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DYNASCAPE SOFTWARE INC.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
A DS|Sketch 3D User Guide – Volume 2
This guide will take you through the steps of creating a 3D model of a landscape in Google® SketchUp® using DS|Sketch3D tools, components and materials. This guide is mainly relevant for DS|Design and AutoCAD
users although anyone who creates their base design right in Google SketchUp may benefit from this guide as well.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Contents
Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Basic SketchUp Tools You Need to Know ..................................................................................................... 3
Step 1: Download your Plugins, Components and Material Textures .......................................................... 4
Plugins: .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Components: ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Material Textures .................................................................................................................................. 4
Step 2: Bring your CAD Drawing into SketchUp ............................................................................................ 4
Choose your Starting Point ....................................................................................................................... 4
From DynaSCAPE: ................................................................................................................................. 4
From AutoCAD or other: ....................................................................................................................... 4
From scratch: ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Step 3: Clean Up the Imported CAD Drawing ............................................................................................... 5
Step 4: Model the House (or Building) and Roof .......................................................................................... 7
Download the Roof Tool: ...................................................................................................................... 7
Step 5: Model the Terrain ........................................................................................................................... 13
Step 6: Apply Textures ................................................................................................................................ 14
Step 7: Replace 2D Symbols with 3D Models ............................................................................................. 15
Navigation Tips .................................................................................................................................... 19
Presentation Options .............................................................................................................................. 20
1. Show the model on your computer: ........................................................................................... 20
2. Export scenes as images: ............................................................................................................ 20
3. Export an animation: ................................................................................................................... 20
4. Create Realistic renderings: ........................................................................................................ 20
Improving Your Model’s Appearance: .................................................................................................... 21
Step 8: Create Scenes.................................................................................................................................. 23
Exporting Scenes as Images ................................................................................................................ 24
Exporting Scenes as an Animation ...................................................................................................... 24
Step 9: Render your Model for Presentation .............................................................................................. 24
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Summary
This guide is intended to give a basic guideline to follow in order to create an average 3D model using
Google® SketchUp® (hereafter call SketchUp) as the modeling tool and DS|Sketch3D. The following basic
steps will be explained:
Step 1. Download the plugins, components and material textures you need from the
DS|Sketch3D Download Site
Step 2. Bring your CAD drawing into SketchUp
Step 3. Clean up the CAD drawing
Step 4. Model the house (or building) and roof
Step 5. Model the terrain
Step 6. Apply material textures
Step 7. Replacing 2D Symbols with 3D Models
Step 8. Create Scenes
Step 9. Render your Model for Presentation
Basic SketchUp Tools You Need to Know
In order to follow the process explained in this guide you need to become familiar with the following
tools:
Icon Name Description
Pan tool Navigation tool for panning around the model
Orbit tool Navigation tool to rotate your view
Select tool Tool for selecting objects in the model
Eraser Tool for removing objects in the model
Move tool Tool for moving or copying objects
Push/Pull Tool for pushing or pulling faces
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 1: Download your Plugins, Components and Material Textures
Before creating 3D models in Google SketchUp make sure you have the proper tools, 3D libraries and
textures. You can download these from the DS|Sketch3D Download Website:
https://sketch3d.dynascape.com
Plugins:
If you are using a CAD drawing (DynaSCAPE or AutoCAD) as the base for your 3D model, you will save
yourself a considerable amount of time if you download the CAD Cleanup Scripts plugin from the
Plugins page. For help in downloading and installing plugins go the FAQ page of the DS|Sketch3D
website.
Components:
Your best source for landscape components is the DS|Sketch3D Download Website, where you will find
100’s of models of plants, rocks, ponds, pools etc. Download the models you need. For help in
downloading and installing components go the FAQ page of the DS|Sketch3D website.
Material Textures
The DS|Sketch3D Download Website has a number of landscape-specific material texture libraries that
you can download and use in your SketchUp model. . For help in downloading and installing material
textures go the FAQ page of the DS|Sketch3D website.
Step 2: Bring your CAD Drawing into SketchUp
Choose your Starting Point
From DynaSCAPE:
If you are using the latest version of DS|Design (5.5 or later) you can export directly to SketchUp format.
