SketchUp Quad Modeling Gallery by Rafael Rivera

Hi, I plan to share my work here…Enjoy!


Stylized Character made with SketchUp Pro 2021 Only






Made with SketchUp Pro 2021 and SketchUp Extensions only (No external software used). The first image is rendered in Vray for SketchUp 2021, and the rest of the images are from SketchUp scenes that are custom styled.

I use many SketchUp Extensions, but here is a list of a couple of them:

I usually use Zbrush to create this type of work but decided to challenge myself and only use SketchUp. Thanks to thomthom and his extensions this type of organic & quad modeling is possible in SketchUp.

Let me give some basic key points on how to achieve this type of modeling in SketchUp…

First, everything starts with a simple Cube. Then with the extension ‘SubD by thomthom’ I add more subdivisions, and the resulting mesh will still be made out of quads.

Then turn off SubD to add more detail to the cube and then turn on SubD to see the result.
Adding loops with the help of ‘Quad Face Tools by thomthom’ can help to shape the object. Or use ‘Vertex Tools 2 by thomthom’ to extrude & move selected vertices and apply some Box modeling concepts.

Every time I check with ‘Solid Inspector by thomthom’ to make sure there are no unwanted edges or faces that will make SubD not work as intended.

Not everything needs to be one single mesh… For example, the character’s face is a separate group entity, the nose is in its own group, the eyes are separate as well, and so on.

If you have Zbrush then it has a tool where you can combine separate meshes into one and still preserve the quad mesh…But, I did not do that with this model.

Also, if you have Artisan by mind.sight.studio it is a good idea to Explode the highest definition SubD object and un-soften the edges to sculpt it with Artisan. After that, the mesh will no longer be Quads, but with thomthom Quad Face Tool extension there is a tool to make them quads again. Sometimes trying to make them quads again doesn’t work but you can isolate the problem area and quad that part alone.

Hope you like my work! :grinning:

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SketchUp Breakfast

Modeled with SketchUp Pro 2022 and rendered in V-Ray 5 for SketchUp.
For Post-production, I used Adobe Photoshop.

This SketchUp scene started with me only wanting to model some Pancakes, but after that, I kept modeling more & more stuff until I ended up with what you see below.

I am practicing modeling with Quad Faces and I am a big fan of Thomthoms extensions for that.

For creating the table cloth I used ClothWorks by Anton Synytsia.

The outside mountains were sculpted with Artisan by mind.sight.studios. And the trees were scattered using Skatter by Lindalë.

Another SketchUp Extension I found really useful was Eneroth Component Replacer. This is because when I first started modeling I only create the basic shape for the object, and later I replace them with higher detail model using this tool. This saves me a lot of time by not having to reposition the new objects manually.

Finally, an extension that I develop myself named Back-Face Painter was useful when applying materials to the back-faces without me having to position camera inside objects or going to the entity info panels.

I used many more extensions, but the ones I listed above are the main ones.


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Below are some of the objects with a wireframe SketchUp style to get a better sense of the typology achieved with SubD when subdividing the mesh.

I developed a SketchUp Extension to help me create the SketchUp wireframe style and it’s called CompoScene, but you can create it manually with the Style settings if you want.

pancakes
eggs
coffe
chair
lamp
table

As a final note, I want to express that I don’t think modeling with Quads is better than N-gons or vise-versa. I love that SketchUp makes modeling so easy that you don’t have to worry about topology, but I also like that I can do organic modeling without having to go to Blender or other 3d software.

Thanks for watching!

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I like these!! They’re unique!

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Really like the art-illustration feel of these :+1:

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My Curious Creature Competition Submission (Best of Three!) :trophy:

My creature won best of three for the Curious Creature competition and was exhibited in this year’s SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2022.

View in AR on the 3D Warehouse Website

The Crocodile & Dog was modeled in SketchUp and thanks to SketchUp Extensions like SubD I was able to work with quad faces. This allowed me to create organic shapes while applying the technique of Box Modeling.

( View Larger Image )

Creature Modeling Progress

( View Larger Image )

Modeling Progress

Below are renders using the default SketchUp style and no external renderer.


SketchUp Style - Color & Shadow


SketchUp Style - Wireframe

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Very cool ! Good job :+1:

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Thank you very much!


I forgot I can embed the 3D Warehouse model directly in the forum post.

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Hi Dog!

