Modeling and Texturing from Reference Images in SketchUp
Learn to create and texture a SketchUp model from reference images in this quick tutorial!
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In this video, I’m going to talk a little bit about modeling from a reference image or a reference plan. This can be especially useful when you’re trying to recreate plans and layouts from old drawings, sketches, or other images.
This is a great way for an architect to bring conceptual versions of buildings into their models as well.
In this case, I’m going bring in an old plan that I found on the internet by importing it as an image, by going up to the file, import menu option.
Place the image by clicking once to set a base point, then a second time to finalize placement.
Once you’ve set your image, you’re going to want to set the proper scale. You can do this by using the tape measure tool. Use the tool to measure the distance between two set points, then type in a new distance and hit the enter key to re-size your model.
Once you’ve got your model scaled, you can do a couple different things.
First of all, if you want to, you can just model on top of your image. Anything you draw will now be to scale, since you resized your image to be to scale.
You can use this to just set a floor plan and extrude it to 3D if you want, or you can break the image up into a couple different groups. Once you do this, you can use the images to model the exterior of the building.
One of the other benefits to doing this this way is that you can actually use the images as textures in your model. This can be beneficial for helping you place things like windows and textures on your image, or you can also use it as your final, complete model.
About Justin Geis
Hi, I'm Justin Geis, and I'm the founder of The SketchUp Essentials. I started using SketchUp as part of my work as a general contractor in 2008. I quickly realized the power of the software and started using it for personal projects. I started The SketchUp Essentials as a place to share easy to follow SketchUp tutorials and tips to help everyone harness the power of 3D Modeling in their lives. When not working with SketchUp, I enjoy playing soccer and spending time with my wife and our two dogs.
