Hi
I am attempting to figure the best way to do a planting plan for a landscape design in sketchup / layout.
By far the easiest way to enable speedy workflow for me is to use sketchup, making plants components, and placing them on the model, repeatedly if required. I then get a list of my planting and numbers with all sorts of useful data to use in lists etc. I then go to layout to label up with speed and ease.
However, my main issue is that if I use the SketchUp 3D model to do essentially a 2D job it gets tricky/ tedious/ wasting time, even in top view. Plants get hold of things they shouldnt and dont fix to the flat, horizontal plane. It drives me nuts! ( I do make each components axis to stick to horizontal by the way when making the component)
To overcome this I have screenshot the top view, brought it back into Sketchup , scaled and essentially produced my planting plan on a 2d sketchup horizontal "paper"plan. Great but the quality is not good of the image I screenshot.
Can anyone suggest how I use Sketchup to do my planting plan in 2D, without having to screen shot and re upload?
Thanks in advance
Jo
This was pretty much covered in another recent thread.
Draw the plan in SU and send to Layout.
Make yourself some appropriate “plants” in LO and distribute them as required.
If your plan is really simple, you could do the whole thing in LO using Scaled Drawing.
Keeping to plane is easier if you add a large “ground plane” to your model. Group it so you can hide it from your exports and printouts. You can also turn on the “gluing” property of your plant components so they will automatically stick to the plane.
Hi Simon
Thanks for the reply. The problem is in LO you cant make components and I gain huge information from the component -file - generate report facility in SU for listing all elements required in a planting schedule. As far as I am aware this facility is not available in LO. I am a landscape architect and I’m using hundreds sometimes thousands of plants, hence the file - generate report facility is vital to the success of the work.
Jo
I’m kinda thinking aloud here but what about having a really simple “marker” component in SU, say a small cross with variants. That would allow you to produce the reports you need but the artwork for output is all done in LO. Just an idea.
There may be some simple tricks and methods that can help improve this aspect of your workflow. Can you include a sample file as an example or at least a screenshot of the files you’re having trouble with?
Are you applying the plants to 3D landscape data? Where are you getting the initial elevation data? There are several extensions that will drop collections of components onto a set of contoured landscape. Or, can you just set your plants on an invisible plane above the contours using the top view and parallel projection?
Yeah good idea - anther guy has suggested a transparent layer above model that is totally separated and do planting plan on that .
Both could work
Thank you for your input
Jo
This is an amazing idea the invisible plane above the model - I have traced the model on to this plane…
solved!
Thank you
Jo