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Tutorial:How to make your model accurate to the real building.

jtanabodee

jtanabodee

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thailand
Hi,
I have been asked by many modelers in my country that how I know the height of the building. The width and length are not the problem because we can measure it via google earth. The height is roughly estimated that each floor has 3 meters height. But for the other buildings with no stories how to estimate that. I have made a tutorial to guide how to do the model in 3dsmax or gmax accurate enough to the real thing. Please take a look and discuss. It is very short tutorial.
Hope this tutorial help newbie modelers.
Regards,
 

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Nice tutorial!

Never thought about to use this technique for the buildings, but it's definetly good. I always estimate the height by using some elements around, like planes, cars or people, but this will be more accurated.

Regards,
Gabriel.


Enviado desde mi iPad con Tapatalk
 
Really great idea! However, I never have seen a decent side-on photos for a building at any of the airports I have made.
 
Hi Shuan,
I think if you looking for the photo of the building you will never get the template you want to make.
But if you looking at this picture below, it is from Airliner.net (I think, can't remember exactly). This kind of photo is available anywhere. The photographer wanted to take a picture of that airplane.



But you can see at the background, that's my Cargo I want to make a model. I get this picture to 3dsmax and make it as a template of this building.



Then re sized it to fit the width of the building on satellite photo.



Build the model according to the template and you will see how fit it is to the photo.



So don't look for the buildings photo but look for the photo that they have taken for an aircraft. These picture is zoomed in from quite a distance, so perspective distortion is less.
Try it, you will love it. Any template you made can be use for many buildings in the scene. Just resize the template plane to fit the area of the building on satellite photos.
 
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As an adjunct to the above (or possibly a prequel) to get your ground template:

I hate measuring buildings in Google Earth, and switching from view to view and typing the numbers into the "Create Box" dialog, but I don't like modelling in Sketchup.
Here is an alternative way using Sketchup (any Version) to make the ground template like the one you see in Tic's guide. I don't use Sketchup for any purpose other than this. ;)

1. Start Google Sketchup

2. Add Geolocation (as shown) - you can search for the object or location in question.


3. Select the region that you wish to use for your template, and press enter. The region will appear in the Sketchup Build window as shown (under 4b below):

4a. Unlock the Object (Rightclick on the object then select Unlock as in 1 below) , then
4b. Make it an Component (Rightclick on the object then select Make Component as in 2 below) -- this will allow it to be exported.



5. Export the 3D Model
this will create a DAE file of the appropriate object, and a google Earth Snapshot file matched to it.


MAX INSTRUCTIONS (see Gnn instructions for gMax)
M6. Start Max, and Import the DAE file. Ignore Error. A plane surface will appear in your viewports.


M7. Create a material. Add the Google Earth Snapshot as the diffuse texture. Apply the material to the plane. GoogleEarthSnapshot is located in a separate folder located with the original DAE file.


gMAX Instructions

G6. Open the DAE File in ModelconverterX, Export as 3DS object.
G7. Start gMax.
G8. Import 3DS object into Gmax
G9. Find Material in material Editor (or select Pick radio button and click on the plane). Set material to display Texture in view-port (blue checker-cube). --thanks to tgibson for correction


You now have a perfectly scaled template to use in Max / gMax.

Note: There is a placemarker object (a small person from memory that is worth removing from the exported scene once in Max or gMax.)
 
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That is a very good one hcornea. Get two birds in one shot.
I don't understand the step 7 "Add the Google Earth Snapshot" Does the photo comes with the object when exporting. Or we need to take the Top Down photo from SketchUp to get the Snapshot.

Ok I got it. It will be saved in another folder in the same name as your file. There is a photo Google_Earth_Snapshot.jpg inside that folder.
 
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PS. You will not need to create a new material in GMAX. Go to the Material Navigator, and open the existing material there (double click it). Click the little blue and white cube, and the texture should appear on the polygon. If not, look at the texture name - if it is a ~ with stuff after it, reload that texture (click big button with that funny name on it, double click black box, browse to the texture, OK). Now it should display.

Hope this helps,
 
Thanks Tom. I'll confess that I wrote the gMax instructions from memory.

Of course, 3DS makes a material, so that makes life much simpler. I might edit the instructions for future reference.

Oddly the DAE import with Max does not seem to do this. I might have to experiment further.
 
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