I am a new user to sketchup Pro though I have used the 2013 free version.
I am trying to cross hatch part of a 2D drawing.
First tried it in Layout but the cross hatched area obscured the linework below, in LAYERS I put the cross hatch pattern on the bottom of the list but then the linework obscured the pattern!
So I thought I would do it in the Sketchup model, howerver the pattern just showed up as shading and not cross hatched .
Any help appreciated
Layers in LayOut work like if you are working with pieces of tracing paper stacked on top of each other. If you color a shape and put it on top it hides what is below. If you move the thing below and it is filled in solid it will hide what is below.
For using the SKP model option - is your LO model view set to render in Raster? That is the only way to get it to show up in LO.
And before you post back and freak out that ‘it looks all pixelated! - set the view of the model to Raster. Double check in Document setup that your sketchup views will export to ‘high’ quality - then make sure you are not using the output override set to Vector. Then export and see if you like the result. You can try hybrid or raster.
The crosshatch isnt really a true hatch like it is in CAD. It’s a image of a hatch. This image has a fill which is why it obscures what’s below it. It’s more work but you could ‘Stack Viewports’…essentially having the same model view, but with two different styles associated with each. It sounds like you need to save a ‘Wireframe’ style…this shows ONLY edges and no faces. And a ‘Textured’ style…which shows the pattern as an image. Copy and place two viewports on top of each other…set the style of the bottom viewport to ‘Textured’…and the top to ‘Wireframe’. Instead of seeing the linework 'underneath…you’ll see it ‘on top’…if the colors of the lines and hatch as the same, the effect will be equal to hatching over linework.
I get that as a new user this may be confusing. See if this video helps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP9_yEatFKw - report back with questions.
Mike
Thanks for your reply.
I did solve it in Sketchup, in the TRAY I had used the MATERIALS>PATTERN> COMMON BRICK to render the area I wanted to cross hatch. This showed up as a gray colour in my Layout page which is 1:100 scale.
So I edited the PATTERN to spacing 600mm and now after refreshing the VIEWPORT and the RENDER button it now shows up how I want.
I understand your analogy of tracing paper stacked, its a pity that it obscures the layers below. Decades ago I used to use Microstation which called layers Levels and worked much the same way but was like the layers were clear film so that you can have lines on them but they did not obscure the layers below.
Now the cross hatching issue is fixed I have another issue which is that the lines shown in LO look pixelated. They look OK in SU.
I did check my SKUP file and it is set to render in RASTER and I have settings on HIGH as you suggested in your response.
In LO >DOCUMENT SETUP>RENDERING the display and output resolution are all set to high. There is a box for OUTPUT OVERIDE I have not ticked it and it shows RASTER.
Image attached shows what I mean.
Help appreciated
Regards
Stewart
Thanks Eric
I did watch your video however I solved my issue in Sketchup,
in the TRAY I had used the MATERIALS>PATTERN> COMMON BRICK to render the area I wanted to cross hatch. This showed up as a gray colour in my Layout page which is 1:100 scale.
So I edited the PATTERN to spacing 600mm and now after refreshing the VIEWPORT and the RENDER button it now shows up how I want.
I think your method of stacking Viewports is much more sophisticated but beyond me at my current stage of learning. I hope to come back to it when I get this current project finished.
I probably will be posting more questions before I get that done.
Regards
Stewart
Yes, but this depends on the fill, background, etc. of both the SKP model view (you can turn off the background, and you can only show the wireframe lines), and it depends on the fill of the LO objects you are drawing. Obviously if you draw something on the trace layer and color it in you won’t see what is under it - either in CAD programs, design programs, or using actual trace paper.
What does it look like when you export it? Is that image from the LO screen or from a PDF?
The big issue is that these textures / hatches applied in SKP are raster and lower resolution. It will look bad on the screen in LO - that’s how they help manage how quickly the pages render and move about as you are working - but it should look better when you File>Export and make sure all the settings are on high.
Mike
The image was from the LO screen however when I exported it as a PDF the lines still looked the same as the screenshot.
In LO in the SHAPE STYLE box I ticked the MITRE CORNERS BOX as I thought that may have something to do with it but it seems to have no affect.
As a separate test I drew a new line drawing in SU and then in LO made some of the line weights thicker by selecting that TAG and changing the default weight. In this case the heavier weight lines show up as Rounded corners despite having the MITRE CORNER ticked as I said above.
The original file I took the screenshot of was using the ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN template,
in the separate test I selected the PLAN VIEW template, which shows as CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENT STYLE in the STYLE
box. Would the template type be the cause of why the lines are shown pixelated?
