Landscape Design Topics

SketchUp is a great building design tool and with an understanding of few simple tools within SketchUp, it is also a great landscape design tool as well. Landscape design typically deals with plants and terrain. Modeling plants and terrain in SketchUp is simple enough but SketchUp is a surface modeler which means that when you use plants and terrain and if done incorrectly, your model can quickly become unmanageable. You will learn how to create faceme components for reduced polygon counts, using the Sandbox tool to create terrain, efficiently using AutoCAD files and the advanced feature of importing and exporting your project to Google Earth.

If you are unfamiliar with SketchUp Pro and/or Layout check out the YouTube video to see what’s possible.

Overview:
Visualizing and communicating spaces in three dimensions is critical to the success of the design of architectural spaces. The interplay of light, color, space and form make exciting spaces function successfully. Traditional methods for exploring these issues are very labor intensive. Use of computer software has enabled quicker (and sometimes more accurate) study models to be generated
and explored.

Successful integration of modeling software within a design-related practice hinges on how well the computer information can be used, not only inside the computer (to other software packages), but also outside the computer to communicate to clients and review agencies. The output from your SketchUp computer models may be rendered in many different ways; from straight computer printouts using Styles, to raster images for retouching with photo editing software, to vector polygon graphics reworked with illustration software,
to producing accurate perspective underlays for developing hand renderings.

Objectives:
Landscape Design is a discipline that encompasses many workflows that result in designs ranging from human-scale site fixtures to regional masterplans. While many of these designs can be created from scratch, often AutoCAD files, surveyor data, hand renderings, and existing photography are all incorporated in the design process as well as the end result. Expressing all this information in
three dimensions will greatly facilitate communication of the design to others.

You should already be able to:
• Demonstrate proficiency with a standard three-button mouse in the Windows environment.
• Demonstrate proficiency navigating within a SketchUp environment.
• Understand “Click-Release-Click” and “Click and Drag” methods when using SketchUp tools.
• Be able to create linear and radial arrays within SketchUp using the Move/Copy tool.
• Have a basic understanding and ability to navigate in Google Earth.

After completion of these topics, you should be able to:
• Create custom face-me plant material from image files.
• Reload and Replace components.
• Import and Export your SketchUp model to and from Google Earth.
• Utilize various plug-ins and ruby scripts such as “drop.rb” and “SimplifyContours.rb”.
• Model terrain utilizing functions of the “Sandbox” tools.
• Understand advanced techniques working with large files including the “Hide Rest of Model” feature when editing components.
• Import file types from other software packages including AutoCAD, ArcGIS, and Adobe Photoshop

Add Lumion 3D training to your SketchUp Course. Check it out!