SketchUp to Piranesi

[Julia]

I´m starting working with SketchUp and after use Piranesi to render, but when I open the file in Piranesi all lines are so heavy it doesn´t look like how I see people here using drawings to render from SketchUp. Can someone give me some tip?
Thanks, Julia

[Susan Sorger]

Hi Julia,

There are a couple of ways you can go. One is more complicated than the other. The easiest is to export from SketchUp at a very high resolution. Like 3000- to 5000 pixels wide if you have enough memory to handle it.
I did something else for a lot of my images. I exported from SketchUp without ticking the "allow edges" option in the export options. then I used the edge "action" in Piranesi to define the edges in colors that I selected. the edges are much more delicate in Piranesi.

I actually went a stepr further. I like to paint on a clean white backgound but I like SketchUp to preserve the shadows for me. SketchUP will not allow an export in hidden line mode, shadows on with no edges. It just is not an export option because there is an assumption you won't be able to make out your forms. But because of the material channel it would still be easy to identify and pick out unique areas to paint. No matter, SketchUp just doesn't allow it. So I fool SketchUp. I change the RGB value of every material that I use to 255,255,255. The SKetchUp thinks I am exporting all these different colored areas so then it allows me to export with edges off.
They after I paint what I want, I use Piranesi to draw in the edges where I want them.

[Julia]

Thanks a lot Susan. I´m going to try it!!
By the way, I have seen a lot of your work, in Piranesi forum and also in SketchUp...congratulations!!
Julia

[Thiansc]

Hello, anyone can tell me what file should i export from Sketch up to touch up with Piranesi? i am a newbie!
Or anyone can gimme a detail tutorial how sketch up work with Piranesi?
Thx

[BomberAIA]

Export a 2D file to PNG format.

[davidsbo]

Hi Julia,

There are a couple of ways you can go. One is more complicated than the other. The easiest is to export from SketchUp at a very high resolution. Like 3000- to 5000 pixels wide if you have enough memory to handle it.
I did something else for a lot of my images. I exported from SketchUp without ticking the "allow edges" option in the export options. then I used the edge "action" in Piranesi to define the edges in colors that I selected. the edges are much more delicate in Piranesi.

I actually went a stepr further. I like to paint on a clean white backgound but I like SketchUp to preserve the shadows for me. SketchUP will not allow an export in hidden line mode, shadows on with no edges. It just is not an export option because there is an assumption you won't be able to make out your forms. But because of the material channel it would still be easy to identify and pick out unique areas to paint. No matter, SketchUp just doesn't allow it. So I fool SketchUp. I change the RGB value of every material that I use to 255,255,255. The SKetchUp thinks I am exporting all these different colored areas so then it allows me to export with edges off.
They after I paint what I want, I use Piranesi to draw in the edges where I want them.

THANKS FOR YOUR IDEA, SUSAN, BUT CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE EDGE "ACTION"? I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. THANKS AGAIN, I AM A NEWBIE TOO!

[chaa]

Hi Julia,
…SketchUP will not allow an export in hidden line mode, shadows on with no edges. ….

Easy !
1) Choose not-hidden and force line-default color to white

2) export in black and white WITH shadows (no lines will appear 'cause there white)

if you need the colors…

3) export colors with hidden line and no shadows mode

4) set the shadows as a multiply-layer (in photoshop for example) above the colored layer

Chaa :)

[Susan Sorger]

Chaa, I don't think you mean "not hidden line" because then I would have all the colors, which is what I don't want. I want a clean white canvas. So I assume you mean choose "hidden line" and fool sketchUp by changing the edge colors to white.

It can't be done either. If you go to hidden line mode and change the edges to white, SketchUp automatically changes the background color to black. You cannot change it. If you change the edges back to black the background immediately goes to white again.. I tried to fool sketchup and make the white edges an RGB of 254, 254, 254, but it wouldn't be fooled. Still changed the background to black. Good idea though, just can't be done.

[BomberAIA]

Susan:
I did what you said to do in your post about setting the png file to 3000-5000 pixels. But know the perspective is not allowing the cutouts to scale in 3d. What did I do wrong? Which do you change in Sketchup, the size or resolution?

[Susan Sorger]

The resolution should have no effect whatsoever on the scaling of the cutouts. If you have very low resolution cutouts in relation to youri image, they may be blurry, but the size will be correct relative to the model so long as you have the cutout sizes defined as a logical real world size and so long as your Piranesi settings (Edit>Preferences: Use Model Unit or Use another Measure, FIle>Properties 1 model unit is equal to 1 of whatever your measure is ) has been set up to match the scale of incoming epix. It is something you shouldn't have to change once you set it up unless you have something that is created in an odd scale.
Check your Preferences setting and make sure that your model units make sense.

[Ognian]

Hey everyone,

My name is Oggie. I started working with Piranesi recently and i was hoping i could find solution to some of the problems i'm encountering when working with Piranesi. I'm using a Sketch Up 5.0 which doesn't have a monochrome mode. Is there any way for me to export a Sketch Up 5.0 model and manage to keep the materials appear in grey scale, so i can use material lock in Piranesi and thus save time when rendering mullions for example? Do i need to explode all of the groups i've created in Sketch Up in order for Piranesi's material lock to recognize the different materials that make up a single group like a window for example: a group of glass and mullions?

Thanks :)