Visualization of Historic Landscapes - Google SketchUp Workshop: Modeling, Visualizing, and Illustrating - page 284

Step 4: Additional Modeling and Refinement
Goal : To detail buildings based on location abstracted from map and the
addition of details provided by historic photographs.
Inputs : Outlines from the map combined with historic and contemporary
photographs.
Tools : SketchUp native tools, Rotated Rectangle Ruby script.
A problem that is frequently encountered by novice users is how to prop-
erly seat buildings on a hilly terrain. Online tutorials detail how to form the
buildings and extract surface materials but overlook the fact that at times
the buildings end up appearing to float on air. Common sense should be the
guidepost. Just as in real life, buildings need a proper foundation to rest on.
These foundations account for the varying terrain.
FiG 16.4a
Unlike the modeling of contemporary buildings that are shown on the Google
Earth terrain, this example uses the historic insurance map as the primary
source for location information. The map was imported and grouped to keep
it from “sticking” to the modeled buildings. It was also assigned to a layer so
that it can be quickly hidden or displayed as the modeling progresses.
SketchUp's inference engine uses the main axis of the model as a refer-
ence. When modeling real-world situations, often features are not perfectly
aligned to the axis. Using the Rotated Rectangle Ruby script will allow you to
easily draw buildings that are not aligned with the model's main axis. In this
manner, you can quickly trace the building outlines indicated on the map.
After the preliminary outlines of the building are traced, it is time to begin
detailing. As stated previously, historians need to play detective when recreat-
ing historic buildings. A quick search of the Internet revealed a few historic
photographs that provided details about appearance and construction.
A search of popular photo-sharing sites like Flickr or Picasa also turned up
some contemporary photographs of a few extant buildings in Byng Inlet.