HI! I’m super desperate for some help in how to model steel sculptures in sketchup efficiently. I have a project deadline for uni and I cannot for the life of me create exactly what I want in either Rhino or Revit so I have come to sketchup as a last resort. I would like to either be able to customise an existing shape if possible (something I was unnable to do in rhino using the popuate geometry tool) or just be able to model it using lines and sketching tooks. The picture I have uploaded is what I was able to create in rhino as a rough Idea of what Im going for but I want to have more power over the bends and endpoints of the bars without losing the smooth connections that make it look like one solid piece rather than a collection of bars.
please help
Do you know how to model using quads? If you do you can use the plug-ins vertex tools, quadface tools and subD to create whatever you want, with vertex tools you have control over every vertex, you could do something low poly and then use subD quadface tools helps you to have a clean mesh, select loops easily among other things, you must watch tutorials cause it’s going to be very difficult how to use every tool of those plug-ins and how to model without knowing what do you want to do exactly. There are also other ways to model if you don’t know how to do it using quads but still hard to explain.
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Unfortunately Im also having problems with sketchup plugins as they all say that the trials are expired when ive only just downloaded them. I found the loophole where you change the system date to be before the expiry but as Im on the free trial of sketchup it means that sketchup crashes… I have never used anything other than revit before so all of this is completely new to me. I really appreciate your help though!
That’s unfortunate … doean’t make for a very good experience. I can’t imagine using Revit for something like this, but Rhino I could see using. Agree that Vertex tools and SubD are probably a good bet, but I’m not a master of them at all. There are plugins that turn single lines into tube shapes, but I’m not experience with them either. Sorry for not being too helpful.
Yeah, I think Sketchup with such limited time is a bit of a bust. I will try to fix it up in rhino then. Thank you anyway 
If you send me drawings or even a model of what you want to do ill give it a try and model it for you.
Click in sequence on the scenes tabs of this SU file for ideas on how to make it without plugins.
Sculpture.skp (572.9 KB)
