Construction Lines gives you Sketchup tools in Blender!
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
- This add on seems to have flown under the radar and I don't quite know how. Maybe because the Sketchup workflow is so natural to me as I started with it but this is one of those tools that I think brings so many options to the table.
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Construction Lines: blendermarket.com/products/co...
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Cablerator: blendermarket.com/products/cb...
(Non-affiliate links)
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00:00 Intro
02:16 Basics
07:41 Snapping and measurement snapping
12:36 Multiple copying and "reverse" array - Навчання та стиль
I always thought Blender should snap like Sketchup does, and now it does! Holy crap thanks for highlighting this addon. Also big shout out to Dan for developing this.
Yeah it's such a great addition to the program.
Went straight to the blender marketplace and purchased this add-on. It is as advertised. Worth more than its asking price. Excellent work by the developer. Thank you for doing a video about this add-on.
Yeah, he's done an absolutely fantastic job.
These are all basic tools from pretty much EVERY drafting software made in the past 20-30 years. A greatly appreciated upgrade in my eyes.
Totally agree.
Blender developers should watch your video.
Well that's a great compliment. Thanks 😁
Blender Developers have a big ego and only care about their own ideas, buuuuut that's the power of open source: we can add the features in our own forks.
@@sonario6489 I will say the ones I've spoken to have been REALLY helpful. The guys from Just Pannels and Cablerator deserve a special mention here as having been bloody brilliant in terms of communications.
Thanks very much for making this great video. There's a huge amount of work that's gone into developing Construction Lines so it's fantastic to see videos like this. I have a new version coming out soon which mainly focuses on stability and performance improvements but also has the ability to create linked copies of objects. This means that the data between the objects is linked together, so that a change in one, affects all of the others.
That's so awesome 😁 Thanks for taking the time to comment and keep working on this great tool. It's been hugely appreciated from me and others judging by the amount of positive comments I've seen
Your addon would've been nice if it supported Blender 2.8, I'm adept at using Sketchup and being able to use Blender with these type of controls would've a huge help in my workflow. Unfortunately your addon only supports the 2.93 and newer versions, not everyone has the money to buy PC hardware to support the newer versions. Buying a addon is much cheaper compared to buying a new rig, still tho the addon you made is great, it's just a bummer that I can't use it on 2.8 since it's the most stable version I can run on my old PC.
I have been quietly watching your channel for a few months, found it while looking to solve a particular blender conundrum that I can no longer recall. I'm using blender for generally the same purposes as you seem to be, designing for 3-d printing terrain for tabletop miniatures for D&D and such. Used to play Warhammer and 40k so I appreciate your design aesthetics. I also came from Sketchup (I first learned CAD on AutocAD 10/11/12) so everything you hit on in this video, from the simple draw and extrude (with exact measurements) to the snapping (I don't understand what the heck blender is doing with its movement snapping) is exactly describing my pain points with blender. Until now, I had largely been ignoring all your add-on recommendations, thinking "I can do that just as well with the built in tools" (and I do appreciate it when you show the exact steps with and without the add-ons) - but this tool looks like a must have. Especially because I continue to use Sketchup to model woodworking furniture projects so I can't un-train that design approach. Thanks for the fantastic channel and recommendation.
Thanks so much. Untraining myself from the sketch up mindset took a while and its interesting to have a mixed viewpoint on the creation process. I hope you find the add on useful 😁
holy ssssst i was looking for this thing for a long long long time. Im old blender user, from 2.4 version and for so many years i used to deal with things without this Sketchup thintgs, but maaaan thats game changer. Now if there was same plugin for Unreal engine, i would never leave it :D
Yeah I love this addon. It does so much to enhance Blender with functions that are otherwise a pain not to have.
FINALLY someone added this, been wanting these tools in Blender for years! Sadly its been a year without much modelling but clearly that's about to change.
