Wouldn't THIS Make a Great Model?

Gas station in Melrose, Louisiana in 1940. See the original high definition image (and thousands of other high definition photographs) HERE on my favorite historic photo blog, www.shorpy.com.

Photos like these would be a great starting point for those interested in a "historic buildings layer" on Google Earth-- or for people who simply want to model cool old places.

I wonder what's there now?

Cincinnati Inclined Railroad

One of my favorite blogs, www.shorpy.com, has published a beautiful, high-resolution photograph an old, inclined railroad in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA).

This is one of those non-SketchUp instances where I just wanted to share something interesting and relevant in a different sense.

In the comments section below the photo (at the photo blog) you will see a Google Maps view of the same location-- unfortunately the railroad is gone, replaced in part by a large highway interchange.

A Leap Back 986 Years

Have a look at this post by blogger and 3D modeler Aerilius. It's a final look at a series of reconstructions he has done of the Limburg monastery.

The post includes roll-over photos of the ruins that "reveal" the reconstructed building (done in SketchUp and then beautifully rendered, and stitched seamlessly into the photos).

New Extensive Model in Barranco, Lima, Peru

SketchUp Islander Auquicu of Lima, Peru, has shared with us his latest (and very extensive) model of Barranco, a district in Lima, Peru. Auquicu writes

After 5 months I’ve made a huge model. Actually, are 7 models that cover 7 blocks... I had to take more than 800 pictures to be able to reproduce with detail all buildings included.

Auquicu goes on to explain

Once a town located south of Lima and accessed by train or tram, [Barranco] is now its bohemian district, full of old houses where there are restaurants, pubs and art galleries. Among its most prominent buildings, we find the City Park (1898), The Municipal Library (1922) and the Holy Cross Church (built by architect Humberto Guerra between 1944 and 1963).

Auquicu worked alone and completed the project because of his strong feeling for the architecture in Barranco. He explains

This is an independent project. No person or organization has supported or sponsored its creation, and is intended to call attention of institutions and authorities to preserve the monumental architecture of the district and that is in some cases very neglected and damaged.

He adds that although the models of each city block are very large and detailed, "modeling techniques were used to keep all models' sizes as small as possible, all under 1 mb, some even less than 500 kb."

Good job, Auquicu! Be sure to watch the Google Earth tour of the site (very relaxing with music included) at the top of the post. Click HERE to see the actual models.

3D History Layer

I have heard the idea tossed around of a "3D historic buildings" layer for Google Earth.

Imagine being able to travel back in time in 3D and really get a sense of what a place was like years ago. If it were ever developed, a great source of historic imagery for modelers would be the Shorpy blog which I have mentioned several times before.

High-Def Historic Architecture Photos

SketchUp Islanders interested in history, photography, and architectural images might enjoy the Shorpy blog.

In the 1927 image above, notice details like the multiple layers of sign paint on the wall and goods in the shop window. Shorpy has thousands of high definition images like this.

Maybe some could be used to recreate lost places in SketchUp!

"Hang In There, Baby" With Nick Oberg Part 1

Blog viewer and Super Modeler Nick Oberg shares with us a 3-part look at the evolution of some of his models. He calls the series "Hang In There Baby" why? Because it can be frustrating when you've only done your first model (third, tenth, etc.) and other people's models look so great, and it all seems beyond your own capabilities. So, "hang in there" and keep in mind everyone starts somewhere before they attain greatness. Now I'll hand it off to Nick:

Hello, on the 3D Warehouse I am known as 'SittingDuck', but elsewhere I am known as "Nick". I make models in Antwerp, Belgium and when I started modeling I really sucked at it. Thanks to a lot of practice and some very helpful tips from friends and other modelers, I like to imagine that my ability has improved over the last 2 years. Here [is an example] of my models that demonstrate improvement:

Major improvements in each case were as follows:

• Correcting height of the model using information from internet.
• Fixed lighting by taking photos on sunny days at correct time.
• Removed all 'paintbucket' textures.
• Used Google Earth imagery for roof textures.
• Added finer and more accurate detail.
• Took more photos of model to make sure no face was missed out.
• Moved model onto model footprint.

Thanks, Nick. Viewers stay tuned for more "before and after" looks at Nick's models in the future. 

Jojo Was A Man Who Thought He Was A Photographer

Time for a few basic SketchUp photography tips.

Having problems with your SketchUp building photo shoots? We can work it out. Here is a list of some fab tricks that make life easier.

1) Get back. If you are on a long and winding road, (or any other road) get back as far as possible from your subject, and zoom in if you have a zoom lens. This eliminates much of the "fisheye" distortion that makes your textures look bow-legged like this:
( ) rather than this: | |

2) All you need is... proper exposure. Avoid backlighting by manually exposing for a lower part of the building, then shooting the higher parts against the sky. Backlighting is what happens when the bright sky causes your building to look too dark in the photo. You need to override the camera's automatic tendency to expose for that bright sky (see your camera manual).

3) Cry for a shadow? Some prefer to shoot on bright, cloudy days to avoid hard shadows. Others desire those shadows and will rapidly move around the building(s) on sunny days to capture this dazzling sunlight in a consistent pattern on all surfaces for an ultra-realistic appearance.

I sometimes use Google Street View (easy to do using Picasa for screen capturing). In Street View the shadows are sometimes hard and the sunlight is crisp but I think it looks good when several adjacent buildings are modeled from the same light source (which is totally possible with Street View).

In other cases I have painted textures "from scratch" when photos were not good enough. There are many approaches, and in my life I've loved them all. Just "don't make it bad" is my motto.


Advanced tip: If you have Photoshop CS2, look in this menu: Image> Adjustments> Match Color. This may help you to match colors in photos. Ta fe read'n this! (Thanks for reading this)

Texturing A Model Using Street View Images

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EDIT: Newer versions of SketchUp now integrate Street View Texturing which saves a lot of steps!

This model is the first I ever tried using Google Street View for textures. It was actually pretty easy to do. used free Google Picasa photo editing software as an image capture tool. All you do is have Street View open in either Google Maps or Google Earth, and press the "PrtScn" key on your keyboard (I'm using a PC, maybe Macs are different) to capture the screen image.

No SketchUp for YOU!

I like to see visuals along with writing. So, in the spirit of visuals, here is one of my latest models. This was created using "photo textures" from Google Street View.

One advantage of using Street View photos is that you are able to model buildings anywhere that Street View is available (in this case, Burbank, California, USA). During my earlier days on SketchUp Island, I had to actually visit the site I was modeling and take photos myself. Depending on the situation, sometimes I would get some funny looks.