(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Hello, to day I will be doing a tutorial on how to make a pretty cool intro using Google Sketchup.

What you will need

You must login or register to view this content. - Google SketchUp
You must login or register to view this content. - A predesigned model (you can make your own to.)

Tutorial

Well first download and install Google SketchUp. What it basically is is a free 3D modeling program, it has this nifty feature which will allow you to make an animation and save it.

While it is downloading, click the second link and find a good model, I like to choose city models for experimentation, you can also use others, once I made a cool intro of a model of the warehouse in the new Indiana Jones movie. Any way, save it to a easy to access place, I have a folder for models in my Documents folder.

Once you have installed SketchUp, a dialog box will come up, click on "Start Using Sketchup"

Now, a template should come up

No worries all you have to do is click File>Open from there you will have to load your model that you have downloaded.

Give your model some time to load, let the program sit for 30 seconds to a minute for the program to fully load all of the shapes.

If the are tabs below your tool bar that say "Scene 1" or "Scene 2" delete them, we do not need those.

Now, you should see three colored lines, red, green, and blue. Those represent the x, y,and z axis. You don't want the distraction so go to View>Axes and untick it.

You will be using only three of the tools in the toolbar, the Blue Arrow one, which is referred to as the "Orbit Tool", the hand tool or the "Pan Tool", the regular magnifying glass also known as the "Zoom Tool", and the other magnifying glass tool known as the "Zoom Extents Tool". Now play around with those four tools to get the hang of them, now, don't get lost in your model like I did the first time I used the program :p

Now, find a good face of a shape to place your text on, since I have a city model, I found a cool building. Now go to Tools>3D Text.

Now, edit your text and Font but nothing else, let me explain the settings to you.

Alignment: Where relative to the edges of the face will the text be placed, ignore this.
Height: This is basically your font size, but in imperial measurements. I would HIGHLY suggest lowering this.
Form Filled: Ignore this
Form Extruded: This is basically how far the text will come out.

Now click "Place". DO NOT CLICK. Your mouse should them have the text floating on your mouse. Choose where on your building you want to put it. Now choose the far left black mouse tool and click off in the horizon to deselect everything. Re-adjust your point of view to your liking.

Now go to View>Animation>Add scene

If a warning box comes up, just save as new style. Now go back to your step where you were finding a good place to find where text goes and repeat, once you have your name in, and have all the stuff that says like "Gameplay", "Glitches", "Tutorials", all that good stuff and you are satisfied.

Now when you are done you want go to View>Animation>Play now right away you may get some points where the camera will go through objects, in that case you will have to adjust the camera angles. Just press "Stop" and click on the scene tab you need to adjust and adjust it, then instead of creating a new scene just press "Update Scene".

You can then go to View>Animation>Settings and only change those the two numbers that appear in the first dialog box.

Now to export the animation... Go to File>Export>Animation

And save the file like you would any other file.

You can then edit sound and other stuff into it in Vegas, AE, or what ever program you use.

Here is also a video tutorial but he doesn't go as in depth

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This is pretty cool. Thanks man.

Thanks man