...well, I've merged my Visual Basic with Sketchup/Ruby and I've come up with the Dollhouse Shell Designer. Now all I need to do is program everything in Sketchup! :D
But I can at least create a materials list & see a 3D viewable shell. Here's what I have so far:
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I designed a Visual Basic program a while back and since then I have learned a bit of Ruby programming. Ruby programming can be used with Sketchup a 3D drawing program - to automate your drawing & speed things up to instantaneous!
The details for the dollhouse are entered in to the VB program along with the size & placement of the cutouts, then a Ruby script is generated...
(someday when I get a bit better at Ruby programming I'll enter everything in to Sketchup & also create a plugin that anyone can use!) |
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...Sketchup is started and the Ruby Code Editor is loaded...
(you could also load the code into the Ruby Console [ under the Window menu] ) |
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| ...the saved file from the VB program is loaded... |
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| ...then the script is run... |
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...and Ta Da ! ...all the parts from the VB program's materials list are put together in viewable 3D !
If you look back at the first image (VB program screen) you'll see the following data: 18"D x 24"W, attic 9.1875"h, base = 2", 1st flr = 9" & 2nd flr = 3", all solid walls, walls & floors are 3/8", roof is 1/4", roof angle = 45 deg., etc. All this is in the Sketchup image above - and you can interact with it in 3D or add more parts or edit any aspect of the house.
(my Ruby coding would make programmers cringe, but it works for me !! My programming method is trial & ERROR ! :D |
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| This dollhouse has the same size base, but the roof pitch is 30 degrees instead of 45. Its one story with an attic & the cutouts are in different locations, the over hang is 2"... |
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| This house has three floors & a 60 degree pitch, etc. |
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...and this example is 30" long instead of 24", it has 3/4 2nd floor, etc.
If your dollhouse floor plan is rectangular this program can create it. You can change the wall, floor & roof thickness, the floor to ceiling heights, base height or skip the base, the program calculates all the measurements & angles for you.
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| ..almost forgot the Colonial... |
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| Still need to create partitions & supports. Also a hollow wall/floor option, which creates much more parts, so you can see why I started with the solid wall/floor. |
...more to come...