This stylized 3d scene was made in SketchUp Pro 2022 and rendered with Vray 5 for SketchUp. The human character was first modeled in SketchUp and then exported to Zbrush for some more modeling and retopology. Then it was re-imported back to SketchUp with an extension named Transmutr.

The Dog and the Bird were only modeled in SketchUp with the help of the following SketchUp extensions QuadFace Tools, Vertex Tools 2, SubD, etc.

Then because the leave and the trees, shrubs, and grass were flat geometry I developed a SketchUp extension named ‘Back-Face Painter’ for applying the front face material to the back face.

Hope you like it!

Oh! If the character looks like the SketchUp developer Thomthom @tt_su this was intentional since he creates amazing extensions.

for more of my work visit my portfolio at:
rafael-rivera.com

7 Likes

Wow, I love all of your illustrations, they look really lovely

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I enjoy watching your 3d models as well… Thank you!

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From 2D to 3D in SketchUp

My DTIYS Entry for Instagram

Instagram artist @rihnlin created a ‘Do This In Your Style’ (DTIYS) with the hashtag #rihnlin80k of one of her 2D characters. I decided to participate and recreate my version in 3D with SketchUp.

Click Below to view or download my 3D model in the 3D Warehouse:

No external render engines were used.

I only modified the default SketchUp style and shadow settings to achieve a stylized result.

Custom Edges

I turned SketchUp edges and the outline off in SketchUp rendering options.
Instead, I created an outer “SHELL” of the 3d object I wanted to have the outline effect. This can be achieved with different SketchUp extensions… I personally used Joint Push Pull by Fredo6 found in SketchUcation Plugin Store. I highly recommend buying the Fredo6 extension bundle.

I myself have developed a SketchUp extension named BackFace Painter that makes it easier to apply materials to back faces. The effect of the Outlines is created by reversing the mesh of the SHELL and applying transparent material to the back faces, allowing the visibility of the inner faces. I used a dark brown for the outlines in this case. To view this effect rotate the camera in the Extension Warehouse link provided.

Other SketchUp Extensions

I use QuadFace Tools, SubD, and Vertex Tools 2 for most of my 3D modeling. These extensions are developed by Thomas Thomassen (Thomthom) (@tt_su) and I 100% recommend them for this type of work.

Also, I use an extension named Component Replacer by Julia Christina Eneroth (Eneroth3) (@ene_su).

This extension helped with placing and replacing the flowers on the scene very easily. Eneroth has around 88 extensions in the Extension Warehouse that I recommend checking out.

Here is a still image of my 3d model…

I will share more about this project in the future. Thanks for watching! :grin:

7 Likes

That’s really impressive how you used the transparent wrapper and back face color to create the illusion of a thick stroke even though your edges and profiles are kept off. I’m going to have to steal that one from you for sure ;). I downloaded the model before I read your description…so it took me a min to figure out how you did it.

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same, and I agree, that’s brilliant !

I had to try, even without any extension installed, it’s fairly simple once you know what to do :slight_smile: .
no back face painter ? just invert the faces, paint them, and invert them again.
no fredo push pull ? just copy, paste on place, and adjust the scale by its middle

I didn’t adjust the light but still, neat trick !

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amazing modeling techn ics, it looks great, I downloaded your model and have 1 question, how you set the screen in second scene which called “instagram” rhere are different color on the borders, I also atteched screenshot, thanks in advance & greetings from georgia

I used a SketchUp extension that I developed named Composition Guides which is FREE.
You can download it in my Extension Warehouse OR Gumroad

I also created a forum post explaining the extension features HERE

Here is the answer to your question…
Square Viewport Setting

Steps:

  1. Open Composition Guides after installing the SketchUp extension.
  2. Open de dropdown menu and select the option (1:1 - Square)
  3. Click the Plus Button (+) to create a SketchUp scene that will remember the viewport setting.
  4. Done!

Also, this can be achieved in other ways but I am just mentioning to you what I personally did. Cheers!

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I definitely look at this extension, it will be intresting that another way how archieved that, I thought you used watermarks, but … there are no watermarks & I wrote reply, thanks for answering.
good luck

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Hi Rafael, purchased composcene in 2021, but got a new laptop, can you please send me the download link again? Thanks.

Better if you ping him @indie3d

Hi, thanks to @rtches I was alerted about @randyc not being able to download the Composcene extension again.

To solve this I sent @randyc a Private message with instructions on how to download the extension at my Gumroad page: https://www.indie3d.com/