Need to do exterior and interior separately?

SketchUp
1

Just need advice on if best to do interior and exterior modelling in separate models or can all be combined for virtual walk through etc?

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Render times will be shorter if you only render geometry you want in the camera view, but you can just hide layers instead modeling things separately. For example, you could hide the exterior layer when doing interior renders to lower render times. When geometry is on a hidden layer, it reduces lag substantially.

If you want to model rooms in separate models:

  1. Create a master file with the exterior & interior modeled, but don’t do the details yet.
  2. Separate the rooms into different components.
  3. Make 1 copy of the master file for each room,
  4. In each file copy, delete everything except the room you want to work on.
  5. Now you can model the details of each room (and the exterior) in individual files.
  6. Go into the master file, then right click on a room component. Select reload, then locate the file copy with the corresponding room.

This way you can work on each room in separate files, then update each room in the master file. It’s not necessary, but there are advantages.

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I’d argue that the render time savings you achieve by splitting up your main file into separate room files is negated by the time you need to maintain that workflow - depending on the size of your model that mileage may vary. I’d recommend going with one file yet enforce a sensible use of components, layers and proxies for rendering to keep a balance of workflow and modeling speed.

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Yeah, I agree. Layers are the way to go.

5

And two plugins, Cross Reference Manager and Layers Organizer, might be worth trying. They aren’t free, but cheap enough for commercial use if they save you time.

I think there’s a free trial period.

Both available from here if not on Warehouse or Sketchucation: https://www.lasuapps.com/cross-reference-organizer