White Out and Highlight areas in Layout

[Matte]

Hi All,
1- I was going to recopy (Save-As) my entire model, Remove all texture colors and selectively “color” Phase one buildings one color, phase two buildings another color, etc. And set up another Layout Set of drawings. Or
2 - Put model in “White” mode resend it to layout print all to PDF and color in Photoshop. ( Think more work)
Is there an easier way to take existing model and textures and make a “White”…and color a few things to show “phases” of work being done?
Thanks for your help.
Matte

[TheOnlyAaron]

Depending on how you have your model put together, Color by Layer is a nice option. Then you can change the color of entire layers rather than re-coloring entire entities. As an added bonus, since Color by Layer can be turned on and off, you can maintain your original colors!

To make this work in your example, you would want to group the items in phase 1 and apply them to a layer called “Phase 1” (or whatever you like) and change that color to color 1. Do the same for phase 2, 3, etc. Any items that are not part of one of those phases go onto layers that are set to white.

[bmike]

Color by Layer might be a good way to go as noted above.

When I have to do variations on the same theme I usually do a save as, then color the save as version accordingly. I then can have 2 LO files, or bring both models into the same LO file.

If the model was simple enough I’d consider tracing over various phases using LO drawing tools and setting the color to semi transparent. This could be done on a textured model, or a scene setup with white / hidden line style active.

[Matte]

Thanks Mike, I guess I’m sort of on the right track then? I’m half way decent with Sketchup, But I’m pretty new to using Layout, so I’m not sure of the best setup. My favorite Plugin is “X-ref” and I use it extensively for multi building drawings. I think your Save-As option is probably the best way to go with and use 2 LO setups, as the (Visual LO #1 set) and the (LO #2) Stages of construction set, use different notation. I can use the Master model for LO #1, and X-ref the Master model into a the SU “White model” which will be used for LO #2. Then each time I update the master, I just have to update “White” model and then update the LO #2 model. As the visual angles will not change, using some sort of (color mask in Layout, (Which I wasn’t sure if it existed till now). I’ll have to look deeper into the LO abilities now that I know something exists to pull it off.Thanks again for your help, It is GREATLY !!! appreciated.Matte

[bmike]

I have’t used the X Ref plugin, sounds interesting. I generally copy / paste in place when I need to assemble multiple models into 1 file.

My workflow, when I do something similar (but I color code timber / structure by size, not by phase):

1. build original model as required.
2. set up views / scenes / etc.
3. when ready to present, ‘Save As…’ SKP model
4. color code as required
5. setup LO file from first model
6. ‘Save As…’ LO file, re-link reference model to color coded model
7. Export both LO files, delete sheets that are redundant or not needed
8. Assemble into 1 file for owner / client / engineer / etc.

[bmike]

Here is a quick sample I did showing how I would quickly do this right in LO:

Note down where the ground is - I rough out grade to show context (not accurate, for presentation only) in the same way. Trace over the image, adjust transparency and line weight.