Great to hear its going to get you back modelling 😁😁😁
I learned 3D on Sketchup and used it as a designer for years until retirement when I began to work in Blender. All I can say is that I couldn't agree with you more on every point that you made. Thank you for this tutorial!
😁 lovely to meet another Sketchup user and thanks so much 👍🏻👌🏼
Great video. This has been the biggest pain for me as a Sketchup user learning Blender is that I always want to do half the work in Sketup because its just so much easier. I absolutely despise using a boolean modifier to do something as simple as creating a door or window opening.
It took me a long time to get used to certain Blender aspects. But I have to say that having the best of both worlds is great
WHOLY CRAP.. all the features I miss from Sketchup in blender.. bought it.. love it.
It's great isn't it! Best of both worlds.
I am about to start on a reconstruction of a Roman bath complex and this should be immensely helpful. Thanks for the heads up!
Cool project! And thanks.
Look forward to more uses of Construction lines. Thanks
If youre interested, there's an update for a new function it now has here: ua-cam.com/video/05OXefE5xr4/v-deo.html
And an example of it used at the beginning of this workflow: ua-cam.com/video/PoTzlpHvq00/v-deo.html
Thanks for the heads up about the sale! Nearly bought it the HOPS/BoxCutter bundle the other day at full price. Bought it through your link, cheers!
Thanks so much for using the link. Hugely appreciated and I hope you enjoy the add on, it's awesome.👌
Excellent tool, thanks for introducing it.
No problem. It's a great job by the designer so happy to share the love.
Damn. I just bought this for the CAD-like drawing but didn’t know about half of this. 😮 That’s gonna be a weekend.
😁😁😁
I also came to blender from sketchup and found it very frustrating until I came across this plugin. yes video, thank you! I can only recommend!
Thanks so much. Glad to know others are enjoying the add on as well as me 😁
Just came across this video .......... F.....ing fantastic. Just got this. Great coverage of this addon.
Cheers
MR H
Glad I could help out 😁👍🏻
Oh cool. I did not know this addon existed and I have indeed missed that sketch up workflow.
Thanks!
No problem. I was really excited when I originally found this.
"O" in the toolbox for construction line possible stands for Orbit !!...just my thought
Oh nice 👍🏻
I do have that add-on and I really like it. The only problem however is it’s kinda like an application inside Blend.
With that, I mean, you cannot see construction lines when using other tools, and that kind of really defeats or hinders of fluid workflow
That is a fair point. I can see why you couldn't use the points outside the addon but it would be good if the lines could be seen or converted to grease pencil lines. Message the creator. He's been really responsive when I have messaged him on Blender Market.
Great content, buddy. Just picked up Construction Lines, Cablerator, and Just Panels, using your links. Thanks.
Thanks so much. I hope you find them as useful as I do!
Brilliant! Just for arcs alone, it is very good.
Totally. I use them a surprisingly amount.
There's also a free add-on called "CAD Transforms" which is very similar to this, except on steroids. The thing you snap from or to doesn't have to be the selection, you can scale things to an absolute size (i.e., "scale those three faces such that this edge is exactly 23mm long") and rotate about any line, including things like "rotate it such that this edge aligns with the diagonal of that face." Really handy for doing more functional prints, not so much for artistic prints.
There's also the "MeasureIt" add-on built into Blender that gives you measurements, and indeed they adjust their measurements as you move things about.
That said, this has lots more features than either of those. I love the clean cut-through. Almost better than booleans.
I'll have to check out CAD Transforms. I also quite like Quick Snap, it's got a really nice interface and is also free. Having said that I generally use this now that I have them.
really cool. It's on sale right now too. bought it with your link.
Thanks man. Really appreciated. And cheers for all the comments, it's great to hear from people watching the videos 😁
Well Done
Thanks 😁
you can set the number pad to work as normal for entering dimensions - for all those coming from CAD this plugin works well and there's more functionality being added.
Very true. I choose not to because I like using the numberpad for the camera but its a good option for those that want their mouse hand next to the numbers they use.
