That's because Sketch Up uses the real sun position to determine lighting and not the standard top left. I get knocked for the same thing all of the time.
For whatever reason (shading maybe?) your overhead shots give the illusion of depth, only in reverse of what you're going for. I have to concentrate to make myself see the buildings as rising up, rather than resembling big polygonal holes in the ground.
That might just be me though.
"Unless I'm allowed to carry around a gun to shoot their giant killer-spiders, Australia needs to stay the hell away from me. Also Australians, who if they have lived this long are obviously agents of the spiders and not to be trusted."
That's because Sketch Up uses the real sun position to determine lighting and not the standard top left. I get knocked for the same thing all of the time.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
My tutorials: Using GIMP to Create an Artistic Regional Map ~ All My Tutorials
My GIMP Scripts: Rotating Brush ~ Gradient from Image ~ Mosaic Tile Helper ~ Random Density Map ~ Subterranean Map Prettier ~ Tapered Stroke Path ~ Random Rotate Floating Layer ~ Batch Image to Pattern ~ Better Seamless Tiles ~ Tile Shuffle ~ Scale Pattern ~ Grid of Guides ~ Fractalize path ~ Label Points
My Maps: Finished Maps ~ Challenge Entries ~ My Portfolio: www.cartocopia.com
I'm throwing you some rep because this is a massive undertaking for Sketchup
I'm not sure if you've tried this or if it is a potential solution, but one way to create a flat-looking 2D view is to go to the [camera] menu, select [standard views], [top] and then also in the camera menu set the mode to [parallel projection] This eliminates the angular differences in the POV resulting in a more traditional floorplan (or map) look. You can see an example of the difference this makes here.
If the shadows are the issue, you might just try adjusting the time of day slider in the shadow controls.
Awesome awesome stuff! Gonna rep you big time.
So... you are going to produce a sketchup tutorial for all us semi-competent budding sketchup mappers, right?
Anyone have any idea if this was ever completed or what became of the project or the author? With the recent release of Dark Sun for 4e Dungeons and Dragons I know I'd be wildly excited for this and I imagine many others would be as well
The links are broken....
My tutorials: Using GIMP to Create an Artistic Regional Map ~ All My Tutorials
My GIMP Scripts: Rotating Brush ~ Gradient from Image ~ Mosaic Tile Helper ~ Random Density Map ~ Subterranean Map Prettier ~ Tapered Stroke Path ~ Random Rotate Floating Layer ~ Batch Image to Pattern ~ Better Seamless Tiles ~ Tile Shuffle ~ Scale Pattern ~ Grid of Guides ~ Fractalize path ~ Label Points
My Maps: Finished Maps ~ Challenge Entries ~ My Portfolio: www.cartocopia.com