The file created can be opened with SketchUp without any special import function.
From AutoCAD or other:
If you are using AutoCAD or another CAD program that can convert to a .dwg, you can import your CAD
drawing into SketchUp. However, importing .dwg files is only available with the Pro version of SketchUp.
From scratch:
You can also begin your drawing from scratch right in SketchUp. You won’t need to perform any cleanup
so skip to the 3rd step: Model the House (or Building) and Roof
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 3: Clean Up the Imported CAD Drawing
If your drawing was converted to SketchUp from DS|Design or imported as an AutoCAD file, you will
need to do some cleanup before you can begin modeling. All files that are converted or imported from
CAD are changed in a way that prevents SketchUp from creating faces with the CAD geometry. Faces are
needed in order to create a 3D object and to apply a material texture to.
Follow these steps to clean up the drawing:
1. Imported AutoCAD drawing usually come in as a group which will need to be exploded. The
DynaSCAPE CAD Cleanup plugin will not touch geometry inside groups or components.
2. Begin by running the DynaSCAPE CAD Cleanup plugin you downloaded from the DS|Sketch3D
Download Website. It will be located in Google SketchUp under the Plugins menu. Select
DynaSCAPE Tools and then Run CAD Cleanup (All).
Don’t have this plugin? If you have not downloaded this plugin, go to
https://sketch3d.dynascape.com/ , click on the Plugins menu in the left side panel and choose
the CAD Cleanup Scripts plugin to download.
Can’t see the Plugins menu? If you can’t see the plugins menu you will need to activate it. Go
the DS|Sketch3D FAQ page and browse to the section called How to enable the Plugins menu.
3. The cleanup script will run automatically, scanning the drawing and repairing any problems that
may exist and then turn every closed area that it can into faces. For large drawings this may take
a few minutes and it may appear that SketchUp is not responding – be patient! When the
cleanup is complete a dialogue box will appear showing the results. Click OK to continue.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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4. Check your drawing to see if there still are any faces that were not created. Try running the
Cleanup script again or you may need to manually close open areas by adding lines where gaps
where too large for the script to fix. Faces are identified by the dot hatch that appears when you
select them.
Before Cleanup After Cleanup
Tip: When using the DS|Design export to SketchUp format, the default style has a purple Back color and
a yellow Selected color. To change this go to the Window menu, select Styles and pick one of the default
styles. The style called Default Style is a good one to use.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 4: Model the House (or Building) and Roof
Modeling the house should be and fast and efficient since it is not what you are trying to sell with your
landscape model. Using the proper techniques and tools you should be able to do this quickly.
Download the Roof Tool:
Before you start, make sure you have the roof making tool in your plugins list. If you don’t, go to the
Ruby Depot website and download the roof plugin called Roof-v2-1.
Follow these steps to build a simple roof:
1. Apply a material texture to the house face that best represents the exterior walls of your house.
By applying a texture to house surface first SketchUp will automatically apply the texture to all
the walls when you pull it into a 3D shape.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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2. Next, use the Push/Pull tool to pull the house surface up into a 3D shape. Watch the Value
Control Box at the bottom right corner of the screen to help you pull to the desired height or
just enter the value on your keyboard manually and hit [Enter].
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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3. Before using the Roof tool, erase all extra lines in the house wall that are not needed. The roof
tool may not work if you leave them.
4. Highlight the roof with the Select tool and then go to the Plugins menu and select Roof… There
are a number of roof styles to choose from. The first style, Hipped Roof, is a common style to
use. For more information click on the Help option on the roof menu to open the Roof Help
page.
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5. When selected, a modifier will appear allowing you to set some parameters. The defaults will
work for many roofs.
6. Click OK. The roof will be created for you. Refer to Roof Help if you are having problems.
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7. The created roof comes in as a group. To apply a texture, double-click on the roof to open the
group for editing. Once opened you can apply a roof shingle texture to the roof surfaces to
complete the roof.
8. Next find the door and window components. All the DS|Sketch3D doors and windows are set to
automatically glue to any surface and cut the opening in the wall, making it easy to place and
move them. If you downloaded them from the DS|Sketch3D Download Website, they should be
in your components folder. Go to your Window menu and select Components to open the
Components Browser.
