I have the 2D model Side and Front views and I am trying to create a 3D model. I have attached the sketch up file with these views. I feel that somehow the Follow Me tool will be required so I have already scaled them up. I have tried many ways and have learned a lot about what doesn’t work and am now ready to find out the right way to do this.
2D to 3D Question.skp (30.3 KB)
Well I’m not glad you are having problems but I am glad I understand as so many other people do about getting to know this program. I’ve learned quite a lot since I began so maybe I can help you and in doing so find a way to get some help I’m needing. So how do we do this because I’m also new to forums?
There are going to be multiple ways of producing your object.
Below is using SketchUp out of the box… ie no plugins. It is using what I call a “step-n-scale” method.
This method has been used by many illustrators including longtime SU user Justin Chin - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL58B2D0E139D70C18 (Have a look at modeling Female Character, or Giant Wing)
Although they may be plugins to speed up the workflow, I encourage you to train yourself in this method as well. It is a great fall back and you will no doubt use elements of this technique all the time. 
CD
Thank you for your reply. I watched Jason’s video and it appears as though that was what I was trying to do when I decided there had to be a better way. Now I see that it probably is a good technique to learn. I guess that as in all things worth doing well I must PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
I understand the concept well but have been having difficulty getting Scale to snap to the reference points on the profiles. I made the profiles and the tube into groups and put the tube in the edit mode before scaling. Any suggestions?
Upload what you have so far and we can take a look.
Sorry it took me so long to reply but I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t wasting your time on something simple that I was doing wrong. I reconstructed my model to mimic yours as much as possible and was pleased to find that it was snapping to the required points. I created the top level Scale by using the front view and scaling from the center, followed by the side level view and 2 separate scalings from the opposite end. When I did my second level scaling I followed the same procedure I had used for the top level and found that I lost a segment after the first of the 3 intended. I backed up and repeated several times with the same result. I am sending you the sketchup file showing where the segment is missing as well as the file before I did any scaling. I appreciate your help and can see how this method will work well as soon as I (or you) figure out what I did wrong.
2D to 3D Reply.skp (187.7 KB)
2D to 3D Reply 2.skp (170.7 KB)
I have done more research and I find all scales work fine except the scaling of the right side of the side view. The first one works fine but every following one has a segment missing. If start down from the top as long as the ring above the one I am scaling hasn’t been scales the first one will work but the next will not.
@wjr
Here are a few items in your examples that I should point out.
I dont know how you started your files but I did notice that for both files, the model geometry was located extremely far from the model origin (0,0,0). They were both over 60 MILES from the origin. This was not the cause of your issue BUT it is good practice to keep your geometry close to the origin. Visualization anomalies can appear when geometry is strewn across such a long distance. This is just a FYI
The problem could have been caused by the non uniform faces making up the rings making up your cylinder and some of the edges in various facets were broken into segments.
For more predictable results, you cylinder should be as uniform as possible.
Here is an animated gif showing one way to make the segmented cylinder in a uniform way.
Notice how I use the wireframe mode to allow for easy selection of the cylinder edge segments. … sorry for the poor quality of the animation
I agree that my model should be close to the origin and I believe that what caused mine to be so far off is that while I am working on a new model I often make several copies just in case I make an error that isn’t easy to fix. When I make these copies I use the move tool and just move the copy to the left. Since I was having a lot of problems with this particular model the stage I sent you was far left down the line. This was made even more obvious because I had the model scaled up by 1000 times.
After watching you latest recommendations, I carefully rebuilt my set up for creating my model. This was far easier that before because I learned a lot from your animation. I really liked the way you efficiently built up your tube. Also,as I am sure you can imagine, using a wireframe view helped a lot. Since I was not satisfied with the resolution in certain parts of the model I added more cross section cuts. This took more time but I was pleased with the results. The goal for me is to learn how to use sketchup to create really good models not just OK models.
I am sending you the model as it now stands. I still need to do a bit of minor clean-up but the important thing is that I am starting to feel more comfortable with a technique that will help me a lot in the future.
I might add that if you didn’t get pleasure in helping others you would not be doing it, If you feel half as good from helping me as I feel from receiving your help, you must be elated.
2D to 3D Reply 3.skp (288.4 KB)
It was my pleasure
Keep experimenting, learning and, most of all, having creative fun using SketchUp.
Cheers
CD
