Using Google Earth to Set Geographic Locations
<a title="Park Landform Google SketchUp Modeling Guide" href="/modeling-guide/park-landform.html">SketchUp and Google Earth have a special relationship—you can use these tools together in all sorts of ways. As explained in the previous section, SketchUp uses the geographic location of a model to determine the angle of the shadows it casts. What better tool is there to determine a geographic location than Google Earth? Sure you can type the name of a country and city and get a general location for your model, but you have an even more precise way to put your model on a specific place. Here are the steps to set the location for Villa Savoye.
Note: Like SketchUp, Google Earth comes in two versions. One version is free. Google Earth Pro costs $499 and provides additional features. You can use the free version to set geographic locations in SketchUp as described in this section. To download Google Earth, go to: http://earth.google.com.
1. In SketchUp, open the file villa_savoye_geo_begin.skp, and then click the Top view button.
This SketchUp document contains a simple model of the Villa Savoye. It's similar to the model created in Chapter 10 and used in the previous example.
2. Start up Google Earth, and then choose View ^ Sidebar.
Make sure the word "Sidebar" is checked and that the sidebar is open on the left side of the window.
3. In the Google Earth sidebar, in the Search pane, click the "Fly to" tab.
You see a text box and a button with a magnifying glass.
4. In the text box type Poissy, France, Villa Savoye.
The earth spins and Google Earth zooms in on Poissy, France. You should be close enough to identify Villa Savoye from the air.
Note: Villa Savoye is easy to find because it's a famous building. For less famous locations, you can type a street address.
5. Use Google Earth view tools to change the view so that the building fills most of the window, as shown in Figure 11-8.
The cursor looks like a hand when it's over the image in Google Earth, and you can drag to position the image in the window. If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can use that to zoom in and out on the image. Otherwise, use the slider on the right side of the window, but don't zoom in so far that the view changes to a horizontal angle.
- View tools
Figure 11-8:
SketchUp and Google Earth work hand-in-hand in many ways. For example, you can use Google Earth (shown here) to accurately establish the location for your SketchUp architectural models.
Figure 11-8:
SketchUp and Google Earth work hand-in-hand in many ways. For example, you can use Google Earth (shown here) to accurately establish the location for your SketchUp architectural models.
6. In SketchUp, click the Get Current View button, or choose Tools ^ Google Earth ^ Get Current View.
SketchUp downloads an image from Google Earth and displays it as a background in SketchUp. This image is locked so you won't accidentally move or delete it as you work. At the same time that the image is imported, SketchUp changes the Location settings in the Model Info window. You can check this by going to Windows ^ Model Info and clicking Location. The Villa Savoye model isn't positioned perfectly in the image, so you need to adjust it to the proper orientation.
Something else occurs when you click Get Current View, but it's not quite as apparent. SketchUp downloads a Google Earth terrain layer that matches the photo snapshot. This is a three-dimensional object that maps the peaks and valleys of the land. The snapshot and the terrain are each placed on a SketchUp layer. The snapshot is automatically visible, but the terrain is not. To view the terrain, choose Tools ^ Google Earth ^ Toggle Terrain.
7. Triple-click the Villa Savoye model.
All the edges and faces in the model are selected.
8. With the Move (M) tool, click a corner of the model, and then click again to position the corner over the proper corner in the Google Earth image.
With one corner of the villa in position, all you need to do is rotate the model into place.
9. With the Rotate (R) tool, click the correctly positioned corner again. Then move the cursor vertically along an edge of the model and click again.
After the second click, the villa model rotates around the corner as you move the cursor.
10. Rotate the model until it is properly positioned over the photo and then click.
The model is positioned over the photo (Figure 11-9), and even more importantly, it's positioned accurately in relationship to the sun and shadows. If you're through with the photo and want to hide it, follow the next two steps.
Tip: Sometimes as you move and rotate your model into position, you may end up aligning a top part of the model with the photo on the ground plane. The result is, your model seems to be buried underground. If that happens, just use the Move tool to place the model above ground.
Figure 11-9:
SketchUp snatches the current view from Google Earth and places it in your model as a black-and-white image. The quality isn't great, but it's good enough for you to accurately position a model for a shadow study.
Figure 11-9:
SketchUp snatches the current view from Google Earth and places it in your model as a black-and-white image. The quality isn't great, but it's good enough for you to accurately position a model for a shadow study.
11. Right-click the photo and then choose Unlock.
The imported photo is unlocked. At this point you can hide or delete it.
12. Right-click the photo and then choose Hide.
The photo disappears from view. If you ever want to bring it back, you can use the Outliner to find the image. Right-click its name and then choose Unhide.
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