Border Tower 31

[Larb]

Sapiento's Alien Ruin and the use of Sketchup gave me the idea to do this. Sadly I wasn't able to rep it!

I started this tonight and I thought I'd try and go through the entire process - especially the part that involves Sketchup - in the hope that it may be useful to other people out there. Sketchup is a wonderful, helpful, easy-to-use, and FREE piece of the software that can be a great aid on projects like this.

So first a little background - a short story I have been writing is set in my main conworld and is focused around a frontier tower. The frontier isn't so dangerous that it requires a huge amount of manpower or a really long wall - more just a long chain of towers and a few larger forts in the interior that respond to any threat. The towers communicate their status via semaphore flags. Each tower also has a spyglass and can see the flags of the next tower along. So I decided I wanted to draw the tower (it is similar to the old Imperial Border Tower I did ages ago). The tower also has a chicken pen and an outside toilet.

So now to draw it! Well the map part is easy to do but I want to include an illustration - it can add a great deal to a map and is easier than you might think.

This is where I often like to use Sketchup. One of the more painful parts when it comes to drawing things is getting the perspective and the shadows right. You can agonize for ages over this and still not get it right and it will drive you mad.

Basically you can block in the basic shapes in sketchup. In the example below I got a bit carried away but a tall narrow box with a spire-topped octagon atop it would have worked just as well. You will be changing things slightly during the sketch anyway. For a basic house, a cube with a simple gabled roof would be fine. Essentially you are really just looking for the basic structural lines of your building.

Secondly using sketchup allows you to choose your perspective - you can simply pan the camera until you get a view of the structure you like and then just screenshot it before pasting it into your program of choice.

Thirdly Sketchup allows you to include the shadows - and you can adjust the shadows using two sliders to get them just so. I find shadows can be particularly difficult to get right (I didn't use Sketchup to do my recent Forlorn Tower challenge entry and the shadows are something I'm very dissatisfied with).

My next step will be to screenshot the tower below once I decide on a view I like before importing it into SAI (or photoshop) and using it as the basis for my line drawing which I'll post next.

[ChickPea]

Well, this is very interesting to me as I haven't tried Sketchup yet. I really need to download it and give it a bash. Are you going to expand on how you created your shape above, or is it fairly obvious what to do once you have the program open? (You have to bear in mind that I've never even looked at this software before, so I'm a complete and utter noob!)

I've mostly messed about with the isometric grid in Inkscape when I want a 3D(ish) object, but it can get complicated quickly if you want anything other than a relatively simple shape, so I'm curious to know more about Sketchup, and it feels like everyone's using it!

[Ilanthar]

Interesting subject and already good looking, Larb!

[Larb]

Well, this is very interesting to me as I haven't tried Sketchup yet. I really need to download it and give it a bash. Are you going to expand on how you created your shape above, or is it fairly obvious what to do once you have the program open? (You have to bear in mind that I've never even looked at this software before, so I'm a complete and utter noob!)

I've mostly messed about with the isometric grid in Inkscape when I want a 3D(ish) object, but it can get complicated quickly if you want anything other than a relatively simple shape, so I'm curious to know more about Sketchup, and it feels like everyone's using it!

It is indeed fairly obvious and easy to do! I'll post a simpler example of a building shape in my next update. But basically to draw say... a cube/box in Sketchup, you take the rectangle tool and draw a rectangle or square. Then you select the Push/pull tool and just click and drag it into a cube. It's that easy.

It can get a bit more complicated but it's really easy to use generally - I got the result above in half hour and I'm not particularly proficient with it as I just use it for creating perspectives.

[snodsy]

Well, this is very interesting to me as I haven't tried Sketchup yet. I really need to download it and give it a bash. Are you going to expand on how you created your shape above, or is it fairly obvious what to do once you have the program open? (You have to bear in mind that I've never even looked at this software before, so I'm a complete and utter noob!)

I've mostly messed about with the isometric grid in Inkscape when I want a 3D(ish) object, but it can get complicated quickly if you want anything other than a relatively simple shape, so I'm curious to know more about Sketchup, and it feels like everyone's using it!

ChickPea, sketchup as Larb stated is very easy to use, one thing though, once you create an object - GROUP it or make a COMPONENT, if you add a something to this cube, it will stick to it - you'll see what I mean if you try it. So every item you make GROUP, it's a wonderful tool and looks like more members here are using it. I've been playing with Topographic lines and contours lately. Give it a go.

[Expendable]

ChickPea, sketchup as Larb stated is very easy to use, one thing though, once you create an object - GROUP it or make a COMPONENT, if you add a something to this cube, it will stick to it - you'll see what I mean if you try it. So every item you make GROUP, it's a wonderful tool and looks like more members here are using it. I've been playing with Topographic lines and contours lately. Give it a go.

Like Snodsy said, when you create an part for your tower, consider making it a component. This allows you to position and reposition the component without affecting the rest of your structure, as well as copying it to reuse again and again. It also makes it easier to hide it while working on other parts. I then group components on the same layer together.

Your tower looks great! I'm looking forward to hear how you convert this into line art.

[ChickPea]

Thanks for the info, everyone. I think I might give Sketchup a try this weekend, as there's something I'm working on that needs an isometric building. I'll be following this thread with interest, and if anyone wants to write up an Idiot's Guide to Sketchup, I'll enjoy reading that!

[snodsy]

Like Snodsy said, when you create an part for your tower, consider making it a component. This allows you to position and reposition the component without affecting the rest of your structure, as well as copying it to reuse again and again. It also makes it easier to hide it while working on other parts. I then group components on the same layer together.

Your tower looks great! I'm looking forward to hear how you convert this into line art.

Note about Component and Groups. Component are for items that will be used as multiples. Columns, chairs, railings, etc. If you change one they all change (of course you can override this by exploding the item), Groups are more individual items that don't need to be duped or will be used as stand alone elements.

[ChickPea]

Components sound similar to Inkscape clones, and obviously vector programs have grouping too.

It's good to know that many of the basic concepts in Sketchup are broadly familiar.

[Larb]

Thanks for the info, everyone. I think I might give Sketchup a try this weekend, as there's something I'm working on that needs an isometric building. I'll be following this thread with interest, and if anyone wants to write up an Idiot's Guide to Sketchup, I'll enjoy reading that!

Another handy thing sketchup has is that you can set the camera to Perspective mode or Parallel Projection mode depending on how you want it to look.