# Google 3D models



## Brian G Turner (Jun 24, 2013)

So I somehow stumbled across this:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

I'm tempted by the idea of setting up a basic mock-up of a fictional mediaeval city using models on the site, but it's not quite clear how to do this.

Where do I begin?


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## The Judge (Jun 24, 2013)

If you find out, let me know...

I tried to do a 3D modelling-drawing thingummy for my castle.  After hours of effort and a lot of tearing hair out, I decided it was easier to go the Blue Peter cornflake packet/squeezy washing up bottle route.


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## thaddeus6th (Jun 24, 2013)

That looks very intriguing. However, the link for 3D software led to a dead end, for me.

I'm not the most tech-savvy man in the world, it must be said. I can just about use Paint.net [different to the standard Paint programme that PCs come with] and Photoscape to fiddle with layering and basic effects [for maps and banners], but that's about it.


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## jastius (Jun 24, 2013)

brian, why don't you ask our resident techie guru lenny? he knows everything about this stuff...

as for me when i need to 3D a building i use three dimension house builder architect. its installed right onto my computer (on that weird thing called an individual user program.. ).
got it on sale for four dollars at the business store and i use it to map buildings, design dollhouses and dungeons and to make really big carved layer cakes.


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## Glitch (Jun 24, 2013)

If you haven't already, you should download and install sketchup. It will allow you to edit and place multiple objects together. A word of warning - merging many high detailed models can be hard to work with.

http://www.sketchup.com/download

I use sketchup for 3d printing. It's a powerful program once you get into it. Have a look at some learning videos

http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos


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## TheTomG (Jun 24, 2013)

Don't know if it would work for a whole city, certainly you could assemble sections out of the content to keep the model count in any given section low. 

You might also look to DAZ Studio, which is free, for cheap content (there may be a way to move models from sketchup to DAZ, not sure). DAZ is focused on letting non-3D folks make 3D nice and easy, by posing and positioning existing models so no need to build your own - but generally the content costs money.

TurboSquid is a great repository of models, and they have freebies on there too, should be able to get those into DAZ, I did a quick search of medieval and turned up quite a few free items, including full buildings:
http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Index.cfm?keyword=medieval&x=-924&y=-23

OBJ, 3DS, FBX and LWO or generally supported in any 3D app (MAX however, requires 3D Studio MAX to load up, even a converter application will need you to have MAX installed to convert it to any other format).

You can also look to Blender, another free 3D app, but it's interface is a bit weird and wonderful so may take some practice, even for just positioning things.

Hope this helps!

Adding linkies:


http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-4-pro/

http://www.blender.org/


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## Lenny (Jun 25, 2013)

I guess I've been summoned.

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Glitch said:


> If you haven't already, you should download and install sketchup. It will allow you to edit and place multiple objects together. A word of warning - merging many high detailed models can be hard to work with.
> 
> http://www.sketchup.com/download
> 
> ...



^ This, essentially.

I'm still rocking the last Google version of Sketchup, so I don't know how Trimble have changed it, if at all, but it's fantastically easy to use, and you can churn out a very basic town (layout, cuboids for buildings so you have sizes and placement, etc) in next to no time - it's as simple as drawing a 2D rectangle (or a custom shape using the line tool) where you want the building, and using the extrude tool to make it a 3D object. What's great is that you're not tied to arbitrary computer measurements, and can define lengths and depth/height in centimetres, inches, metres, feet, and so on.

If you want to do something more detailed, Sketchup is still perfect. 3D models are simply collections of 2D shapes (polygons) arranged in 3D space, and Sketchup, at its most basic, is a tool for drawing 2D shapes in 3D space. I've spent days building complex models that I have a tough time drawing, and after trying a lot of different tools (Sketchup, Blender, Daz, 3DSMax, Maya, Lightwave), the one that let me build what I wanted without having to go through enough "Getting Started" tutorials to earn a degree was *Sketchup*.

I'm constantly amazed by how powerful Sketchup is. What's great is that it's even available for free (Sketchup Make)._ EDIT: Of course, to mirror what Glitch said, Sketchup may be powerful but very high detail models can pose a problem. But we're talking stupidly big models (hundreds of thousands of polygons), so light users are unlikely to face such problems._

The only thing you'll have real difficulty doing in Sketchup, are complex curved surfaces (spheres are fine, as are half-spheres, and curves that follow a line. If you want a surface that isn't a uniform curve, the easiest method I've found is to manually draw curved lines that outline the shape, and create the polygons by hand), which is where a tool like *Blender* excels.

And if you want to create a scene, or a character model, *Daz* is what you should use (it's been a while, but I think you can create the 3D objects for the scene in a program like Sketchup, and import them into Daz).

As an interesting aside, we do have a thread in _Technology_ where people have been showing off 3D models they've made: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/46907-show-us-your-3d-models.html

EDIT2: Something I feel I should add, on the subject of mocking up a medieval town - in Google Maps, Google used Sketchup to create basic box models over which they overlaid a photograph of the building they had modelled. You should be able to do that yourself in Sketchup (that is, assuming you don't care about everything being flat).

