michaelgia 12 Posted December 10, 2016 Hi, is there any way to import a sketchup .skm texture as a calibz into the chief library? I use Techobloc stone for façades quite a bit and have been winging it with stone materials from the Buechel/M-Rock/Coronado libraries. Techobloc's website has files for autocad hatch patterns and sketchup textures, as do a lot of other mfrs. would be nice to convert these to import into Chief. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_NY61 94 Posted December 10, 2016 I open the skm with sketchup> apply texture to surface>Screen capture> make texture seamless and export as JPG or whatever and import to CA as material. You can make a collection of textures you use all the time. Here is an example I grabbed one .skm file BaltimoreWall_ChamplainGrey1 from that site and made a texture, added pattern to it and here it is. BaltimoreWall_ChamplainGrey1.calibz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelgia 12 Posted December 10, 2016 Ok thanks, so there's no instant magic procedure then. I can also import the jpeg of the material from the manufacturer's website and create my own material with it. Its just that I'm horrible at creating a "seamless" pattern with material like stone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcaffee 109 Posted December 10, 2016 There's a SketchUp extension to strip jpegs out of skm files. I don't remember the name, but if you search the Extension Warehouse... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_NY61 94 Posted December 10, 2016 The plugin is by Christina Eneroth called Material Extractor it's free as most plugins in sketchup. I use gimp to make seamless textures its very simple to make them and Gimp has a tile tool to see how it will look when applied to a large surface. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge_Runner 131 Posted December 10, 2016 14 minutes ago, Greg_NY61 said: The plugin is by Christina Eneroth called Material Extractor it's free as most plugins in sketchup. I use gimp to make seamless textures its very simple to make them and Gimp has a tile tool to see how it will look when applied to a large surface. Greg, would you be so kind as to give a brief step-by-step on how you make it seamless? I have/use Gimp some but not enough to get this process down so it works smoothly. I have done it in the past by using some Photoshop instructions I pulled off the internet as a guide (in principle only of course). It would certainly be appreciated and possibly help others here also. Thanks to all of you on this forum for your help. You guys are great. Thanks, Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcaffee 109 Posted December 10, 2016 If anybody is using Photoshop, then I would suggest... http://www.the-orange-box.com/portfolio/free-seamless-textures-generator-v-2/ It's free, has a low learning curve, and few quirks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelgia 12 Posted December 11, 2016 Check out... Thanks Greg! I feel like I've just harnessed a new super power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_NY61 94 Posted December 12, 2016 21 hours ago, michaelgia said: Check out... Thanks Greg! I feel like I've just harnessed a new super power. Nice job Mike! It looks good, glad to be of help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge_Runner 131 Posted December 13, 2016 Thanks for posting this video. Exactly what I was hoping for. Mike 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelgia 12 Posted December 13, 2016 Youre welcome. ...and to think I've been wasting hours with photoshop all this time. We need to thank Greg however, he mentioned Gimp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rlackore 407 Posted December 13, 2016 Gimp is a great tool, and I've used it for years. However, I'd like to put a plug in for PixPlant - it's the easiest, fastest method I've found for creating seamless textures. It will quickly output diffuse, displacement, normal and specular maps from an imported image (or pasted from the clipboard). It's easy to learn (took me about 3 minutes to figure out the basics) and not terribly expensive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelgia 12 Posted December 14, 2016 22 hours ago, rlackore said: Gimp is a great tool, and I've used it for years. However, I'd like to put a plug in for PixPlant - it's the easiest, fastest method I've found for creating seamless textures. It will quickly output diffuse, displacement, normal and specular maps from an imported image (or pasted from the clipboard). It's easy to learn (took me about 3 minutes to figure out the basics) and not terribly expensive. Ok I've checked out the tutorials and I have my finger on the purchase button, because it really does seem like the easiest and best way to create patterns, as you say, but can you post a jpeg of a facade or wall that you've created that you're proud of? ....please? or post a calibz of a brick or stone pattern you've created and actually use? Or are you still exploring? thanks, - Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rlackore 407 Posted December 14, 2016 Here are some: Of course, the quality of the texture is a direct result of the quality of the image used for input. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites