Building Carleton’s Allen Memorial Hospital after weeks of not using SketchUp was really frustrating and hard. Although Sketch Up 3-D image modeling can be fun if you know what you’re doing, it can also be draining.
A couple of weeks ago, I tried building my childhood home using the traditional, free form way of modeling on SketchUp. This time, I used the photo matching technique . My experience with it was little less infuriating in that it is a bit simpler and precise. To do the Photo Matching technique, I inserted a 2D image and aligned parallel lines. Once I did that, I used the drawing and push/pull tool to achieve majority of the modeling.
Compared to free form of modeling on sketchup, photo matching is distinct in that it is a lot more accurate. As you can see below, it is a lot more easier with this method to make sure my measurements were accurate and precise.
Despite it’s simplicity and precision, this form of modeling was a bit frustrating. Especially starting it. It took me more than ten tries to finally get the roofing and parts of my building right. Getting the dimensions right was also challenging, an issue I encountered when building my childhood house. Especially because Allen House has a design that is not too simple, getting the right angles and roofing was a little more difficult than I anticipated.
When I wrote about my experience building my child home, I remember reiterating that YOUTUBE IS LIFE. Even though weeks have passed since that blog, I still strongly believe that YouTube is life. YouTube is one of the most helpful online resources out there. I was able to just look up any videos I wanted to get my model to look like Allen House. Here on figure 2, I am looking at a YouTube video on photo matching while also building my model. It’s really helpful.
Despite the frustration, I was really excited when I got something right, for example, When building the roof, I was extremely proud that I finally got it right by using the lifting tool. Once I got the hang of it, I found Sketch Up to be therapeutic and relaxing. Because I was so into it and no longer freaking out, I was able to deeply concentrated. Surprisingly, it was self-soothing.
Although my building is unfinished and not a complete resemblance of Allen Memorial Hospital yet, I am confident that I will get there after a few tries. Despite that this form of building is simpler and more precise, I honestly prefer the free form modeling. I find it to be easier. It could also be because it was the first method I used and is in my comfort zone.
Looks great, Selam! I agree that modeling alongside the helpful advice of YouTube tutorials is a great way to learn quickly and avoid lots of blood, sweat and tears. I can’t wait to see what your finished model looks like.
Great start! Yeah, I definitely can relate to a lot of what you said, although I don’t know if I’d go as far as saying that “YouTube is life.” The issues with the roofs? Same exact thing for me. I also felt some of the same “relaxation” you mentioned once I really got into it. I went a surprisingly short hour-long stretch before checking my watch and realizing how long it had been! Your model is looking really good–I’m really impressed by the detail on the windows on the little mini-roof at the front! Keep it up!
I know what you mean about youtube! The sketchup site had a ton of tutorials but when I was working on particular curves in the roof, I couldn’t find much to help. Through youtube I learned that there are a few different tools that you can use as plug-ins to Sketchup that can model things better than the basic tools. I think it’s interesting that you prefer free-form, since it can be a lot of hard work to get things the way you want them to look.