Etruscan temple uploaded to Google 3d Warehouse

Just to let everyone know, upon request from one commenter, I've uploaded my Etruscan temple model to Google's 3d Warehouse website to share with others online.

Click here to check it out!
As you can see by the search listing for the query "etruscan temple", I've quickly cornered the market on Etruscan 3D paraphernalia.

I have yet to add roof ornaments like statuettes which were typical of Roman and Etruscan temples and the reason for this is that while Sketchup is very intuitive and easy to use for architectural models, it's a little harder to create curvier objects. This means that I have to resort to another application like Blender to make them which must then be imported to Sketchup. Before I can do this however, I have to learn a lot more about Blender's interface which, when compared to Sketchup, is a LIVING NIGHTMARE!!! Despite that, one can accomplish some pretty impressive things with Blender so I struggle on in my sparetime learning the application bit by bit so that one day, maybe, I'll finally accomplish those roof ornaments on my temple. Hilarious stuff.

My Etruscan temple gets a splash of paint

Here was the newest colourless version of my model. Tiles fill the roof and a moulded front and back was added. I went nuts with the front, adding some showy detail and I think it really "pops" now. If only I could live in my temple, hehehe.



As much as it looks cool in white, I then splashed it with some colour and chose a pallette based on the ample pictures available online of a physical model already created by others and which I, obviously, mimicked (see below).


And so this is the palette I copied.



Now first, Google's Sketchup doesn't render patterns nicely. It could be that I'm overlooking some special "trick" but the repetition of the patterns are obvious and annoying me. Second, while I now hate Google for randomly shutting down my site and being completely asleep at the wheel, we can still exploit Sketchup for all its worth and convert models into other 3d programs like Blender to fight against Google monopoly. It's also free to download. Blender also has some neat features that Sketchup doesn't have so I've been curious about playing around some more with this model in another program.

One site I've found shows how to convert a Blender model into Sketchup while another tells you how to convert models from Sketchup into Blender. I'll try these methods out and see what happens. Vive la resistance.

The Etruscan temple, now with more yummy detail

My work continues on and it's pretty addictive. I've always loved 3D and details so I'm really getting my rocks off doing this model. I'm still pondering on how I'm going to dress this building up. What colours? What objects do you put in it? What would an Etruscan temple look like inside one of those rooms? Here's also the side view thus far...

Erecting an Etruscan temple

I couldn't help but notice when I browse through Google's 3D Warehouse looking for interesting historical 3d models that there is little mention of Etruscan-related anything, let alone a sample temple. Madness, I say! How many millions of people online and not a single person inspired for something more on that topic? Egad, talking about global depression.

Oh well, no worries. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself. The above is my first attempt at architectural (re)construction, an Etruscan temple. Don't worry, it'll get more ornate as time goes on. I'm doing this primarily for my own selfish reasons. I want to visualize a temple and understand its components, understand how Etruscan rituals might have been performed in it, what religious nicknacks it was filled with, what ornamentation would be appropriate to the period, building methods, etc. Making this 3d model is an awesome learning opportunity that forces me to ask deeper questions for myself that I may not have pondered until I undertook this project. Besides, I really find using the simple and free-to-use Sketchup program to be a very intuitive tool to use, quick and easy to share with the online world.

Below is the plan and pic (source: http://intranet.arc.miami.edu/rjohn/EarlyRome.htm) that I'm basing things on, something that might be useful to others that want to try this fun exercise out for themselves: