Chapter 13
IN THIS CHAPTER
Creating 2D views of your model as TIFFs, JPEGs, and PNGs
Exporting the kind of movie file you need
Exporting a CAD-friendly DWG file
Awesome 3D models need to be shared. The folks who create SketchUp understand this, and the software includes a multitude of ways to share your models with other people and programs. Want to send a JPEG of your newly modeled custom home to your parents? How about a movie that shows what it’s like to walk through that home? Need to turn your house model into a CAD-friendly DWG file for the builder? SketchUp can do all this and more.
SketchUp Make (the free version) can export raster images and movies. SketchUp Pro can export raster images and movies, along with vector images, CAD files, and a bunch of other 3D formats. This chapter covers the basics that most SketchUp Make or Pro beginners will need: common raster image formats, basic video formats, and CAD files.
Both SketchUp Make and Pro can export 2D views of your model as raster images, which are images made of lots of tiny pixels. When you're exporting an image, it’s helpful to know a little bit about graphics file formats in general. If you’re already an aficionado about these sorts of things, or if you’re in a big hurry, you can skip ahead to the section “Exporting a raster image from SketchUp.”
Pictures on your computer are divided into two basic flavors: raster and vector. The difference between these two categories of file types has to do with how they store image information. Here’s the one-minute version:
The process of exporting an image of your SketchUp model is fairly straightforward. Depending on which format you choose, the export options are slightly different, but we address them all in this section.
Follow these steps to export a raster image from SketchUp:
Adjust your model view until you see exactly what you want to export as an image file.
SketchUp’s raster image export is WYSIWYG — What You See Is What You Get. Basically, your entire modeling window view is exported as an image, so use the navigation tools or click a scene to set up your view. Use styles, shadows, and fog to make your model look exactly the way you want it to. To change the proportions of your image, resize your SketchUp window. Follow these steps to do so:
In Figure 13-1, we want to export a wide view of a house, so we adjust the proportions of the modeling window until things look right.
You may be wondering whether everything in your modeling window shows up in an exported raster image. The red, green, and blue axes don’t, which is good, but guides do, which is usually bad. If you don’t want your guides to be visible in your exported image, deselect Guides on the View menu.
Choose File ⇒ Export ⇒ 2D Graphic.
The File Export dialog box opens.
Select the file format you want to use from the Format drop-down list.
Before you choose JPEG by default, know that this file type isn’t always the best choice. For a complete description of each format (as well as recommendations for when to choose each), see the section “Looking at SketchUp’s raster formats,” later in this chapter.
Click the Options button.
The Export Options dialog box opens, where you can control how your image is exported. Figure 13-2 shows what this dialog box looks like for each of SketchUp’s raster file formats.
Adjust the settings in the Export Options dialog box.
Here’s a description of what the settings do:
Back in the File Export dialog box, click the Export button to export your raster image file.
You can find your exported file in whatever location on your computer you specified in Step 4. What you do with it is entirely up to you — you can e-mail it, print it, or use it in another software program to create a presentation.
Don’t be alarmed if the export process takes longer than you think it should. If you export a pretty big image (one with lots and lots of pixels), the export takes a while. Take the opportunity to call your mother — she’ll appreciate it.
So you know you need to export a raster image from SketchUp, but which one do you choose? You have four choices in Windows; three of them are available on the Mac. The following sections give you the details.
TIFFs are the stalwarts of the raster image file format world; everyone can read them and just about everyone can create them. TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format, but that’s hardly important. Here’s everything you need to know about TIFFs:
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which makes it sound much fancier than it really is. Almost every digital image you’ve ever seen was a JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg); it’s the standard file format for images on the web. Check out these JPEG details:
JPEG + SketchUp = Danger. Because of the way the JPEG file format works, JPEG exports from SketchUp are particularly susceptible to looking terrible. Images from SketchUp usually include straight lines and broad areas of color, both of which JPEG has a hard time handling. If you’re going to export a JPEG from SketchUp, make sure that the JPEG Compression slider is never set less than 8. For more details, see the section “Exporting a raster image from SketchUp,” earlier in this chapter.
Windows Bitmap, or BMP, files are old school; they can be used only on Windows, and they’re big. If a BMP were a car, it would be an old van with a rusted-out floor. As you can probably guess, we don’t recommend using BMPs for anything.
With raster images, it’s all about pixels. The more pixels your image has, the sharper the image is, and the bigger it can be displayed or printed. Figure 13-4 shows the same image three times. The first image is 150 x 50, meaning that it’s 150 pixels wide by 50 pixels high. The second image is 300 x 100, and the third is 900 x 300. Notice how the image with more pixels looks a lot better? That’s the whole point of this section.
How many pixels you need to export depends on what you’re going to use the image for. Very broadly, you can do two things with your image:
In the next two sections, we talk about each of these possibilities in detail.