Thanks for your patience in answering my questions
Stewart
The style in SKP affects the lineweights, and profiles, etc. combined with the settings in LO. The template doesn’t matter, other than they all have different styles built in. Regarding the corners AFAIK that setting only affects the lines drawn in LO.
Post your LO file. Drag it to a reply window, and if it is too large use WeTransfer or DropBox.
Without seeing your files - the hatch in SKP might just be too low of a resolution. So you might need to find something better.
I sometimes use the pattern fill in LO by drawing over shapes that I want to show hatched. This requires understanding how layers work and how pattern fill works. For me it’s quick and fast…
Mike
I have hopefully attached the LO file.
I played with the settings in the LO file SKETCHUP MODEL>VIEWPORT.
The attached model has the RASTER selected in which the heavy lines walls are pixelated at their corners and ends, not what I want.
The cross hatching shows OK but the main issue is the wall linework.
Tried HYBRID
Here the dashed site lines obscurred the lines below but the corners of the heavy lines are now rounded, better than pixelated. Cross hatching is the same.
Tried VECTOR
The dashed line still obscures the heavy lines which are rounded. Cross hatching dissapears.
The HYBRID works best if I can avoid the dashed lines obscureing the linework.
Regards
Stewart
BUNGAY DA 01.layout (351.3 KB)
OK, you have a lot to learn.
First in SKP:
You really need to learn about groups / components.
Most of your geometry in the model is ‘loose’.
Tags in SKP do not isolate geometry like in other CAD or drawing programs.
Each object that you draw should be made into a group or component.
You only have a couple of groups in your model.
Since you are tagging raw geometry you end up with weird stuff like this:
It would be better to make each of those rectangle ‘walls’ a group or component.
You also have everything ‘flat’ - so when things overlap you get Z fighting, where 2 surfaces try to occupy the same 3d space. You can see this here where we lose some of the hatching. This can cause issues later on with presentation… and because you aren’t really using groups / components this will cause issues with geometry merging and be a mess later. You should really be thinking in 3d, not like flat paper. If you want to do this only in 2d, in SketchUp you need to maybe consider moving things apart vertically so they don’t graphically fight with each other. Otherwise maybe different software would be better for you.
You really should start here:
https://learn.sketchup.com/courses/sketchup-fundamentals-part-1
And follow up here:
https://learn.sketchup.com/courses/layout-essentials
I know what you are going to say ‘I don’t have time for that…’ - well, take the time, your work will go much better and a lot of these issues will take care of themselves.
Now to LayOut:
You have your SketchUp model view on a Layer that is ‘On every Page’. Not a bad thing for title blocks and stuff you want repeated throughout the drawing set - but probably not what you want unless you want to repeat this view on every page you create.
Here is a PDF I exported after resetting all the Tag overrides you made in LayOut. And I moved some of your geometry down in your model to separate things from fighting with each other:
BUNGAY DA 01.pdf (500.8 KB)
I exported this using the override to Hybrid. Hybrid will show textures (the pattern you are using in SKP)
Obviously you don’t have the thick lines yet… to get those there are a couple of ways to do it - but I rarely just draw in 2d, so I’d be modeling in 3d, color coding or doing some extra drawing over the model in LayOut to make this show graphically what you want about what is demo, what is new, etc.
If you really just want this in 2d and you don’t really need to go 3d I think maybe another drawing application would be better for you.
But if you want to stick with it…
Maybe in LayOut for you it would be faster to trace over the drawing, or explode the drawing and then apply the thicknesses etc. that you need. But to do that you need a better drawing in SKP to make it quicker… And you need a better basic understanding of the tools before you do that. I don’t have time this morning to do a full tutorial. Start with those links I posted…
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Mike
I have stuck with it.
I am sticking with SU as a 3D program as I want to use it to do shadow diagrams and have already used the STL file export to get a 3D printed model made.
Anyway I have gone through the two tutorials and redrawn the the little plan in SU with everything grouped.
I didnt separate the lines vertically but slightly horizontally, - the walls are actually slightly inside the boundary.
I imported it into layout and tried to draw lines in LO over the SU model walls to increase the thickness of the lines however as I traced around the wall it started obscuring the linework under.
For example if I draw a square in LO it obscures any SU lines within that square.
Is there a setting which allows drawing and not obscuring below?
I tried the other way I had seen a video on, in LO in the Sketchup Model > Tags window I changed Line Style from Default to Line and a width. This worked.
I did a A4 test print and it looked fine.
Regards
Stewart
You can turn off the fill for the shapes you draw in LO. If you have fill turned on it will obscure what is below. And of course the lines you draw will obscure what is below.