Help with sides not connecting to form a surface

I am having some trouble with SketchUp Make 2016 for Mac. I have connected all lines, arcs, shapes, etc. in my model of a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo. However, those that are giving me trouble with are the gaping hole in the side and the windshield. Any help is appreciated. I have attached the file below. Also, I’ve only done the side. How would I merge the front and back of the car into the ends of the side of the car? One last thing, what is the naming convention for this program? Every time I save, the program creates a new save with the file name and a number of the “~” symbol after it. Thank you, tomed21.

Lambo~.skp (1.7 MB)

the ~ [tilde] is generated for the backup copy of a skp, so there should only ever be one of those, and you should only ever open it unless you have a disaster with the main file…

things go wrong when you open the backup copy, multiple tilde’s being one of them…

to fix open the one with the most of them - 1 and check if it’s your last saved version or not…

if it is, close SU, move all the others to Trash, and then rename it in Finder by deleting all the tildes…

for the actual car, I’ll let someone like @ely862me answer that…

john

Thank you for your reply. I have already done all that you said, and the problem still occurs. What’s worse is that even the file with the most tildes is the next-to-last recent one with the most recent being the file without the tildes. I have had up to 5 tildes at one time and I would like to get this problem solved. Thank you for referring me to @ely862me. His work looks phenomenal!

where is the original file stored?

if it’s in dropbox or on external drive, it may cause confusion for the backup engine…

personally, I always have backup and autosave turned off, as do many mac users…

I rely on ⌘S which I use whenever I take a breather…

but it should work if your main file is in your User/Documents or Desktop folder…

john

I save all the time since SketchUp seems to hate me a lot and crash. But, I still keep autosave and backup on just in case. And my files are stored in a folder on the Desktop.

if SU is crashing on files like that, I would ask what Extensions you have installed…

john

Just Rotate 90 (I don’t know who made it) and JointPushPull by Fredo6.

Hi,
I am not a Mac user and I don’t know about the saving issue you are having.
As of the car, are you trying to learn modeling cars or this is just a one time project ?
If you want to model that car, what you are doing now is wrong.
Before all, you need to have the blueprint align with each view. Split the blueprint in a 2d external editor so that it will be visible from inside components and groups later on.
Then you start with let’s say, the wheels to have a feeling of size and depths. Then I would start with the wheel arches as they are the most exterior shapes. If you can take a look at my videos on youtube you will see how I continue, although I am not following any blueprints, the scenario is quite the same.
Use parallel view for aligning the wires with the blueprints, and use layers to turn off and on parts when they get into your view.
The side view and the top view offer most of the information for your lines. You draw lines to follow the side profile then you move the endpoints to follow the top view lines. And so on for the front and the back.
I also save plenty of 3/4 view pictures and when I am not sure about the shapes I look at them. I usually place them line a wall in front of the model, inside sketchup.
It also matters if you want to smooth the geometry with Artisan or SubD. It also matters what you will be using the car for. Sometimes a simple texture applied to raw shape would do it.





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Hello,

Thank you for your reply. Right now, this is a one-time project, just to show a potential employer that I am proficient enough in using SketchUp. I tried splitting the blueprint in an external editor, but to no avail. Since you seem to have already done so, could you please send me those files? I want to give it a real look with reflections, gloss, etc. I have taken a look at some of your videos on YouTube, but you’ve sped them up so much that I can’t keep pace with what’s going on.

Sincerely,
Thomas

You just import your blueprint in the editor and you use the crop tool to crop one view then you undo and crop another one until all are done.
You want to show you are proficient in sketchup doing what ? I hope not modeling cars.
To have real look you need to have a real model first! And that would take some time and learning.
The videos are not a step by step tutorial, they are made just to show the way one might choose to model a car in sketchup. You need to learn the tools in order to have a feel of what is going on.
Lambo blueprints.skp (748.1 KB)
Keep up !

I want to show him that I know how to use SketchUp for an internship. I have to 3D print things and he told me to make whatever my heart desires just as long as it shows I’ve mastered the basics of SketchUp before he hires me. It has nothing to do with modeling cars lol. Thank you so much.

Also, what are the green lines in your pictures? And how have you divided these into smaller triangles?

The green lines are what I have said in my previous message :

When you have some good profiles you can use Curviloft to connect them. Of course you will eventually end up changing the surfaces in a way or another.
I changed the black edges color to green to be more visible from the already black blueprints lines.

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So I’ve connected the right part of the hood/bonnet. What I want to do now is connect it and shape it to make it 3D. Right now, it’s only 2D. How do I make the curves like you’ve done?

Can you show a printscreen ?

Some people do it like this, maybe it is easier for you.

Or like this

I would just move each endpoint of the lines you’ve drawn on the bottom blueprint to match the side blueprint.

I see you haven’t watched any tutorials, you expect to just make it happen ?

I’ve tried following your videos, but to no avail. The same goes for all others that I’ve seen.

You might consider drawing something simpler so you can get a handle on the tools. If you are planning to impress a prospective employer with your SketchUp skills, you’re going to need a better foundation than you have.

I talked to him today and said this was a very sophisticated project and that what he’s going to make me do is much simpler than this lol.