# SU--Starting from an imported drawing



## SketchUp Guru (22 Nov 2006)

Here's a new, short tutorial. This shows how you can start with a line drawing in the form of a JPG file and create a 3D model. For this demo I snooped around with Google and found this stand for a bathroom sink.







There was an accompanying drawing.






I saved the drawing and then imported it into SU.











I dragged it out without worry about the size.











Then I started drawing in a few construction lines. I put one at the bottom of the legs and one at the top edge of the piece.






I drew a line between the construction lines--you can see it to the right of the JPG.






Then I measured the line with the Tape Measure tool. Be sure to click on each end of the line with the Tape Measure tool when you do this.






Then I typed the desired length for that line. In this case 35 1/4". After hitting Enter a message box pops up asking if I want to resize the model.






Click Yes. This rescales the entire model. The line I drew is no longer needed so I delete it.






From then on it is a simple matter of laying out construction lines for know dimensions, measuring unknown dimensions, tracing, drawing, etc. To turn the model into a 3D object.











Here I've rotated the model and the JPG to vertical. I could have done this at any time. Normally I would delete the JPG once I had gotten what I need from it. It adds a great deal to the file and can bog down the video card so once I don't need it any longer I send it away.






Please note: for this demo I didn't bother with using what I consider proper drawing methods. I didn't make this drawing with the intent of developing working drawings from it. I only wanted to show the import portion of the process. It wouldn't take much work to convert it though.


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## Neil (22 Nov 2006)

Great stuff - many thanks, SketchupMeister!  

cheers,
Neil


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## SketchUp Guru (22 Nov 2006)

Here's an example of a furniture suite that I drew based on Thomas Moser's Windward collection. I have yet to finish the suite but it started out the same way with imported JPGs. In this case however the JPG drawings didin't have the dimensions so I worked from the dimensions given on the website.

You could do this same sort of thing with an image scanned from a catalog or book and a few basic dimensions.


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## SketchUp Guru (22 Nov 2006)

My pleasure, Neil. Glad it looks useful to you.


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## Philly (22 Nov 2006)

Very useful-thanks Dave!
I do appreciate seeing you use SU so well :wink: 
Philly


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## SketchUp Guru (22 Nov 2006)

Thank you Philly. I'm glad this looks like a useful tip.


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## tim (22 Nov 2006)

Thats really useful - thanks Dave

T


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## garywayne (23 Nov 2006)

Nice one Dave.

That's the sort of thing that comes in very handy indeed. Good tutorial.

A while ago I was looking for software where one could take a picture and convert it to a drawing with dimensions. The only ones I could find where expensive, and needed a lot of memory.


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## SketchUp Guru (23 Nov 2006)

Tim and Gary, thank you.

Gary, the challenge with taking photographs and working with them is that they are usually shot with some sort of perspective showing. I think it would be almost easier to work out the scale from an enlarged image, a straighedge and dividers. Fine Woodworking magazine had an article earlier this year that showed how to do it. It involved placing the photo on a large piece of paper so you could extend lines from edges to their vanishing points. Knowing a few basic dimensions would make it possible to determine others or at least make an educated guess.

Fortunately there are a lot of 2D line drawings out there if you search for them and there's likely to be something that would work or that you could start from to get to a finished project.


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