Earthware Blog

Here at Earthware we are always keen to drive more value from the VScapes 3d property modelling presentations, completed for our property development clients. So when we heard about the new web page exporter for Google’s 3d modelling application Sketchup, we immediately saw its application to building projects.

The exporter is much more basic than the 3d model viewer from 3dVia we have previously shown on the blog but it has one advantage, you don’t need to install anything extra to see the model its works in any normal web browser!

Its really easily to use and as you can see for yourself below its pretty effective.

To read more about using the Sketchup web exporter plugin see this video tutorial. The exporter is a beta release and we would love to see more functionality in future including 360 rotation and basic zooming, hopefully the best is yet to come!

This is just another way for our clients to present their building projects adding to the established Vscapes products including videos, Google Earth models and 3d PDFs.

Using details from a local planning application for a proposed wind farm, Earthware provided a Vscapes presentation to aid in the application showing a 3d scale virtual representation of the completed site in Google Earth including support structures and access roads.

To download the Google Earth file containing this project and experience the development yourself please click here, you will need to install Google Earth before viewing this file by clicking here.

We are pleased to say that the outcome of the application was successful, and the Vscapes presentation was praised as an effective tool to present and understand the proposed development.

As part of this video, 3D models of wind turbines and a local structure were built to scale to give a real world comparison between the sizes of each.

We at Earthware believe that this style of presentation can be highly effective for a range of environmental planning or pre-visualisation, as it accurately shows how a future structure will appear in the environment and the visual effect it will have on the landscape.  This has been previously demonstrated with our background in visualisations for off-plan property developments.

For more information about how Vscapes can help your planning process visit www.earthware.co.uk/vscapes or call us on +44 (0)845 642 9880.

Here at Earthware we have been using Shape for a while now in our interactive mapping and V-scapes products but we have yet to see any updates in the software until now. There have been several new features and a new tool added to shape of which I  will give brief overview of below

Texturing was one area that I felt needed improvement in the original version and I had the opportunity to voice my concerns to the team at 3Dvia when I was collaborating with them on the Virtual Earth Eos Generali project.

The principal improvement that has been added is a non uniform scale tool similar in function to the toolset in Google Sketchup. The texture manipulation tool now allows the user to stretch a texture vertically and horizontally in addition to original uniform scale There is also a new tool for texture manipulation which brings up 4 pins positioned on the texture and a central button which has the unique function of filling your polygon with what is contained within the 4 surrounding pins. The process is demonstrated in the images below.

 

The pins can also be moved manually in an advanced mode that will allow the texture to be stretched in a non uniform manner. It works in a similar way to the push pins in Google Sketchup but is set up in a different way and personally I find it much easier to use and understand.

Manipulate has also changed slightly. Previously it produced a set of slightly confusing directional indicators when the user clicked on the element that was to be moved. Now you receive a helpful marker to shows where you have selected which has a number of arrows attached to it clearly indicating the directions or movement available.

 

With the existing simple but strong tool set I think that these additions further strengthen the unique offering from 3Dvia.

If you have read the previous post you will also be aware of the 3D cities that Microsoft is pioneering in Virtual Earth. They look really good and also allow for embedding of new models within the existing cities. Once they are uploaded it also provides for manipulation, allowing you to ensure it is exactly where you want it :@)

Vscapes, the interactive modelling division of Earthware is looking for a  3D modeller

Due to the success of the Vscapes offering, it’s time to expand the team! Reporting to the Sales and Marketing Manager, the successful candidate will undertake projects and activities to help drive interactive 3D design.

Accountabilities

• Bespoke 3D Modelling
• Client and project management
• Creating innovative new products and solutions using 3D modelling and API’s
• Constantly developing knowledge in order to increase standards of our 3D models

Person Specification

The successful applicant should satisfy the following requirements:

Required:

· 3d / cad experience e.g. 3dStudio, Sketchup, Autocad

· Photoshop

· Video editing experience e.g. adobe premier, avid, adobe after effects

· General multi-media experience

Desirable:

· Google Earth KML

· Basic HTML

· XML

· Experience creating textures

· Experienced digital photographer

Attitude:

In addition to the above, enthusiasm and self-discipline are valuable traits for this role. Earthware is a small, but fast growing, entrepreneurial organisation with a unique culture built around integrity, enthusiasm, initiative, playing as a team and having fun. Earthware encourages personal and skills development so an eagerness to learn is essential.

Personal Specification:

It almost goes without saying that successful applicants will have good inter-personal skills, as a good working relationship with the team is essential. The ability to work calmly under pressure of deadlines is essential, as is the ability to prioritise and manage parallel tasks. Also essential are good telephone, writing and communication skills.

