Editing Vehicle Creation (section)

===Stripping===

There are two main steps to take us from a Sketchup model to a Darkwind model.  We need to reduce the poly count to 1500 from whatever it starts at (often 20000 or more), and then we need to texture it with a single 512x512 texture.  To start with, we'll reduce the poly count as much as possible by deleting everything we don't need from the model.

Download the model, and open it in sketchup.  Select Window->Model Info from the menu to see the poly count.  Currently it's 9074 (this is not accurate for a variety of reasons, but it's a reasonable estimate).  Given we have two models, that's very low - I've chosen an easy example for this tutorial.  Anything up to 40000 or so is possible, but try and find something easy for your first model.  

[[file:Sketchup_Screen1.jpg]]

Now select Outliner from the Window menu.  This lists all the separate objects in the model.  Click on one and it will be outlined in blue.  Click again and everything else greys out, so we can see exactly what we're doing.  Click it again to go back to normal editing.

[[file:Sketchup_Screen2.jpg]]

Obviously the first thing we need to do is delete one of the suburbans.  It looks like they're supposed to be different model years, but I really can't tell the difference, so we'll delete the black one because white models are easier to work with.  Just select it in the outliner and hit delete.
Next we'll go through and remove what we can.  Wheels aren't needed, and most of the lights and things can go too, along with the interior.  You can either select them from the model (double click to get into groups and select individual components), or go down the outliner and check each group in turn.  Hiding bits of the outside (from the right click menu) can help you get at the inside.  Once you've finished deleting, your model should look something like this:

[[file:Sketchup_Screen3.jpg]]

Now that we've got rid of everything we can, it's time to export to blender for the more detailed work.  Select everything on the outliner, right click and choose "explode".  This may take several minutes, so be patient.  If there's anything left, explode it again.  Keep going until the outliner just has one thing in it:

[[file:Sketchup_Screen4.jpg]]

Now select Export->3D Model from the file menu, and export the model.  That's it for Sketchup, so feel free to close it and open up Blender.