Getting things ready

If you have not yet installed our free extension Sketchucation Tools then make sure you install it.

Go ahead and install Libfredo, along with Fredo Portrait, and you should be set up to follow along. First thing you will need is a suitable image. In this instance I am using a png image of a tree with alpha. There are various ways to bring an image into SketchUp. My preferred way is to drag and drop it into the viewport. You can also use the File > Import to bring in your image.

Tip:
Images imported into SketchUp are essentially decals so they do not behave like typical geometry. Select your imported image and Right click > Explode to convert to actual geometry. Job done.
To know if an object is an image/decal in SketchUp you can select it and check the Entity Info panel.

Making a 2D billboard in SketchUp

With your image now imported it is time to launch Portrait Studio. You can do so via toolbar button or via Tools > Fredo Collection > Fredo Portrait > Portrait Studio. In the dialog that opens you can perform many camera and image related tasks but what we are interested in is the Generate 2D Component. But lets check our camera first as Portrait Studio is WYSIWYG.

Camera Settings

There are a couple of settings you can make prior to generating a 2D billboard:

• Zoom to Extents will frame your object for capturing
• Selection Only will make sure you only process the current selection
• Parallel Projection
• Transparent Background

With those set have a quick review of the preview image and if needed set your camera settings.

Component Settings

In the Generate 2D Component section you can set the following:

• Give your billboard a name
• Set the insertion point
• Check Always Face Camera
• Image width to resize the image generate to a preferred resolution

Contouring

Then there's Contouring Mode which is where the magic happens. You have a few options here but since we need crisp outline for our shadows it is best to use the Silhouette(External Contouring) option to begin for faster processing times.

Lastly, set Hide Edges and Place 2D component after creation to on and click Generate 2D Component. The dialog will begin processing and once complete your newly created contoured billboard is ready to be inserted into your scene.

Things to be aware of

Processing time

Like with anything there is a cost to processing images. The higher the resolution the longer the processing time. Fredo Portrait does allow you to set your resolution prior to processing so its worth reducing your output and stepping it up as needed. It is pretty quick in most use cases. But if you have an 4k image and want it to be contoured expect longer processing times.

Contouring Modes

External Contouring disregards any alpha any image may have within its primary canvas so if you need 'holes' the Contouring with holes mode is available. But, as mentioned earlier, it requires additional processing time.

I tend to only use Contouring with holes on objects that really benefit from it. For vegetation I tend to stick with External Contouring. Since this technique is primarily to give your SketchUp scenes better shadowing then performance is important. Which leads us nicely into....

Mesh Density

Unlike other image to mesh extractors Portrait Studio uses a different approach. It does not create an edge for every pixel so you are left with tons of geometry. It will simplify the contouring to give you a good balance between silhouette clarity and geometry count.

Like we mentioned in processing time there are other factors to consider. So it is worth taking everything into account when generating geometry. For example, there is no benefit to processing an 4k image with Contouring with holes mode for it to be a mid to background asset. Consider its use case and apply the tool to get the best output based for your needs.

Closing

Fredo Portrait is an awesome suite of tools for SketchUp that adds additional functionality. If you made all the way to the end of this article then here's a final tip.

You can also convert 3D objects in your scene to 2D Face Components using Portrait Studio. If you then marry this technique with Fredo Ghost's Auto Distance Feature you can swap out 3D objects with 2D Objects based on distance!

If you want to see how to do that let us know on Twitter ;)