Location

Earthware is based, in Letchworth, Herts (about 35 minutes by train from London Kings Cross) and the role would be predominantly office based. However, Earthware is a flexible organisation and encourages flexible working arrangements wherever practical.

How to Apply

Please send an up to date C.V. to recruitment@earthware.co.uk stating job reference 3D101 and a selection of your work

C.V. applications without accompanying examples will not be considered.

All applicants must be registered to work in the UK.

For further information or an informal discussion about this position please contact Dan Roberts on 0845 642 9880.

No contact from agencies please.

UPDATE: Earthware’s Vscapes product now offers 3d Building developments for our clients in Virtual Earth and Google Earth. For more details see our Vscapes virtual landscapes page for details and client stories.

As part of an in house training exercise here at Earthware I went into town and captured some photos of the Town Hall here in Letchworth.

This building was constructed in 1935 and makes a nice challenge for anyone wishing to create a building for Google Earth due to its unique architectural features. The biggest challenge faced is the need to keep the model simple enough to not to exceed the restraints of Google Earth yet detailed enough to look like the building the model is designed to represent. Below is a short list of tip I believe are essential to creating an efficient Google earth model.

• When creating textures from photos always crop them and remove unwanted items from the picture as this will reduce image size.
• Always resize and save your textures at the lowest quality possible that still retains the level of detail you require. A good web texture is no more than 30k
• Remove all redundant geometry from your model such as the base plane of the model and any polygons that have formed within your model while you have been creating it.
• Create curved surfaces from a number of straight lines to give the appearance of a curve. For example if you examine the tower on the town hall model you will see that the curved dome is made up of a few flat angular pieces.
• Use your textures to show building details like windows and doors rather than modelling it for real.

These few useful techniques should get you well on your way to creating web efficient and Google earth compliant models in no time at all.

I have submitted the Town Hall model to Google in the hope that they will embed it in Google Earth so that anyone scanning the sights of Letchworth will be able to view it in its natural location. For now clicking on the image will take you to 3D warehouse and allow you to download the model to you computer or view it in Google Earth.

Let me know if anyone finds this useful!

Cheers

Chris

This project that has been recently completed represents a new venture for Earthware that puts our 3D and mapping skills to a new and innovative use.

Video: Stonish Hill WindFarm

We have used the plans from a local planning application for a proposed wind farm and created a scale virtual representation of the completed site in Google Earth including support structures and access roads. To download the Google Earth file containing this project please click here

The purpose of creating this video and accompanying Google Earth file was to support a local planning campaign the outcome of which was successful with the assistance of this video.

We at Earthware believe that this style of presentation is highly effective for a range of uses such as environmental planning or pre-visualisation as it accurately shows how a future structure will appear in the environment and the visual effect it it will have on the landscape.

As part of this video 3D models of wind turbines were built to scale as well as a local structure to give a real world comparison between the sizes of each. Below are the 3D models which you can interact with inside the windows by clicking the play button and following the on screen instruction to download the necessary file to run the player. please be aware the 2 windows will not run simultaneously so one must be paused for the other to become operational. Do this by right clicking on the viewer and selecting pause.

I would just like to say a big thanks to 3Dvia for their excellent model hosting service which provides these stunning i-fame viewers. If you like these models or wish to see other 3D models created by Earthware they are available to view and download from my profile hosted at 3Dvia.

If you are reading this blog and you have an vested interest in scale presentations within Google or Virtual Earth then please drop us a line and find out how Earthware can help you.

Chris

Multimedia Developer

Hi Guys, its been a little while since I last Blogged so I will take this opportunity to wish you all a happy a new year. What follows is a few of our latest offerings, with one more to follow once I have finished it hopefully later today but as someone is coming in to pull down a wall in the office tomorrow I’m not sure I’m gonna get there in time!

Also a quick welcome to anyone coming through to us from 3Dvia. Somehow my work has ended up on the homepage so that makes this post long over due for some of you.

Anyway here goes:

Earthware Tower

This video demonstrates the Earthware tower which allows the user to view the inside as well as the outside of a building in Google Earth. This is the first product aimed at developers of large residential buildings with complicated features. The video outlines the main selling points and a few new features of this style of 3D model. Below is the link to download the Google Earth file so that you can have a play yourself!

Download Earthware Tower for Google Earth

Earthware Superstore

As with all these videos please excuse all the rubbish music. If it were up to me it would be something a little be more cool and a lot less cliché but we don’t want to have to pay royalties so my choice was limited!

Anyway this video shows Earthware superstore a fictional out of town shopping centre or depot style building. This to has a simple interior to show the scope of what is becoming possible with Google Earth and will hopefully be possible with virtual earth very soon.