SO STOKED! Holy cow. Have been big time hesitating to make the switch from online sketch up to blender. Decision made now!
😁👍🏻 Glad to have helped you take the plunge
Revisiting this video and reaffirming I’ve made a good decision lol. So sick!
@@user-yt4xu4en5f 😁 Awesome. Glad to hear you're happy with the change
Brilliant!
😁 Thanks Dan
Another great video, thanks for sharing. Also subscribed and got the add on as it is great for helping make blender more drafting friendly. Thanks also to the add on developer Dan Norris
Thanks so much for the sub. It's surprising how much it really helps us creators as it makes UA-cam more likely to show the videos to more people so it's greatly appreciated.
@Artisans of Vaul yes it does. The only thing I am having issue with and it may be obvious, but I cannot seem to make basic construction lines, ie x or y or z. I press alt and drag but no construction line. Am obs doing something not right!
@Keith12001 Have you clicked on the button on the left to turn Construction Lines on? It isn't on be default so that has to happen first.
@@ArtisansofVaul Hello yes. I have sorted it now I think thanks. Its a great add on isnt it.
@@Keith12001 Really glad to hear that and yeah, I think it's fantastic!
Thanks fella, just ordered via your link. Your channel is fantastic by the way, wish I found it earlier!
Thanks so much on all counts 😁 Really appreciated 👍🏻
Do you ever find yourself stuck in "Construction Lines" mode? There's been a few times I can't escape out of it, had to restart Blender etc @@ArtisansofVaul
Oh yes. This is what I was looking for! Blender working a little more like Sketchup means I won't have to pay $250/year just to keep Sketchup around. But… I'll miss 3D Warehouse for kitbashing. :/
I did a little when I swapped but pretty quickly I got to the point I wouldn't look back (and actually wish I had changed earlier)
Brilliant review. Such a relief to hear you say snapping is crap, I just thought I was being a dunce!
Glad it was helpful and no I don't think you are at all. I mean it works as it is meant to but everything is SO long winded.
man watching your recommendations starts to get expensive. but thanks again, this is a super useful tool and I never heard of it before
Sorry about that. If your stuck and need to limit yourself boxcutter/HardOps would be my first purchase recommendation. Maybe Construction Lines over it if you REALLY have an architecture focus.
@@ArtisansofVaul Nah, there's no need, that was just irony. I love this app, and I instantly bought the hops bcutter bundle after watching your beginner tutorials😂You really know how to advertise useful stuff, I love your channel and it deserves much more attention
@@bensenkov5872 Thanks so much 😁
10:20 for that purpose, there is a free addon called cadtransform, which adds a custom version of move, rotate and scale tools that snap very well to various things.
I'll check that out. Another free app that's great for snapping is Quick Snap which has a really nice UI: ua-cam.com/video/4zKAKkU206M/v-deo.html
The biggest missing link in Blender is this. Thanks for sharing
Totally agree. It's awesome someone has stepped in to fill the gap.
looks similar to grid modeler but more compatible with other techniques
I'd probably agree. Different uses.
I don't understand why this is not part of Blender. This is why i keep using SketchUp for simple mock ups
Understandable for sure.
I think I messed up when I bought the hard ops and boxcutter bundle and I'm not sure if I went through your affiliate link, so I'm gonna make sure I do it the right way this time. When you recommend an addon I know I'm going to like it, so might as well support the channel!
Thanks so much for the support. It's not the end of the world either way as long as you're finding the add on helpful 😁👍🏻
Hey, man! Thanks for this! One thing that has always been a stumbling block for using Blender even with the UI overhaul has been the complicated modelling system. Construction Lines makes this pretty much like using Sketchup, which up until this plugin has been my go-to for making anything and just bringing it into blender. One question, though -- the material your using to view your preview in...? That reddish rubber material would be nice to model in. How would I arrange that?
