Designing wolfs head (help)

[RyanHarbird]

Hello Guys

 

Im new to sketchup and only played around with photoshop and GIMP so im new to 3D modelling and only been on the program for around 3 hours. As you may have guessed i'm still pretty bad having not had time to properly practice. Anyway I am looking to design 3 wolves heads in to a metal side case of a PC.If its possible the coloured parts would be the bits that are cut out of the case .Eventually its a project as im in to PC case modding and would like to take it to a company and get it case cut in to the side. How would I go around this and is there a tutorial that could help me that you could think of. Any help would be a benefit right now as im completely stuck. Thank you in advance

 

Ryan

 

[Cad64]

You're using Sketchup? The reason I ask is because you posted this question in the Autocad 3D Modeling section.

 

The truth of the matter is that you don't need Sketchup or any 3D modeling program. You need a CAD program so you can draw the outline of the wolf head for the company to cut out of the case. There is a free CAD program called Draftsight that you can use for drawing the wolf head. You can find it here: http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/free-download/

[RyanHarbird]

Thanks for the reply, Yeah I am, well was, using sketchup as I got told it would be one of the easiest to use and make my desired design. I will download from the link you provided and get working. Would my desired result be realistic or am I maybe trying to push the boundaries a bit far

[lrm]

Is your goal the creation of NC machining data that can be given to a fabricator to cut out the dark areas of the wolf graphic? If so, then this is a 2D CAD task and what you need is the outlines of the colored areas as splines or polylines. You could use a variety of programs to make the geometry including AutoCAD. Sketchup would not be one of my choices.

 

BTW, if you are planing to cut holes in sheet metal to form the wolf graphic you will encounter some problems with the wall thickness between some of the voids. For example, parts of the ear are very thin. This area will deform during the cutting process. If you are just planning to etch the design into the sheet metal then you do not need a CAD vector definition of the design. You can use the raster design of the wolf graphic for the etching process.

[tzframpton]

I would actually opt to a vector drawing application, such as Adobe Illustrator. Or, if budget is tight, Inkscape which is a GNU free application (like gIMP). You can draw in both types of applications, but a CAD based program is usually technical, where as a vector illustrator program has tools to really help with the fluids of curves and splines, especially with free-hand manipulation tools.

 

Illustrator and Inkscape can export to the proper formats for a shop to accept and convert to paths for their tooling equipment. Just another option is all.

 

-TZ

[SLW210]

Sketch-up is not the tool for this task AFAIK, though it may get the job done, it is more for 3D IMHO.

 

Illustrator or Inkscape as suggested would work best. Though neither are for beginners.

 

For tutorials just search on your favorite search engine "Inkscape/Illustrator convert image to vector tutorial" or "convert image to vector tutorial"

[shift1313]

I agree with tanner. Lots of graphics programs can save the vector files as a dxf, which is what a shop would need to water jet or laser cut your case. They will also have more tools to easily pick up colors and mask regions to make the process much quicker. Some CAD systems like Solidworks will let you automatically convert a 2 color image into polyLines, but its usually very bad resolution.

 

Kind of away from this, are you planning on putting a filter/screen behind it? You might be better making a rectangle with 3 faces cut out that bolt to the case and sandwich some foam. Then just have a grid type pattern on the case itself.