It is easy to get caught up building complex Google SketchUp models and lose sight of strategic “exporting” decisions that can affect the outcome of your visualization project. In the urban planning project highlighted below, I was tasked to create an aerial perspective of the mixed-use development. Without knowing any better, I exported the scene using the default resolution setting from SketchUp.
What a mistake! The linework was much too fat and muddy, limiting my ability to color, create a sense of distance and control the drawing detail. I was very dissatisfied with the final aerial perspective and later learned that I needed to simply increase the resolution of the exported image.
To avoid making the same exporting mistake I made, make sure to export your scene at a very high image size. For this blog post, I reopened my original model and exported it at the default width of 1389 pixels and then at 5,000 pixels. Those two examples are shown below.
Original Model Exported Scene. I made the mistake of exporting this complex model at the default low resolution setting in SketchUp. The detail became very muddy and fuzzy.
Final Colored Perspective. I plotted the B&W image on heavy weight paper and colored it with Chartpak AD markers, some colored pencils and additional entourage. The drawing looked acceptable from a distance but appeared very muddy when viewed up close.
Muddy Detail. The low resolution exported scene caused heavy lines around all of the model components. This is evident in the heavy outlines of the houses.
Low Resolution Export. This image represents the scene exported at the default width of 1389 pixels. Compare this with the high resolution image below.
Change Your Export Image Size. In the exporting options, I changed the image width from its default size to 5,000 pixels. Depending on your computer, you may have to adjust the number.
High Resolution Export. This image was exported at a width of 5,000 pixels and is much sharper and detailed compared with the low resolution export shown above.
If you would like to learn more about making SketchUp models and integrating them in the drawing process, look for other related articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition.
I must thank you very much sir for saving our life with this tip..I didnt think that it was possible ... THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR
Posted by: InterArchi | 10/07/2010 at 02:29 PM