I totally agree with all your points, this addon is such a help 👍 Ive got a video on the viewport settings here: ua-cam.com/video/GcNHZILKl3I/v-deo.html
Snapping and Measuring tools could definitely use improvement in standard Blender, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're crap. The Snapping in Blender still manages to get the job done.
I mean I'd say they are pretty unintuitive and take longer to function than they need to. I love blender but I'd say in comparison to other software it's one of the areas that is pretty crap. But you're welcome to your opinion, I have no issues with anyone that disagrees and likes how they function, everyone has their own way of working that works for them.
@@ArtisansofVaul Compared to other software being the key word here. I dunno if the Blender devs have even touched the snap or measurements tools since 2.8, but for people who aren't into modeling with things like sketch up, it's still fairly good. There's room for improvement, but at end of the day, it still gets the job done.
Thanks for the video, very well done! It convinced me to purchase Construction Lines.
Is there a reason this addon would not work on existing files? I installed it only to find it acting very odd, and basically useless when trying to use it in a file that I've been working on.
When I opened a new blender file, CL lines seemed to work as in the video when playing around with the default cube.
I'm new to blender, so I could be missing something simple. Is there a reason this is happening? Will I have to restart my project in order to use this new addon?
Hmm... I can't say I've ever had that happen to me, which is frustrating as I can't offer a solution. Out of curiosity it could be worth copying the objects into a new file and then seeing if it works, I have no idea why it would but if it did it would at least give some indication its something with the old file. I'd definetly contact the creator, he's been super responsive whenever I've contacted him.
Iam using blender 3.3.1 but the problem is that selecting faces, snaping on the faces, clicking to create an rectangle is a challenge. The pointer either sticks or no response if I click to create for example a rectangle on the second point. What could be the problem
I can't say I have had that. Unless it's that you need to click and release to start the rectangle, then move then click to confirm. I would guess it's designed that way so you can type in what you're exact sizes. Could that be it?
Same issues for me. I make line tool to subdivide at the right measurements i need, and its not letting me select the divides of the new faces i just lined... might still be buggy or user issues.
@@nicolebishop3610 Just checking that the line was drawn while tabed into edit mode? Otherwise it is just creating a new object.
Blender is amazing and I am using it more and more but I can’t leave sketchup because of its simplicity and layout (2D part of sketchup) . I hope that they add a native sketchup importer for Mac it will be very nice or adding sketchup mode 😅. Thank you
I do still love Sketchup, I just find Blender more useful for the things I use 3D modelling for. I can totally see there would be many others where it is the other way around and the Sketchup layout is really clean. For architecture especially, its amazing.
FWIW, Blender has "CAD Transforms" (which is basically a super-duper version of this snapping) and "CAD Sketcher" which is 2D CAD-like construction stuff like other CAD software where you can go back in and change stuff after the fact and have the changes propagate.
@darrennew8211 I've had a look into CAD sketcher and it does look pretty good. I think it's a bit more CAD than I would be likely to use but it does look really nice.
few questions :D
When activated, does it override all blender hotkeys when active?
When drawing lines, shapes etc, can you snap to blenders grid?
When drawing lines, arcs are they spline based? for example make a camera follow along the path?
It does overwrite most blender hot keys, but not the camera ones for the numberpad though. To get out of it quickly is easy though, just shift+esc.
I haven't made it snap to the blender grid. That would be really good if it isn't there.
The arcs are all mesh based as that's the focus of the addon. Having said that, if you draw an arc or a series of joined arcs and then tab out of edit mode you could convert it to a curve which would solve that issue I think (sorry, having camera follow a path isn't something I've done much of).
Hope that helps.
@@ArtisansofVaul Ty for comment, might have to check it out.
'O' is for 'Orbit' I think that is the key in SketchUp
Ah... That would make sense. Thanks!
I like to ask Is The measure on Meter or Cm
or is there anyway we can change meter to cm ?