9. Click on the Navigation button and choose Component (see image below).
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Your door and window components should be found here if you followed the instruction on the
DS|Sketch3D FAQ page. Choose the components that you need and place them on the house. If
your house has a front porch, place the front door in the approximate location. Once the porch
is created the door can easily be adjusted. The DS|Sketch3D doors consist of 2 separate
components: a frame and door. There are a number of frame and door styles and combinations
to choose from.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 5: Model the Terrain
Modeling the terrain is generally a more advance process but, as outlined in Step 5, simple grade
changes like steps and front porches can easily be accomplished with the Push/Pull tool. To create a
porch and step(s) follow these steps:
1. Apply textures to the porch and step(s) first.
2. Then, using the Push/Pull tool, pull the porch and step(s) up to the appropriate height.
3. Adjust the door height as needed.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 6: Apply Textures
Once the terrain has been modeled it is time to apply textures to the rest of the surfaces in the model.
If you have created shapes for your hedges, apply one of the DS|Sketch3D hedge textures. Apply hedge
textures (with trunks) first and then pull the hedge(s) to the desired height. To finish, apply the matching
hedge texture (without trunks) to the top of the hedge(s).
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 7: Replace 2D Symbols with 3D Models
If you are developing your model from a CAD drawing that has symbols (DynaSCAPE library ‘figures’ or
AutoCAD ‘blocks’), this step is the most fun and can transform your model quickly.
If you do not have these symbols on your drawing you will have to insert the 3D plant components
manually.
If you grouped your figures in your CAD program you will have to insert the 3D plant components
manually as well. Keep this in mind when preparing your CAD drawing.
To replace your 2D symbols with 3D models follow these steps:
1. Zoom in to your model to a plant symbol and, using your Select tool, left-click on it to highlight it
and then right-click.
2. In the menu that appears choose Reload.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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3. Navigate to the folders containing your Components (if you followed the instructions in the
DS|Sketch3D website FAQ page, this should be C:\Program Files [(x86)]\Google\Google
SketchUp 8\Components). Select the component you wish to replace the symbol with and click
Open.
The 2D symbol will now be replaced with the 3D (or 2D) component.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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4. Continue this process with the remaining symbols in the model. Note that when you select a
symbol to replace, SketchUp will replace all the symbols that are the same. It is important to
remember, when creating your CAD drawing, that you use unique symbols for each plant type.
5. You can use the same process to replace other symbols as well such as rocks and furniture.
Symbols such as pools and ponds however will lose their ability to ‘cut’ the surface if brought in
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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this way – these should be brought in through the Components browser. You can always add
more components to your model as you see fit.
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Navigation Tips
If you find navigation round your model getting slow while working you can alleviate this a couple ways.
1. Keep shadows off: The calculation used to create face shadows is processor-intensive and will
slow down performance with large models. Its best to keep shadows off, especially when
navigating.
2. Change your view style to Wire Frame: If your Styles are not visible, go to the View menu,
select Toolbars and choose Styles.
In Wire Frame style you can navigate smoothly. You can switch to Shaded or Shaded with
Textures, whenever you need to see the faces of you model and your components.
3. Switch your trees to 2D: All 3D trees from DS|Sketch3D 3D have a 2D image of the tree
(‘billboard’) embedded into the component on a different layer. Open the Layers list (Window >
Layers) and turn the ‘Trees 3D’ layer off and the ‘Trees Billboard’ layer off. 3D trees have
hundreds of faces that SketchUp has to try to display. The 2D billboard is made up of one face
and will make it easier to navigate.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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4. Use 2D trees instead of 3D: The DS|Sketch3D website offers a large library of 2D components as
well. If your model requires lots of trees, use 2D trees, especially for existing or background
trees. This will reduce the number of faces in the model.
Presentation Options When your model is complete it is time to show your clients. This can be accomplished several
ways:
1. Show the model on your computer:
Bring a laptop to your client or have them come to your office and show the model right in
SketchUp.
2. Export scenes as images:
You can export snapshots from various angles of your model as an image file. These can be
printed, emailed or they can be added as raster images in your 2D CAD drawing.
