SketchUp Wall Art: Part 4 – Add Frame and Reload

This last post in the series was a bit of an afterthought – I hadn’t thought to include anything about picture frames. But it seemed  a fitting way to wrap up this series, to add a more realistic look to your wall art.

I have a specific way I like to do my frames, which I’ll show here, but there are lots of ways, of course.

To recap, here’s where we were after Part 1 (image import), Part 2 (component alignment), and Part 3 (importing a pre-aligned SketchUp component). We have a room with two painting components which both perfectly align to their walls.adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 27

 

The painting next to the cabinet (with the five musicians) was imported from its own SketchUp file. So I’ll go into that file and show how to add a simple frame to it. Then I’ll show how to replace the frame-less painting with its revised version.

Add the Frame

Here’s the painting in its own file: adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 28

 

I like keeping the frame and painting separate, making them each into their own group, before bringing them back together. The reason I do it this way is that the Offset tool can cause inside faces to reverse, which is annoying to fix. And having the frame in its own group makes for easier color changes later. You might prefer a method with fewer steps, but this works for me.

I’m selecting the bottom face (not the top face) of the picture and copying it into blank space. I’m copying it exactly in the red direction, by a known distance (6 feet, in this case).adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 29

On the copied face, I’m using the Offset tool to create a larger rectangle surrounding the image. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 30

Keeping the frame in its default color, I’m pulling it up to the height of the top face of the original painting.adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 31

Then I’m pulling it up just a wee bit more, so the frame will be thicker than the painting inside. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 32

Both the original painting and the frame are made into separate groups. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 33

And the frame is moved back, using the same copy direction and distance, in reverse. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 34

Save the revised painting model.

Reload

Go back to the room model, right-click on the painting you want to replace with the framed version, and choose Reload. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 36

 

Browse to find the framed version of the painting and bring it in. adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 37

 

Here’s what’s nice about a frame that’s in its own group (nested inside a component) – if you wanted to make physical changes to just the frame, you could edit just that group. So I can keep a stockpile of painting models that have default-color simple frames, import the ones I like, and easily try out frame colors that match my room decor.

Here I’ve changed the frame color to match the window frames. I also added a frame to the other painting.adding wall art in SketchUp Posters 38

 

Nice rendering by Twilight:

 

About Bonnie Roskes

Bonnie Roskes has been writing tutorial-style projects on 3D modeling software, primarily SketchUp, since 2001. Her website, www.3dvinci.net offers a wide variety of learning materials for all ages, from kids in grade school through design professionals. Her materials cover general 3D design, 3D printing, geometry, interior design, geo-modeling, and more, and future books are in the works. Read more about Bonnie.

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2 Comments


  1. Thanks a lot for the tips Bonnie, very usefull
    Best Regards

    Sandro

    Reply

  2. Just great!!!!!!
    Thank you Bonnie.
    Chris B.

    Reply

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