{"id":665,"date":"2014-04-05T22:52:03","date_gmt":"2014-04-05T22:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craigscreens.blog.oldabbeytheatre.net\/?p=665"},"modified":"2015-03-04T23:45:32","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T23:45:32","slug":"building-a-three-dimensional-model-for-the-play-deirdre-by-w-b-yeats-using-sketchup-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigscreens.blog.oldabbeytheatre.net\/?p=665","title":{"rendered":"Building a three-dimensional scenography model for the play Deirdre by W.B. Yeats using SketchUp Make"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

On this site you will find a number of blog posts by my colleagues\u00a0Laura<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Gr\u00e1inne<\/a>,\u00a0which document their experiences of using SketchUp Make<\/a>\u00a0in the creation of two three-dimensional (3D) models to visualise W.B. Yeats’s implementation of Edward Gordon Craig’s scenographic concept at the old Abbey theatre, in Dublin, as used in the production of the poetic dramas The Hour-Glass and The Deliverer respectively. \u00a0In addition to which, it was suggested by classmate Freya and deemed appropriate, to both the aims of the project<\/a>\u00a0and to the best practice guidelines expressed in The London Charter for digital cultural heritage visualisation<\/a>\u00a0(Denard, London Charter),\u00a0that I should create and publish a similar account–in order to provide some transparency regarding the process,\u00a0of my experiences of creating a third 3D model. \u00a0This additional model is a 3D visualization, created for the play Deirdre<\/a>\u00a0(Yeats, Irish Theatre). \u00a0It is important here to note that Liam\u00a0Miller writes in his book\u00a0(Noble Theatre) about how Yeats has indicated,\u00a0in his original notebooks,\u00a0that his sketches depict screen configurations that were to be used either for The Land of Hearts Desire, or for Deirdre. \u00a0For the purposes of this project we will refer the the play for which the model is designed as Deirdre. \u00a0Yeats’s play Deirdre was chosen because, as stated in the project aims<\/a>:<\/p>\n

‘We felt that providing a<\/em> [3D] model of at least one other poetic drama by Yeats\u2019s would help contextualise our visualisation of The Hour-Glass. Deirdre was selected because sketches for its stage design (again by Yeats) are<\/em> [relatively] easy to access<\/em>‘.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What follows here is a step-by-step account, with supplementary images, of the methodology I applied in the creation of the 3D model for a scene from Yeats’s play Deirdre–which may prove useful to anyone interested in computer-based, digital cultural heritage visualisation, \u00a0Please note that the images below are hyperlinked–please click on any image to view an enlarged version.<\/p>\n

Importing a sketch for use as a basis for creating a 3D model of Craig’s screens<\/strong><\/p>\n

I began by creating a sketch of the floor-plan of the Abbey theatre stage, using Adobe Photoshop<\/a>. \u00a0As is the case with the other 3D models<\/a>\u00a0published here, the sketches by Yeats of his proposed screen configurations that appear in his notebooks, as recreated by Liam Miller (Noble Theatre\u00a0157), were the primary source of visual information for informing the design of my 3D model. \u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fig.1<\/a>

Fig. 01 depicts the floor-plan sketch that I made, informed by Liam Millers (Noble Theatre 157) recreation, of \u00a0a scene for the play Deirdre from W.B. Yeats’s notebook sketches<\/p><\/div>\n

Taking accurate measurements<\/strong><\/p>\n

I opened the final ‘full’\u00a0three-dimensional (3D) model\u00a0of Laura’s screen design for the play The Hour-Glass<\/a>, which shows\u00a0the screens in place within the Abbey theatre stage, in SketchUp Make. \u00a0I set the camera view to ‘plan’ in an endeavour to use the ‘measuring tool’ in SketchUp Make to take measurements of the screens from within the model, and I noted the measurements accordingly. \u00a0I recorded the maximum possible length, width, and depth of the screens from Laura’s model.<\/p>\n

I then switched the camera view to ‘front’ and again I used the measuring tool to measure the maximum height of the screens, which I also recorded. The measurements would help me to ensure that the model that I was about to build would fit correctly into the stage space in the existing model of the Abbey theatre stage. \u00a0The measurements that I recorded were: Length = 22’5 1\/6″, Width = 8’1 13\/16″, Depth 1″, and Height = 15’1 13\/16″.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fig.2<\/a>

Fig. 02 shows, in plan view, how I used the measurement tool in SketchUp Make to take the required measurements. Note how I was able to record accurate measurements using the dimensions displayed in the lower right corner [circled in red]<\/p><\/div>\n

Creating a floor component<\/strong><\/p>\n

I closed the full model and I created a new model in SketchUp Make. I used the ‘draw rectangle tool’ to begin drawing a rectangle from the origin point, along the green and red axis, and I manually typed the maximum length and depth measurements that I recorded previously.<\/p>\n

\"003<\/a>

Fig. 03 shows how I drew a rectangle using manually entered dimensions. I was able to manually enter accurate measurements by typing the required dimensions for the rectangle [displayed in the lower right corner, and circled in red]<\/p><\/div>\n

With the rectangle selected, I chose ‘make component’ from the edit menu. \u00a0I made this rectangle a new component which I called ‘floor’, to make it easy to manipulate independently of the rest of the model later–if need be. \u00a0I used the ‘materials editor window’ to add the colour ‘Colour_009’ to the rectangular floor component using the ‘paint bucket tool’. \u00a0In the materials editor window I also reduced the opacity of the floor component to 10, for reasons that I will explain later.<\/p>\n

\"004<\/a>

Fig. 04 shows the materials editor window with the colour Colour_009 applied to the floor component, and the opacity setting at 10 [circled in red]<\/p><\/div>\n

Scaling the imported floor-plan sketch to match the size of the floor component<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next, I imported my PhotoShop sketch of the floor-plan into SketchUp Make and I positioned it to align with the rectangular floor component. \u00a0I used the ‘scale tool’ to scale the sketch appropriately so that the screen configuration depicted in my imported sketch filled the area of the\u00a0rectangular floor component\u00a0as much possible–without exceeding the boundaries. \u00a0This would ensure that the model of the screens that I am building will fit into the existing model of the Abbey theatre stage. \u00a0As previously noted, I reduced the opacity of the floor component; I did this so that my sketch of the floor plan would be visible through the rectangular floor component. \u00a0This would allow me to easily and accurately trace the screen configurations depicted in the sketch below.<\/p>\n\n\t\t