If you plan to use your exported image as part of an on-screen presentation, it’s helpful to know what computer monitors and digital projectors can display:
So it stands to reason that if you’re exporting an image that will be viewed only on-screen, you need to create an image that’s somewhere between 800 and 2500 pixels wide. Table 13-1 provides some guidelines on image sizes for different digital applications.
TABLE 13-1 Suggested Image Sizes for On-screen Use
How the Image Will Be Used |
Image Width (Pixels) |
|
400 to 800 |
Website, large image |
600 |
Website, small image |
200 |
PowerPoint presentation (full screen) |
800 or 1024 (depends on projector) |
PowerPoint presentation (floating image) |
400 |
Table 13-2 provides some guidelines for exporting images that will be printed.
TABLE 13-2 Recommended Resolutions for Prints
How the Image Will Be Used |
Image Resolution (Pixels/Inch) |
Image Resolution (Pixels/Centimeter) |
8.5-x-11 or 11-x-17 inkjet or laser print |
200 to 300 |
80 to 120 |
Color brochure or pamphlet |
300 |
120 |
Magazine or book (color and shadows) |
300 |
120 |
Magazine or book (linework only) |
450 to 600 |
180 to 240 |
Presentation board |
150 to 200 |
60 to 80 |
Banner |
60 to 100 |
24 to 40 |
Follow these steps to make sure that you export enough pixels to print your image properly:
In the Export Options dialog box, make sure that the Use View Size check box is deselected.
To get to the Export Options dialog box, follow Steps 1–6 in the section “Exporting a raster image from SketchUp,” earlier in this chapter.
Decide on the resolution that you need for your exported image. (Refer to Table 13-2.)
Keep the resolution in your head or scribble it on a piece of paper.
Decide how big your exported image will be printed, in inches or centimeters.
Note your desired physical image size, just like you did with the resolution in the preceding step.
Multiply your resolution from Step 2 by your image size from Step 3 to get the number of pixels you need to export:
Resolution (pixels/in or cm) × Size (in or cm) = Number of pixels
In other words, if you know what resolution you need to export, and you know how big your image will be printed, you can multiply the two numbers to get the number of pixels you need. Here’s an example: 300 pixels/inch × 8 inches wide = 2400 pixels wide.
To export an image that can be printed 8 inches wide at 300 ppi, you need to export an image that’s 2400 pixels wide. Figure 13-5 gives an illustration of this example.
SketchUp’s default setting is to make your exported image match the proportions of your modeling window; that is, you can type only a width or a height, but not both. If you’re on a Mac, you can manually enter both dimensions by clicking Unlink (which looks like a chain). You can always click it again to relink the width and height dimensions later.
Type the width or height of the image you want to export, in pixels.
It’s usually pretty hard to know exactly how big your image will be when it’s printed, and even if you do, you probably want to leave some room for cropping. For these reasons, you might add 15–25 percent to the number of pixels you'll need. For example, if an image calls for 2400 pixels, you might export 3000 pixels, just to be safe.
If you’re on a Mac, things are a little easier because SketchUp’s designers built a pixel calculator into the Export Options dialog box. Just enter your desired resolution in the appropriate spot, change the Width and Height units from pixels to inches or centimeters, and type your desired image size. SketchUp does the arithmetic for you.
When it comes to having nerdy fun, exporting movie animations of your SketchUp models is right up there with Pokémon GO and store-bought fireworks. Like both these things, what’s so great about animation export is how easy it is to do.
That’s not to say that animation and digital video are simple topics — they’re not. It’d take a freight elevator to move the books that have been written about working with video on the computer, but in this section, we keep it simple. What you find here is only what you need to know in order to export an animation of a 3D SketchUp model.
The key to exporting animations of your SketchUp models is using scenes; if you haven’t read it already, now’s the time to check out Chapter 11. Scenes are saved views of your model that you can arrange in any order you want. When you export an animation, SketchUp strings together the scenes in your model to create a movie file that can be played on just about any computer made in the last several years.
Follow these steps to get your model ready to export as an animation:
To adjust the animation settings in the Model Info dialog box, choose Window ⇒ Model Info and then select the Animation panel.
Chapter 11 explains all the controls; see the section about moving from scene to scene.
Enter a transition time to tell SketchUp how long to spend moving between scenes.
If your Scene Delay is 0 (below), you can multiply your transition time by your number of scenes to figure out how long your exported animation will be.
Enter a scene delay time to pause at each scene before moving on to the next one.
If you plan to talk about each scene, use the scene delay time to pause before each one. If your animation is supposed to be a smooth walkthrough or flyover, set this to 0.
Adjust the proportions of your modeling window to approximate the proportions of your movie.
Unlike SketchUp’s 2D export formats, the proportions of your exported movie don’t depend on those of your modeling window; that is to say, making your modeling window long and skinny won’t result in a long and skinny movie. You choose how many pixels wide and tall you want your movie to be, so to get an idea of how much you’ll be able to see, make your modeling window match the proportions of your exported file. (The 16:9 aspect ratio is common for video formats.) Have a look at Step 1 in the section “Exporting a raster image from SketchUp,” earlier in this chapter, for guidance on adjusting your modeling window.