If your interested in commercial property please check out www.novaloca.com which has a working example of Earthware’s advanced mapping and where hopefully 3D buildings will become a common place feature of the search once Microsoft has developed their tool kit a bit further.

Download Earthware Superstore for Google Earth

As usual we would love your feedback on these items using the comments below, or if you have any business propositions then please contact us.

Cheers

Chris Jackson
Multimedia Developer

Adobe have recently released Acrobat 3D Version 8. This new version of Acrobat gives the user the opportunity to embed a variety of different media types into a PDF document which can then be read by anyone with the free adobe reader software.

Here at Earthware we have jumped at the chance to embed some of our 3D models into this new medium and see what it is capable of. to do this I have taken a fictional building and created a property brochure page around it.

Acrobat has the ability to capture CAD files simply by opening your 3D file in the program it was made in and using the print screen button to capture it while the 3D feature in acrobat is running in the background.

To embed directly into an existing PDF is just as easy.

All you need to do is choose the 3d tool in the tools menu and then draw a marquee in the place you want your model to appear.

Once this is done a capture options menu appears with basic field parameters for the import. After selecting your options you are required to go to your 3D package, load your model and press print screen.

Once print screen has been completed go back to acrobat, the OK button at the bottom of the capture tab will be activated and you press ok.

The model will load in and then be active within the marquee you placed earlier. note that you will need to select the hand tool to activate the 3D navigation panel

Download our prototype and have a go with the 3D window, you will need the latest version of the free adobe acrobat reader. It allows full navigation of the model with the mouse. to activate the tool panel click within the 3D viewer. Also note that acrobat does not show all the textures at the same time, presumably to minimize memory usage although I am working on finding a fix for this

If you need adobe acrobat then click here

To download our prototype click here

For a while we have toyed with the idea of interior modelling in Sketchup for Google earth but with residential models it is impossible to navigate inside them effectively with the tools available. A larger commercial space gives more room to navigate in so we have developed a prototype with a basic interior space to test out the concept.

With some careful mouse movement it will be possible to get inside and view the interior of the building. If you have the advantage of a 3D mouse then performing a fly through will be easy. To aid things a little  there are some place marks in the tour folder which will hopefully guide you through several view points in and around the model providing they work correctly.

Click the link to download the Google earth file

Earthware Commercial Demo

feel free to leave your comments and let us know what you think

UPDATE: Earthware’s Vscapes product now offers 3d Building developments for our clients in Virtual Earth / 3dVia and Google Earth. For more details see our Vscapes virtual landscapes page for details and client stories.

We have spent the morning playing with the new Virtual Earth modeling tool, see our tutorial for some examples. Having used Google Sketchup extensively for 3d models in Google Earth we have a good idea of what is required to quickly and effectively create property models.

The interface

The interface is very clean and simple and has most of the tools we would expect from a basic 3d modeling program. It is very easy to create basic shapes and modify them into more complex models. Rotating and resizing models is done very simply as well. The texturing interface is also a pleasure to use making fitting textures to models a breeze.

Navigating your model

Navigating around the 3d space however is far from perfect. There does not seem to be a way to center the rotation of a model around the center point of the model, so simple operations like rotating the view around the model are very clunky. Also there is not support for different viewpoints which are often very handy when modeling. There are a few mouse shortcuts to help navigate like middle mouse button to pan, mouse wheel to zoom and middle mouse button and left mouse button together to rotate. These shortcuts make it a bit simpler to move around but this could be much improved.

Integration into Virtual Earth

The integration into http://local.live.com/ is seemless and very simple. Once in a collection in http://local.live.com/ you can add descriptions, more details urls and photos to each model. You can also add basic 3d tours as described below. Right now of course you can only get models into local.live.com not into your own map mashups but there is promise from the development team that this is coming soon, hopefully with the V6 api release.

To see how models work in local.live.com see our sample collection.

Video / 3d Tours

If you hover over a model in your local.live.com collection and choose "edit properties" you will see a box with a "3d tour" tab appear. This lets you add a basic tour to the model with a start position and angle to spin around during the animation. It would be nice to see a more advanced multi stage tour that could include multiple models.

If you then click on the actions menu in the collections box you will see a "tour in 3d" option, this allows you to playback the animations you have added to models in your collection. There are simple controls the playback the tour and a red record button to output the tour to video! Below is an example tour video.

Summary

Overall this is a great step for Virtual Earth, having a very simple to use 3d editor is the first step to getting user created 3d content into Virtual Earth. It will take a few versions before these tools can start to rival the Google Earth / Google Sketchup combination but for a first release this is really great.

Of course the biggest issues is that currently you cannot import you own existing models, everything has to be created from scratch. This is a major issue for us at Earthware so we will be investing some time experimenting to see if there is any "unofficial" way to do this.