In this quick tutorial, we can see how to model simple buildings from LEGO bricks up to the professional rendering in SketchUp. To start we need the LEGO Architecture Studio Set (21510) but is not strictly necessary. There are two examples: Theatre Zippo and House Giulia, check the list of the pieces in the free building instruction PDF file.

 

Quick Tutorial and Gallery

1. Start by creating a simple structure with  LEGO Architecture Studio (21050);
2. When the model is finished use the free software LEGO Digital Designer – LDD – (http://ldd.lego.com/) for digital implementation of creation;
3. In the LDD is possible align automatically the blocks for steps, choosing pieces from the updated library of LEGO’s bricks;
4. The standard format of Lego Digital Designer is LXF-Files (*.lxf);
5. It is also possible in LDD to work in Building  Guide Mode (button F7);
6. In “LDD-BGM” export BOM in Microsoft Office Open XML Workbook (*.xlsx);
7. Export with the LDD the model in LDraw-File (*.ldr);
8. Open the exported LDraw-File (*.ldr) in LDraw (http://www.ldraw.org/) or LDView (http://ldview.sourceforge.net/);
9. Export the model in 3D-Studio File (*.3ds);
10. Open SketchUp Make (http://www.sketchup.com/) and import the 3D Studio File;
11. Wait Building mesh for 3ds entities Imported;
12. Start professional rendering with Styles: “Straight Lines”.

The next step is near. Stay Tuned!

Theatre Zippo

House Giulia

Special Thanks

• ShareX (https://getsharex.com/)
• PDFill (https://www.pdfill.com/pdf_tools_free.html)
• Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/)
• Gimp (https://www.gimp.org/)
• LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/)
• Scribus (http://www.scribus.net/)