SU--Starting from an imported drawing

[SketchUp Guru]

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.

 

[Neil]

Great stuff - many thanks, SketchupMeister!

cheers,
Neil

 

[SketchUp Guru]

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.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

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

 

[Philly]

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

 

[SketchUp Guru]

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

 

[tim]

Thats really useful - thanks Dave

T

 

[garywayne]

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.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

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.