You can change the measurements but I don't use any, I prefer to just work in the Blender units and then I can say they are what I want as I convert them to anything (though with 3D printing they naturally work as mm). You can see a bit of an explanation to that here: ua-cam.com/video/hUfPvHPdgR4/v-deo.html
I just bought this, it's like the Blender Carver tool on steroids' 😊 But, Wood joints; how do you cut a miter, and cut at angles? like a wedge, the extrude is not working if I draw with Line tool? should it work like the push/pull tool in SketchUp?
It should just be a matter of drawing a line and then extruding through as I have done. I'm not sure why that wouldn't work.... A picture would help to know exactly what you're doing if you can find me on FB or Instagram and I can have a look.
Hiya. Would it be possible to do a boolean array. I think in this case it would be extrude downwards.
I'm not sure what you mean? The extrude function isn't a boolean, it's a destructive tool inside edit mode (it doesn't use a seperate object like a boolean). Unless I'm misunderstanding.
@@ArtisansofVaul ahh right. I hear u mean. It's gives the same result of a destructive boolean if I am not mistaken (without having any additional objects added)
So for Booleans stick to boxC/hops right?
@@floyd1411 You got it. 👍🏻
I’ve used this addon for months and it consistently, 100% of the time no lie, never extrudes right. It’s so good for everything else but that one thing made me stop using it.
Interesting to hear. I can't say I've had that issue to be able to help. I'd really suggest contacting the creator, he's been fantastic whenever I had questions.
This is driving me nuts. When I use the draw line tool and enter a numeral, it isn't doing anything. I can hear you hitting a key after you enter the number but I don't know what and no matter what I do it doesn't accept the number as a length.
Sorry for the confusion/annoyance, I should have said. I'm just hitting enter.
Hello any idea can you change the font size of the tape measure tool ?
I imagine in preferences. It has a bit for text size so I'd guess that.
@@ArtisansofVaul After watchıng your vıdeo we were so impressed we purchased thıs addon though ıts not runnıng as smooth as yours seemed to, It also does not snap on the grıdlınes when trying to draw and in top view does not draw arcs (you need to move into 3d space for it to draw)... very odd has also crashed several times would not recommend at all
@hasger1941 That's really disappointing. Have you got the up to date version of Blender? As you say/saw in the video I haven't had any of the issues with lagging or crashing you described.
@@ArtisansofVaul Sure latest version of blender, it maybe our system not fast enough, though can see it maybe a useful tool.. thanks for sharing all the same..
So all of this is with destructive modeling, correct?
Yes it is destructive in nature.
Can it handle manifold if extrude over an existing face! E.g. a face of the top box half over one of the bottom?
Good question. I haven't tried that but it will be interesting to see
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're asking but I think it should help to answer the question: ua-cam.com/users/shortsq1dUbnfyrAw?feature=share
@@ArtisansofVaul thx for the reply. Mainly i m looking for something like in this clip ua-cam.com/video/aNS9V5ZWy14/v-deo.html. This is where blenders manifold extrude lacks.
If you can give a specific time from the clip I can try out the thing you mean 👍🏻
@@ArtisansofVaul sure especially 0:30, 2:00 and also 4:00. tbh all of the 3ds workflow would be nice. The last part shows what blender is not able todo! E.g. extrude over existing edges!
Hotkey to activate? Hotkey to switch between its tools?
There are hot keys for the tools (they are displayed with the tool). It doesn't have one to start the tool by default, but it's blender, just right click on the icon and set whatever shortcut you want.
*I use it very often, but it has a weakness; object intersection snapping detection, sketchup has perfect snapping tools, I hope the developer create new update to follow skechup methode*
Drop him a message and explain what you're looking for would be my suggestion. He seems like a really nice guy when I have messaged him.
@@ArtisansofVaul Ok, the developer is so responsive. we will wait for the next update..
@@biartau A lot of them are 👌
cool andon
I enjoy it a lot.
