Sketchup-Ur-Space

PlaceMaker on Sketchup Recreates a 3D City Model Just by a Few Clicks

Simul Chowdhury: Editor

Sketchup application is a phenomenon in the world of 3D designs with which you can give dimensions to your imagination. It is a thrilling experience to witness how your sketches turn into reality with using certain tools and features. Sketchup is a well-known platform for artists to transform designs into 3D sketches easily. There is good news for all Sketchup users as it extends its features that let designers draw things quickly and flawlessly. PlaceMaker is such a breakthrough extension that helps you create 3D models of any city across the world just by a few clicks.

Making easier the way 3D images of cities are designed, PlaceMaker has already got a huge interest with its wide areas of applications. For a comprehensive understanding of this tool, you have to have the idea about how it works. The steps are so simpler that even a novice can use the tool like an expert.

PlaceMaker imports maps of cities from OpenStreetMap and DigitalGlobe and brings them on the Sketchup platform. Everything is in a ready-to-use manner that requires only your preferences to complete the models of cities. With high resolutions images of aerials and roads, this tool is more than just a function to design 3D models.

Let’s take an inside look at the steps that take you into the virtual 3D land of your known cities:

• Go to the ‘Extension’ tab and select PlaceMaker dialog box.
• Click ‘Select a place’ tab and search your preferred location.
• Import that Location into Sketchup platform.
• Click ‘imagery’ to import high resolutions images. It costs you few bucks to download the images.
• There are options like ‘Building’, ‘Roads’, ‘Paths’, ‘water’, and ‘Trees’, clocking on which turns your sketch a complete map. These options come up with a drop-down menu that includes your criteria to be selected.

• Click ‘Make Place’ option that allows Sketchup to import everything you created on the platform, except imagery. These are a few steps that are behind a complete 3D model of places and areas across the world. In the world of the digital age, we all are more or less concerned about the importance of 3D maps of cities. Starting from navigation system to emergency management, 3D city models prove to be very helpful to locate an area in a more prominent way. 3D city models find its applications in some important domains like:
• Urban Planning and Architecture: 3D models work as a communicator between designers and urban planning development authorities to set up a concrete plan for the development of environment.

• Emergency management: to avert any kind environmental risks and disasters, 3D City models prove to be a great help to disaster management authorities.
• Gaming: to design the base of 3D locations for online and video games, this application provides you with the desired result.
• Real estate and property management – the 3D models play an important role management properties spread across many places in the world. PlaceMaker will definitely lift burdens from your shoulder while you are designing 3D maps for your cities. With a simple and easy condition to use, anyone can try hands in designing 3D sketches of their known places. Effective and trustworthy, this tool is acclaimed by designers all over the world.

PlaceMaker on Sketchup Recreates a 3D City Model Just by a Few Clicks
Image Courtesy: fabbaloo.com