Concept Art Techniques - Google SketchUp Workshop: Modeling, Visualizing, and Illustrating - page 246

FiG 14.4 FiG 14.5

FiG 14.7

FiG 14.6

Step 4: Ship Details

Goal : To add the superstructure and finishing details to the ship.
Inputs : Research into paddle steamers and beam engines, Ballista model
from 3D warehouse.
Tool : SketchUp.

The steam engine and paddle wheels are created from groups of simple primi-
tives (primarily cylinders) or extruded from a 2D profile using the Push/Pull
tool.

The Ballista model on the prow is a (reasonably) historically accurate model
that I downloaded from 3D warehouse. Since parts of this model fitted my
purposes perfectly, it made sense to save time by using prebuilt geometry
rather than making my own identical copy from scratch. With a bit of scaling
and some simple tweaks to the prow, the Ballista model fitted into my model
just fine, saving valuable time.

After some consideration, I felt that the balance of the ship design was not
quite right, and reversed the layout of the steam engine and boiler. Because I
had grouped all the relevant objects when I built them, this process took only
a matter of seconds, unlike for a 2D drawing.