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Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

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Chapter 4 Using Plugins Effectively<br />

Make Fur<br />

By tak2hata—Free [5, 6]<br />

This is a fun and very useful plugin. It allows you to place a large number of randomly scattered<br />

objects onto faces. These objects could be some of the default shapes (rectangles, grass<br />

blades, leaves) or any component in your model.<br />

You have full control over the plugin’s options, such as how many to place per unit area,<br />

maximum objects per face, and their scattering (randomness of scale, rotation, etc.). You<br />

can also apply a “force” parameter that distorts each object similar to bending blades of<br />

grass or hair in wind.<br />

This plugin begs to be experimented <strong>with</strong>. Common usage includes placing grass on<br />

ground (as individual blades or PNG materials <strong>with</strong> transparency) and trees on hills, or creating<br />

any other “furry” object, such as a shaggy carpet.<br />

Another plugin that allows you to “spray” components onto any surface is Compo Spray<br />

by D. Bur. It is free, and you can download it from [3].<br />

MakeOrthoViews<br />

By J. Folz—$5 [4]<br />

This plugin allows you to take a 3D object (a group or a component) and create standard<br />

engineering views (front, right, and top) as additional 2D objects in your model. This is very<br />

useful if you want to export them into 2D CAD software for annotation.<br />

Mirror<br />

By TIG—Free [5, 6]<br />

This plugin does exactly what its name<br />

implies: It adds the missing mirror tool to<br />

<strong>SketchUp</strong>. You can use it on 2D shapes<br />

or 3D objects.<br />

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