Models | Mapsys.info

The great new model of Saint Basil’s Cathedral

We’ve shown you work from 3D modeler ‘PeterG’ quite a few times here on Google Earth Blog. He built one of the first great 3D interiors that we saw, some nice 3D tours of Mount Urgull, and quite a few other models.

His latest work is the remodeling of Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow, Russia. It’s a stunning model that you need to see to believe.

To go check it out for yourself, you can fly there by using this KML file. Be sure to have the [3D Buildings] layer turned on to view the building.

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SketchUp: 3D models from Guillaume Godin

Every so often we like to feature excellent 3D modelers on the blog, and today’s example is certainly worthy of being showcased. In the past few months we’ve shown you amazing examples from people like Peter Olson, Darian Robbins, jgago93 and others, and today we’ll be showing you the work of Guillaume Godin.

As pointed out on the Google Sketchup Blog last week, Guillaume has built some truly great models. Below is his model of le marché Bonsecours in Montreal, showing some sharp architecture with high quality textures on it.

Another great example is the Shell gas station shown below. A gas station might be an odd choice for us to show off, but it’s a great example of 3D models helping to make the world more realistic. By including details such as the sign, light poles and individual gas pumps, Guillaume is making that area much more true to life for people that browse it in Google Earth.

As of now, Guillaume has uploaded 157 models to the 3D Warehouse and 72 of them have been accepted into Google Earth. As you can see from the images above, his models are incredibly well-done and are a great addition to Google Earth!

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Google Earth: The Harrisburg Capitol Complex

As I’ve mentioned on here on GEB a few times, I love high-quality 3D models. I think they add a lot to the Google Earth experience, and I enjoy highlighting users that create awesome models.

In the past we’ve shown you work from people like Andy Dell and companies such as Estate3D and CyberCity3D. Today I want to show you some of the work from Steve Cline of Urban 3D Modeling.

He lives in Harrisburg, PA and built out much of the downtown area in 3D. In his words:

“As a resident of Harrisburg I wanted to show off the beautiful architecture and history of our state capitol complex. All the state government buildings are clustered into a dense complex that is bisected by State Street. The principle entrance from the east is the State Street Bridge which passes through two towering pylons as you enter directly into the Capitol Building and surrounding complex. Most of the complex buildings are a mix of neoclassical design and some art deco influence from the later additions. Of the 15 buildings in this collection my personal favorites are the Keystone Building, Judicial Center, and Forum Building. The only building not done by me was the previously done Capitol Building.”

You can find all of the models in Google earth, and he’s also put them together in a collection in the 3D Warehouse. For a quick look at all he’s done, you can use this KMZ tour to fly around and see it all.

For more on Urban 3D Modeling, you can check out their website, follow them on Twitter or connect with them on Facebook.

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Shaderlight creates a Winter Wonderland, and is now available on Mac

Back in January we told you about Shaderlight, a plug-in for Google SketchUp that helps you create photorealistic renderings from your models.

Back in November they announced the “Winter Wonderland” contest, encouraging users to to render festive image using their impressive plug-in. They recently announced the winners of the contest, all three of whom created some incredible scenes:

First Place: Luke Holdmann: Milwaukee, WI, USA

Second Place: Abedallah: Christchurch, New Zealand

Third Place: Zoungy: USA

Shaderlight is an amazing plug-in, and it’s really starting to show the power behind Google SketchUp. The only downside to Shaderlight was that it has only been available on Windows, but just a few days ago they finally released a version of the plug-in for Mac. They had promised it “sometime in March” and delivered on March 1. Impressive!

Have you tried out Shaderlight yet?

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Rebuilding L’Aquila in 3D: Progress

In mid-January of this year, we returned to l’Aquila, Italy to teach a Google Building Maker workshop, in further support of the post-earthquake 3D digital reconstruction effort of the city. If you are not familiar with this Google-assisted effort, you can read all about it (or just watch the video below).

While we were there, we had the chance to meet many users that are actively working on the project, and see several of their amazing models. These models allow an “at-a-glance” look at the current situation of the city. Most of the models reproduce the city as it is now, including the damage to the various structures; they provide a precious resource to evaluate current and future reconstruction projects in the city.

Modeling Progress: On the left are geo-models that existed before the Google workshops. On the right are models currently visible in Google Earth.

SketchUp model and picture (inset) of the S. Pietro di Coppito (XIII century) after the earthquake.

SketchUp model and picture (inset) of Santa Maria del Suffragio (XVIII century) after the earthquake.

If you are interested in lending a hand, you can use Building Maker to create simple geo-models. If you’d like to dive in a little deeper, you can use SketchUp in connection with the many photos and other information on the project website.

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