What about follow me tool in sketchup? I often use that tool in sketchup
Great question. That's so useful. You can achieve the same thing in Blender in a number of ways, the easiest is using a curve (which can be made of straight edges) and then converting it to a mesh using a custom profile. Geometry Nodes has made that really quick to do (though not quite as quick as Sketchup)
Is this it?
ua-cam.com/video/7wx1drAQZvI/v-deo.html
Also this add-on and a bit of built in Blender. Not sure you need it as some time has gone by, but still.
@@tuulikk9193 That works. I actually have a video coming up where I will look at several ways of doing this, both this method and with Geometry Nodes.
@@ArtisansofVaul Nice, I look forward to see it. I like modeling with the mindset of SketchUp with or without add-ons to more ordinary Blender modeling and building things at the object level. I think you have helped to regain a bit of inspiration.
take my money !!!
Well I won't but I'm sure the developer gladly will.
@@ArtisansofVaul not gonna lie, that probably the only addon that I've bought the quickes without hesitating. I mean, I didn't even finish watching the video. Dammm powertful addon and for that price it's a steal. I just hope it's not buggy. BTW. Since u mentioned sketchup, u do Or into archviz too? So random question. I think in sketch up u can do like a 360 virtual tour of sorts, do u think that s possible in blender? Or any other free software?
@floyd1411 I don't think I ever used that (it's been such a long time since I used sketchup). What's a 360tour?
@@ArtisansofVaul so i think for sure u capture a 360 photo.. Ok im not sure. But what this does in it can be sent to someone and viewed in a 360 viewer. Comes very handy for archviz. I also seen a video option and was wondering how someone did that. To be honest, there are services on websites but they are mostly paid for.
@@floyd1411 Oh thats cool. I haven't heard of anything like that for Blender but its a bit outside of what I normally do.
After I saw this.. I purchased it. Just $11.
Yeah, I think it's a bargain.
@@ArtisansofVaul Yes, because when come to architecture modelling.. the most important is precision. Not just 'eyeball'. Thanks mate.
15:24
It's such a great function. I love that part of the sketchup workflow and I'm so glad it's been bought into Blender.
@@ArtisansofVaul I just watched you "even better" video from 5 months ago and almost put another mind_blown.gif with the auto-linking feature lol. I'm exploring blender for probably the 5th time in my life since version 2.4 and finally, finally it has enough CAD features to replace all my commercial and freemium modeling apps. yea I know it can't NURB but honestly I think if Blender is the last step in my workflow before turning it into a file this should be fine.
i have buy this tool, but for me it is really buggy, after creating the cube, I create a rectangle to cut but it creates a face. After the push-pull only erases half of the cube...well, currently, I'm disappointed with this purchase. It's not realy bad but the gesture to push pull, etapes for SELECT, DRAW, PUSH etc...are not intuitive
I can't say I have found that at all. Have you pressed tab to go into edit mode for that? Also is your version of the add on and the version of Blender up to date?
This tool dont work, be aware. After I installed it, it just broken whole Blender. When i pick a tool and I am trying to draw something i dont see any guide or somthing that show me how the line is looking. Select tool is not working either. Other tools i didnt even try, whole Blender is have to be reinstalled, because even when I uninstalled this, it didnt help.
What version of Blender are you using? If it's Blender 4 it's normally sensible to wait for the updated addon for any new version of Blender.
Hi Luke. I'm not sure if you'll see this but I wanted to give an update having spoken to Dan. So he is planning the update to be released in the next couple of days, he says he has got it working for Blender 4.0 but he working through how to make the update not only work with Blender 4.0 but also be backwards compatible despite the changes to the coding. I think this really shows how professional the creator is that he want to make sure it works in all situations and not leave any of the recent versions of Blender not being able to use the updates he puts out. Hopefully that lays your concerns to rest. 👍
Not that good addon do loads of topology problems
Also got lots of shit usless stuff that just in built in blender just in deferent way n in my opnion blender is superiour
Each to their own. Hasn't made any topology issues for me and I've been using it for years. But if you don't like it that's all good, that's what's great about these add ons, it gives you options.