I am using SketchUp Pro 2018 to create a geo-located site model of three buildings. Then to produce a report showing shadows and sun-paths at certain times of the year.
Does anyone have advice on the Sketch Up plug ins that are related to shadows, or indeed other specialist software.
Thank you.
Sefaira:
for greater surveys, this might be worth looking at :
You can create animations without any additional plugins. Set up the point of view you want with the shadow settings for the starting time of day you want and create a scene, then change the time to the ending time you want and create another scene. Make sure the scenes are set to “include in animation”. With animation turned on it will animate the shadows. You can export an animation if that’s the end product you want to create.
File->Export->Animation and then options …
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Thank you Mike, RTCool - really helpful and much appreciated.
These model settings must all be set correctly to display shadows that accurately portray the real world:
• Geographic Orientation — Relationship of True North to the model.
• Geographic Location — Latitude and Longitude
• Time — Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute
• UTC Offset — The difference between local time and the Coordinated Universal Time standard.
PLUGINS
• Solar North
https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/solar-north
• Shadow Projector v5.0 by TIG
• 1001Shadows
http://www.1001shadows.com/en/index.html
• US Naval Observatory — Data Services (resources to verify your results)
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/index.php
In SketchUp, by default the adjustable R-G-B Drawing Axes are aligned with SU’s inalterable World Axes.
Also, by default true north is aligned with SU’s World +Y Axis.
Thus, the default solid green +Y Drawing Axis is aligned with true north.
However, be aware of the following:
• Manual geo-location retains that alignment.
• Geo-location via SU’s Add Location feature will rotate true north away from SU’s World +Y Axis.
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Thank you - again very helpful.
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