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Sketchup Renderings


blueradon

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So I downloaded Tamias' GR Press Building concept and thought I'd give it a different facade as a way of familiarising myself with the program without having to build something from the ground up.. to have a basis of something to start with.

I can't even make a single wall. I tried to turn the indentations for each floor into a solid wall, and the thing keeps going in at weird angles that I don't want. So I then tried to extend the roof over the entrance to make a canopy-like thing.. and I can't get it to do that, either. It keeps making a wacky wall running down the sidewalk. Sketchup won't do anything the way I want it to, and it's really frustrating.

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It is a really tricky program at times because they have all the different "axis" lines so like i.e. if you drew a line and it has blue dots then it's going to point straight up.

It took me a few weeks to get the hang of it. If you want something to really help you out with sketchup - do the tutorials in the program - HUGE help if you ask me.

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It is a really tricky program at times because they have all the different "axis" lines so like i.e. if you drew a line and it has blue dots then it's going to point straight up.

It took me a few weeks to get the hang of it. If you want something to really help you out with sketchup - do the tutorials in the program - HUGE help if you ask me.

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Best Buy my way.

Best Buy is a reputable store that has served much of my tech needs for many years. But the appearance of their stores leaves much to be desired esp. that distinctive but very tacky blue swoosh framing the doors. So instead of griping about it I decided to package Best Buy into an exterior design that would be great for a flagship store. The building is a little over 60,000 sq. ft. and can easily be made a stand alone store (Alpine Ave. location) or included in a power strip (Rivertown Crossings).

2097289348_bcfba07cd8_o.jpg

2097289154_a633a8602a_o.jpg

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Windows are pretty easy as they come in any shape, size, and position esp. on office and commercial buildings. So I'll design my own. However, I try not to make glass panes no bigger than 4' X 8', tops. For homes I usually stick with the stock windows provided in Sketchup's components library and center the upper sash of double hung windows to eye level (5' 6").

As for doors, I'll modify those in the components library to suit my needs no matter the building type.

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I really dislike modeling in sketchup. Microstation is my platform of choice. Anyway, my prof wanted to see what my project would look like in "white model" form and I know that sketchup is good at that. Below is a test comparison between Microstation (top) and Sketchup (bottom).

2107312160_e44023d01b_o.jpg

All of the modeling was done in Microstation. To create the Microstation image I had to create a separate material library and reassign things, wait a few minutes while the image renderred (its a particle trace), create a separate line drawing and then overlay it in Photoshop. To create the Sketchup image I just had to open the file, change a couple display settings, and export the JPG.

I'm still partial to the Microstation version, but comments are welcome.

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I agree the microstation file seems to have rendered allot better than the sketchup version. However Sketchup pro is able to export to various CAD and 3-D file formats for further development.

I've used more powerful 3-D and CAD programs before and I find that the user interface is quite difficult to master. Sketchup's UI is very simple but the program does have limitation. I just wish their was a 3-D app with the power of Maya or Cinema 4-D, or in your case a good CAD program with the ease of use of Sketchup. That to me would be a killer app,

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Not to bash your renderings or Microstation... but I just like the 'sketchy' look from Sketchup more than the Microstation/Photoshop hybrid. (The project looks sweet, btw :) )

I'm partial to Revit myself for 3D Building modeling.. but AutoDesk forces you to buy/bootleg Viz to be able to get renderings on the same level as Microstation

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  • 4 months later...

Okay let's try posting this again..

I still couldn't get things to look quite right in sketchup. Things would be out of proportion, look a little wacky and blocky, etc. but after reading a few books from the library: "The Old Way of Seeing," "Sacred Architecture," and one other I cannot remember, things just seem to click now.

I remember a while back somebody came up with the idea of using the parking lot between the Ledyard Building and the McKay tower as an open-air marketplace. I've been working on a sketchup model for the idea, and this is what I have so far but with much work to be made yet:

http://picasaweb.google.com/anthony.sltr/D...498872566411154

http://picasaweb.google.com/anthony.sltr/D...498786667065218

http://picasaweb.google.com/anthony.sltr/D...498692177784690

By the way, does anybody know how I can hide those text labels? I only wanted them to show for the site plan.

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OK, this will age me. Back in the late 70's or early 80's there plans to make that lot into a Festival Marketplace. I believe it was either Steenwyck & Associates (???), DeWinter (???) or maybe Daverman (???)that had renderings of this. It would be interesting to see if someone could find them.