SketchUp offers a veritable alphabet soup of video export formats: You can choose from seven on Windows and six on Mac. The list can seem daunting, so here’s a cheat sheet that should save you some mental anguish:
(.mp4):
This video format is as close to an industry standard as it gets. Everyone with a Mac and anyone with QuickTime on her Windows computer can readily view H.264 movies without any hassle. It’s also the upload format of choice for popular video-sharing websites like YouTube and Vimeo. SketchUp’s exported H.264 files are nicely compressed, which keeps them smallish and good-looking.(.avi):
All Windows machines and Macs with a special plugin can play AVI movies. Popular video-sharing websites like YouTube and Vimeo let you upload AVI files, but they tend to prefer H.264. SketchUp’s exported AVI animations are uncompressed, meaning that they look nice and clean but the files can get huge quickly. If you’re planning to send someone your movie file, AVI might not be your best choice.(.webm):
Not too many years ago, the tech world started getting nervous about H.264’s dominance as a file format used to display video on websites. H.264 is proprietary, meaning that big companies have to pay licensing fees to its owner (Apple) if they want to use it. WebM is a free alternative, backed by Google, and made for use on websites that use HTML5. Translation: You don’t need to worry about WebM unless you’re planning to embed your movie on a modern website without first uploading it to YouTube or Vimeo.(.ogv):
Theora is another free, open source format meant for videos that will be embedded on websites. Unlike WebM, Theora is managed by an independent foundation that tries to keep important multimedia file formats out of the hands of big, private corporations like Apple (H.264) and Google (WebM).Although exporting animations in SketchUp is a pretty simple operation, figuring out how to set all the animation export controls can seem like landing the space shuttle.
Follow these steps to export a movie file from SketchUp:
Prepare your model for export as an animation.
See the section “Getting ready for prime time,” earlier in this chapter, for a list of things you need to do before you export an animation.
Choose File ⇒ Export ⇒ Animation ⇒ Video.
Choosing Video provides you with file formats that yield video files. If you pick Image Set instead, you’ll see options for creating sets of still images. We explain the difference between these a little later on in this section. If you’re on a Mac, there’s no bifurcation of the Animation submenu; just choose File ⇒ Export ⇒ Animation, and you see all your format choices.
Make sure that the correct file format is selected.
From the Format drop-down list, select the file format you want SketchUp to export. In most cases, this is either H.264 or AVI, but take a look at the descriptions earlier in this section for more detailed info.
Adjust the settings for the type of animation you want to export. (See Figure 13-6.)
How you set up everything in this dialog box depends on how you plan to use the animation you create. Check out the next section in this chapter for a list of settings and their implications.
Click OK in the Export Options dialog box.
You return to the Animation Export dialog box.
Check to make sure that everything looks right and then click the Export button.
Because exporting an animation takes a while, it pays to double-check your settings before you click the Export button. When the export is complete, you can find your animation file in the location you specified in Step 3. Double-clicking the file causes it to open in whatever movie-playing software you have that can read it.
As we say earlier, digital video can be complicated. Lucky for you, you don’t really have to know exactly what everything means to export the right kind of movie; you just have to know how to set up everything. The Animation Export Options dialog box (shown in Figure 13-6) is the same for each of the video file formats that SketchUp offers; here’s a brief guide to the settings:
AutoCAD and other CAD-based software are popular among architects, engineers, and anyone who needs to build or make super-precise stuff. Although some professionals have totally replaced AutoCAD-based workflows with SketchUp and LayOut, others still use AutoCAD.
If you ever need to export a SketchUp model to a DWG file that works with CAD-based software, SketchUp Pro has the inner workings to translate your SKP file into a DWG file. (You cannot export a CAD file from SketchUp Make; you have to plunk down the money for Pro.) Because the SKP-to-DWG process is fairly advanced, this section mostly gives you a high-level overview of the export process so that you have a basic understanding of how it works.
First, a few tasks can produce a cleaner exported file. Here's how to prepare your file before you export it as a DWG file:
To export a SketchUp model as a 2D CAD file, follow these steps:
Prepare your file, as explained in the preceding section.
We don't want you to miss those tips.
Choose your desired options.
The Drawing Scale and Size section enables you to choose scale options. If your model uses profile lines (See Chapter 10), then you can select options here that export the profile lines as CAD polylines and customize the line width if you like. The Separate on a Layer check box, when selected, places profile lines or section cut lines on a separate layer.
Click OK in the Export Options dialog box. Then click the Export button.
Depending on how big your SketchUp file is, this process can take a while.
When you export a SketchUp file to 3D DWG file, you can select what entities you want to export. For example, you may want to export only edges and leave out faces, dimensions, and text. Follow these steps to export your SketchUp model to a 3D DWG file:
Click the Export button.
SketchUp's gears start converting your file into a CAD-friendly format.