EDIT3: Oh!! Sketchup also has a pretty cool "view" feature, that allows you to walk through your model with your keyboard - the camera is positioned at eye-level, and your models are scaled to the same size (so if you created a six foot tall box, the top of it would be just above the camera POV). I love designing a city, or a boat, or a spaceship, clicking on the walkthrough view, and strolling around my creation.

EDIT5: And a few more threads about 3D modelling that we have:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/46123-3d-modelling-characters-races-and-stuff.html
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/43538-3d-modelling-google-sketchup.html
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/532678-3d-but-i-just-want-to-look.html

The second has images of more models that people on the forums have made. I've quickly skimmed them, and all the information in the three threads looks relevant still.

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EDIT4: I should probably answer the question, too.

You begin by downloading Sketchup, obviously. First thing you'll probably want to do is create a filled rectangle (rather than the four lines for the outline) onto which you will place any buildings you download from the 3D Warehouse - this is simply so that everything is on the same 2D plane. Of course, if you want things at different height, you can add more rectangles (maybe even draw them on the original and extrude them up or down. To extrude to a certain height, click the extrude icon, click the plane you want to extrude, then type how much you want to extrude by, including units. So for six and a half feet above the horizontal plane, you would type: 6' 6", or 6 1/2'. To extrude below the horizontal plane, just add a minus: -6' 6").

Then import your downloaded model, and use the Move tool (four arrows in a + shape) to move the model around. You'll quickly figure out how to snap it to the rectangle you drew for the base.

EDIT6: It turns out that once upon a time I made a post about some of the basics, if anyone is interested:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/1058805-post23.html


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## TheTomG (Jun 25, 2013)

One thing on the Blender / DAZ free options, they will allow more options in rendering, for bringing imagery to life from your creations, than SketchUp would. Horses for courses, all depends on what you are looking for.


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## Brian G Turner (Jun 25, 2013)

Cheers, Lenny, much appreciated.


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## Warren_Paul (Jun 26, 2013)

I thought Google dropped support for Sketchup...


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## Lenny (Jun 26, 2013)

As part of the deal with Trimble, who acquired Sketchup in May 2012, Google entered into a collaborative effort to run and further develop Sketchup's 3D Warehouse. So although it's not their product any more, Google are still partly responsible for the resources available for it.

http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/04/29/google-to-sell-sketchup-to-trimble/


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## Glitch (Jul 1, 2013)

Another avenue to consider are games. I believe Minecraft is popular in that regard, as it's as simple as large lego blocks in 3D.


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## alchemist (Jul 1, 2013)

I mastered the very basics of sketchup to make a 3d model of my starship's rotating ring. After that, it got too complicated for me, and the time I'd invest in mastering all of its functions wasn't worth what I would gain.

Attached is a 2d version (laid flat -- I couldn't get the ring to "stand up" and I couldn't make it "hollow"). It's not all I wanted it to be but it helped me navigate a difficult-to-understand (and hence explain) structure.


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## C Of K (Jul 18, 2013)

Glitch said:


> Another avenue to consider are games. I believe Minecraft is popular in that regard, as it's as simple as large lego blocks in 3D.



I've always thought minecraft was incredible, though I've never used it. People have done some impressive work with that game. My favorite just to look at is that huge Enterprise project that got pretty famous.






I've dabbled a little in the Unreal Development Kit or the UDK a few years back. I want to get back into it if I can find the time. I used Mass Effect 2 assets for this.


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## Erin99 (Jul 22, 2013)

The Judge said:


> If you find out, let me know...
> 
> I tried to do a 3D modelling-drawing thingummy for my castle.  After hours of effort and a lot of tearing hair out, I decided it was easier to go the Blue Peter cornflake packet/squeezy washing up bottle route.



For any who want to design a single castle or house, or a largish collection of houses, there's a great piece of software I've been using for years. The bigger your plans, the better your PC should be, though. But you can get decent results with a mid-spec computer at least, and excellent results from most computers if you don't care about seeing your designs in the 3D walkabout mode.

Also, the software lets you create fully rendered models with shading and lighting (or night-time lighting!) and it has the ability to let you walk around your creations in 3D, as if you're walking around your house. 

TurboFloorPlan 3D Home & Landscape Interior Design Software (You can buy the "deluxe" version here.)

You can get a landscape AND building designer package too, and others in the range, but the "Home and Interior" one will have enough to create buildings: Avanquest - Interior Design Software

I've read a review which says the software is hard to understand without reading/following the tutorials, but I've never had a problem with it. Just select the wall option, then design your house wall-up! Then drag and drop windows, internal fixtures, etc. Once all walls are touching, you'll get an auto-roof. You can change materials, colours, textures, etc., of everything.

There's even a house wizard, which creates a basic one for you if you follow the steps. That's the easy way.


Here are some pics of what the program can render: turbo floorplan - Google Search


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