3D Objects: from a photo to SketchUp

Video transcript

With Maquete, you can turn a furniture reference into a 3D object and bring it into your SketchUp project. In this tutorial, we’ll follow this armchair from its original photo to the finished model, then place it in a living-room scene. In Maquete Studio, open 3D Objects. Choose One image, give your object a name, and click Add images to upload your reference. For this example, I’m calling the object Armchair. Try to use an image that shows the whole object clearly. If there’s a room or other furniture around it, use Additional notes to explain what you want to create. Here, I’m entering: Create only the armchair. Under Model detail, I’m choosing Detailed. You can choose a lighter model when keeping your scene smaller is more important. Click Generate 3D object. Generation takes some time. For this walkthrough, we’ll open the armchair that was generated earlier. Go to My objects and select the armchair. Drag to rotate it, and zoom in to inspect the details. Check it from the sides and the back too. Parts that aren’t visible in the reference are inferred, so review the whole model before using it. Clay helps you inspect the shape, and Wireframe shows the mesh. Switch back to Materials to see the textured object. Now let’s download the armchair as a SketchUp file and add it to our scene. In the Download section, click SKP and save the file. Open your living-room scene in SketchUp. Choose File, then Import, and select the SKP file you just downloaded. Click to place the armchair. Check its size against your project, and adjust the scale if needed. Use SketchUp’s Move and Rotate tools to position it, then orbit around it to check its scale and contact with the floor. Once you’re happy with the placement, save your scene. The armchair is now part of your SketchUp project, and you also have an SKP file ready to use again. You can also use the Maquete plugin to download the object as an SKP or insert it directly into your SketchUp model. Sign in to the same Maquete account and open 3D Objects in the plugin. The original object remains in My objects in Maquete.