3. Export an animation:
SketchUp allows you to create a movie (.avi) of your model. This feature will make use of your
created scenes to fly around your model like an animation.
4. Create Realistic renderings:
Using one of the many rendering tools available for SketchUp you can create high quality images
that can look very realistic.
Note: All of these options require scenes to be set up. Scenes are basically views of your model
from various angles. Scenes are very easy to create in SketchUp.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Improving Your Model’s Appearance: Many of the DS|Sketch3D plant models are made with texture images for leaves and flowers. You may
notice a white glow around edges of the leaves. This is because of the way SketchUp handles textures
with transparencies when the transparency quality is set to faster. If you change the quality setting to
Medium, the white glow around the edge disappears. 2D models with transparencies will have the same
issue.
To change the transparency setting for your model, go to the Window menu and select Styles. Click on
the Edit tab and then the Styles icon.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Make sure Enable Transparency is checked and change the Transparency quality to Medium.
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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Step 8: Create Scenes
Before creating any scenes it is best to plan ahead, especially if you are creating an animation. Pick a
logical starting point and plan your steps so you can move around the model from scene to scene
smoothly. Follow these steps to create a scene:
1. Navigate to your starting point for your first scene. If you find SketchUp lagging as you move
around, switch to Wire Frame style for smoother navigation. When the desired angle is
achieved, click on the View menu and select Animation. Select Add Scene to create a scene.
A tab will appear on the top left side of the work space.
2. Navigate to the next angle and add another scene. You can also use the keyboard shortcut
[Alt+S]. Create as many scenes as you wish.
3. Once you are finished you can play an animation that takes you through each of your scenes in
their order. To play an animation go to View > Animation and select Play. If you need to adjust a
scene, navigate to where you wish to the scene to be adjusted to and then right-click on the
scene and choose Update.
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Exporting Scenes as Images
To export your scenes as images go to the File menu and select Export > 2D Graphic… In the Export 2D
Graphic panel that appears, you can choose the image type (.jpg, .png etc.) and if you click on the
Options… button you can also change the image size and other options.
If your computer can handle it you can try to turn shadows on before exporting as an image. This will
give the scene more depth.
Exporting Scenes as an Animation
To export your scenes as an animation (.avi video) go to the File menu and select Export > Animation…
In the Export Animation panel that appears you can change your output to images of each scene (.jpgs)
and if you click on the Options… button you can change the size of the video among other settings.
Step 9: Render your Model for Presentation
Using a rendering tool is the best way to create images of your model to present to your client.
Rendering tools enhance the lighting and shadows on the models faces and textures, creating a much
more realistic looking image in the end than what SketchUp can produce by itself, with a much higher
resolution. See the results below – the one on the right is an export from SketchUp while the one on the
right is with a rendering tool:
Exported 2D Image from SketchUp The same scene created by a rendering tool
A Basic Guide to Modeling Landscapes in Google® SketchUp®
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There are a number of rendering tools available. Most have default settings that make them easy to use
for beginners. They all have advanced settings and features that can really enhance your model when
you take the time to learn them.
Some are free, others are for purchase but usually have a trial available. The following are some of the
rendering tools available:
Kerkythea Echo – http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php
A free rendering software that may be good enough for some and is good place to get
introduced.
‘Kerkythea is a standalone renderer, using physically accurate materials and lights, aiming for
the best quality rendering in the most efficient timeframe.’
Shaderlight - http://www.artvps.com/
Sells for $199 but has a free version you can try to get started.
‘Simple to learn, easy to use, Shaderlight lets you see your image develop as you work. For
rendering experts & 3D novices, it's never been easier to transform your SketchUp model in to a
photorealistic render.’
SUPodium – http://www.suplugins.com/
Sells for $198 and also has a free version you can try.
‘You can make TRUE photo-realistic rendering of your Google SketchUp models without the
frustration of learning a complex program. Make an impression without the pain. SU Podium V2
brings high quality raytracing and global illumination with ease and at a low cost. SU Podium V2
is a plugin for Google SketchUp 7 and 8, Pro or Free, Windows or Mac.’