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Okay let's try posting this again..

I still couldn't get things to look quite right in sketchup. Things would be out of proportion, look a little wacky and blocky, etc. but after reading a few books from the library: "The Old Way of Seeing," "Sacred Architecture," and one other I cannot remember, things just seem to click now.

I remember a while back somebody came up with the idea of using the parking lot between the Ledyard Building and the McKay tower as an open-air marketplace. I've been working on a sketchup model for the idea, and this is what I have so far but with much work to be made yet:

By the way, does anybody know how I can hide those text labels? I only wanted them to show for the site plan.

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You know what would be sort of fun to do - if we all made copies of our sketchup file and put them on a download page like mediafire so everyone can have access to the model and maybe do their own versions or tweak something that the original person made.

Here's the file for the lot above 196 along the river

http://www.mediafire.com/?x3dyinygj2v

And West River Dr/Jupiter

http://www.mediafire.com/?tmggnonxxgm

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I'm hoping to get started on the main Pearl St. entrance soon. Since there is no nearby park on that side I want the Pearl St. entrance to be a bit more open with a small plaza and fountain to draw people in, but still small enough frontage to allow for continuity of the urban canyon there. I think I may go a bit more roman on that side, but who knows where the magical circles and golden sections will take me.

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  • 3 months later...

Here's something I've been working on the past few days. Certainly not completed yet. It's a concept of creating a 2-storey base around the Comerica Bank building to give Monroe more retail options. (And a fun doodle of a pie-in-the-sky building across the street.)

(Class starts in a month! Ooooh excited/nervous!)

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Here's something I've been working on the past few days. Certainly not completed yet. It's a concept of creating a 2-storey base around the Comerica Bank building to give Monroe more retail options. (And a fun doodle of a pie-in-the-sky building across the street.)

(Class starts in a month! Ooooh excited/nervous!)

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Haha, yup. I wanted to really create the biggest windowless building in the world. Brutalism will have its day! Haha.. in reality, I just don't know the dimensions of the window areas and decided not to bother. What I have there represents it well enough for a casual project.

And yeah, Mirror on Monroe isn't too bad at all. Has rather unique vantages all around.

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  • 2 months later...

I've been working on a design for a home a lot lately, and it's coming along very nicely (although I made the rooms too big.) Anyhow, I went back to the Campau Mall Vision I posted above and touched up what I had completed of it. When I started it, I was still trying to learn the basic functions and ended up creating some wonky angles that make working with the project very difficult. There are places I want to place windows but cannot because Sketchup will not create the holes for them. So, I touched it up enough to portray the general ideas I had for it and am presenting it here. It's come a long way since the photos above.

This is a view looking north towards the project from Monroe. On the actual liner for the Comerica building I went with a more modern look, flipping the materials and colours of the Founders Trust building. The cornice is made of black stone, yet ties in with the Comerica Bank tower by implementing red marble circles (not modeled) on rectangular white outcroppings from the cornice. To implement the classical element of a cornice representing a natural tree canopy and give the building a more natural look, I added hanging flower baskets along the cornice, considering masonic floral reliefs would be rather out of place on a more modern structure.

CampauSquareVision002.jpg

Here is a view from above 50 Monroe. The building replacing the Campau Square parking lot is executed in a more classic style. Primary materials are brick and various masonic materials. (Somebody needs to teach me the names of all these materials I see used.) Floral ornamentation (not modeled) decorates the vertical rectangular beams between windows, arches above and below windows, and horizontal cornices between each floor. Like the Ledyard and Flannagan's building, the ornamentation is unique to each floor.

CampauSquareVision003.jpg

I added a light court to help provide natural air and circulation to the south building and sunlight to both the south building and the Comerica Bank tower. The light court is tiered at each floor to provide every window with natural plants and grasses immediately outside to naturalise the view of otherwise more brick and windows. The walls in the light court are lined with aluminum to help reflect light deep into the lower areas of the light court.

CampauSquareVision004.jpg

A view of one of the retail bays of the more modern liner building shows the hanging basket cornice, pedestrian friendliness, and street frontage.

CampauSquareVision005.jpg

Once again, the early site plan model.

CampauSquareVisionBirdEye.jpg

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