Matching “Real-Life” Interior Paint Colors for use in Google Sketchup

As a first time home buyer, one of the first things my wife and I needed to do was decide on paint colors. I was having trouble getting “real-life” colors to match up so I came up with a simple solution that is detailed step-by-step below. Of course there is no perfect way to achieve this as everyones monitor is set to different color, brightness and contrast levels, however we can get real close. Read on for step by step instructions.

Prep

1. Make sure you have the latest version of Google Sketchup installed.
2. You will also need some sort of paint program. MS paint might work for this, but why would you? For the examples below I will be using The Gimp.
3. You may also wish to head down to your local home improvement store and grab some paint samples that you like to start with. We will be using “Behr’s Virtual Color Center” so this may only work for Behr colors however I have noticed many colors with the same names from different manufactures.

Get a digital sample

1. Go to Behr’s Virtual Color Center, and type in the name of your paint in the search box in the bottom right. For our color we chose “Swiss Coffee”.



2. Next you should see a results screen listing your color in various finishes. Click on the one that you would like and then click “Preview with ColorSmart” in the bottom right. In our case we choose the flat enamel.



3. Now you should be presented with a new window with a virtual sample of your color. We will need a screen-shot of this window. If you are using windows you will have to press Alt+PrtScr to capture the window and then paste it into your paint program. If you are using Linux, press Alt+PrtScr and you will most likely be presented with the option to save the image as a file.

Get the RGB values of the digital sample

1. Run “The Gimp” and open the screen-shot we took in the previous step. If you are using windows, simply click: Edit – Paste As – New Image.
2. Now that we have the image loaded, set the current color to the sample color by clicking on the eyedropper tool and then once again on the paint sample.


3. Now click on the color selector to get the RGB values. Write down these values. In our case R=239, G=235, B=225.

Set the color in Sketchup

1. Now you are ready to set the color and begin painting. Run Sketchup and open your model.
2. Select the paint bucket button in the top tool-bar. You will then be presented with a Materials window. Be sure “Colors” is selected in the drop-down box.


3. Click on the Create Material button.


4. Now select “RGB” from the “Picker” drop-down box and enter in the RGB values you wrote down earlier into the new material window. Also be sure to name the new material at the top.

5. Select “Ok” and you are now ready to begin painting with an excellent digital re-creation of your real-life interior colors.

Stay tuned for more to come..

Read the Instructable.

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Carry your keys in your multitool – DIY

The minute I finished reading about the “Swiss Army Keys” project I found earlier, I immediately had to start fashioning my own. I documented my experience and have posted an Instructable on making something similar. Read on for a brief tutorial on how I made it.

Let me first state that I stumbled on this Idea browsing through the edcforums. There was a post a while back where someone had posted some pictures on building one of these sweet little babies. Check out the original forums thread started by shadeone here. I take no credit for originating this idea, I’ve just documented my own experience building one.

Materials

• Leatherman Micra – ( I used a cheapo Husky clone that I got at home depot for $2)
• Keys – (be sure to make copies of them first)
• Drill
• Something to cut the keys with – (I used a Dremel with a cutoff wheel

Disassemble the Multi Tool
Start by unscrewing and Disassembling the tool. Make sure you save all of the little parts and washers. Note that I was able to fit 3 keys per side so only undo one side if you are doing 3 keys or less.

Select a Matchup Piece
Set one piece aside to use to match your key against when you are cutting it.

Cut Your Keys
Cut down your keys to roughly match the end of the piece you picked in the previous step. You will be drilling a hole in them so be sure and leave as much meat as possible. You can fine tune it later.

Mark and Drill the Holes
Place each key one at a time inside the tool in the direction you will be placing it and mark the hole with a fine point marker through the hole in the tool. I placed mine teeth down so it is easier to pull them out by hooking a fingernail in the grooves across the top.

Once you have marked all keys, mark your starting points with a punch or nail and drill your holes. The size of the hole may vary depending on what kind of multi tool you choose. Start small as you can always bore it out more if necessary.

Put it Back Together
Re-assemble the tool substituting the keys for the tools. Be careful of three things. 1) Be sure you put a washer in between any metal-on-metal contact. 2) Make sure you place the keyring attachment piece somewhere where it will not interfere with a key. 3) Most importantly, remember to leave a gap in the middle of each side for the pliers/cutters to fit into when you collapse the tool. ( I placed two keys all the way to one side, then a bunch of washers and then a key against the other side.

One little tip: If there is a skinny leather punch or mini screw driver piece, you can stick this through the hole when re-assembling the tool to help keep the washers and the pin in place. This also worked well to wiggle around to get everyting to fit together properly.

Enjoy!

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