soft select feature that is controlled through the VCB. Vertices within your desired distance from the selected vertices are affected by tools that modify the geometry. The further away from the selection, the less they are affected. This is illustrated by colour-coding the vertices from Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue. The advantage of soft selection really comes into play when you use any of the transformation tools with either linear(left) or cosine(right) falloff.

One thing of note about Vertex Tools is that it is highly customisable via preferences and context menu.

To understand what it does you will need to understand what a vertex is. In SketchUp we are used to them being called endpoints and manipulating these is done with the move tool. In other 3D modeling packages, like Blender or C4D, manipulating vertices is an essential part of the modeling process. Whereas in SketchUp you are not able to select and adjust vertices without impacting edges and faces. In short, it can be a very tedious task.

When you install Vertex Tools it places a single icon on the toolbar. The true toolset is activated once you click the toolbar button. This secondary toolbar is where the bulk of options reside and standard SketchUp icons are utilised for the select, move, rotate and scale tools so you

CONSTRUCTION MODELING - Step 8There are three general types of animations that can be quickly recorded from a piecebased construction model. The first is a simple sequence massing model using Layer visibility and Scenes to control phasing and transitions.1. Finalize the massing models for each phase 2. Organize the sequence alphanumerically in the Outliner 3. Add Layers to match the piece names in the Outliner 4. Assign pieces to Layers in the Entity dialog box 5. Deselect Layer visibility to begin Scene sequence 6. Set visibilities, camera, and preferences and add Scenes 7. Adjust the animation with Scene updates and settings

1Push massing surfaces against face of framing View Menu sets Face Style to see transparency

Edit the massing surfaces with the Push Pull tool

Each of the transformation tools(move, scale and rotate) work exactly like the native SketchUp tools. So inferencing, modifier keys etc., are all as you would expect but with the added power of the soft selection and falloff options.

Vertex Tools is one of those plugins that can be applied in so many fields. What is really exciting is that its author Thomthom is currenly reworking Vertex Tools to add even more features like speed improvements and a nifty gizmo that is amazing! At $20 it is great value for money and anything that speeds up your workflow will pay for itself. To see a full overview of the tools and grab your copy click here.Pieces selected in the Outliner are visible in model SketchUp Version 6 or earlier onion skins hidden pieces

Set color Opacity to transparent to see framing

2Label each piece of the animation in sequence Alphanumeric names self-sort in the Outliner

Away from the transformation tools you have some further toys to play with. The first is Insert Vertex ,which speaks for itself, and secondly Make Planar, which levels and smooths areas to a best fitting plane as in the image above.

U-TUBE

Videos from our books Simple sequence animation Adjusting massing models Scene set-up and updates

Click to add a Layer for each piece to control

3 4Click the header to sort the layer names Select a piece in the Outliner to assign layers

Use the pull-down menu to select Layers

SketchUcation roundup we need your helpIf you have a few minutes to spare and want to help shape SketchUcation then fill out this survey. We really value your opinion and getting to know you better helps shape SketchUcation.

5Layer names match the alphanumeric piece namesSketchUp Version 6 is free and faster for animations and basic modeling

Hold down Shift-key and select top layer Then click last layer to select the range

6

Add and name Scenes to match layers

Position camera angle in model*

To show our appreciation, we will be sending 3 SketchUcation Baseball Caps to the three members we considerWith layers selected click to deselect Visible

have contributed the most useful ideas / comments / suggestions.

Add, delete, update, and reorder with Scene controls

As always, you can send your feedback to richob@sketchucation.comTransition times slow video

Adjust Scenes and update Prefences*Change the Camera position slightly for each Scene to slow transitions and animate changes

7Delay pauses the video at each Scene