As mentioned, buildings are created on top of 2D aerial images. These images or photos were taken by aircraft at some angle to the ground, allowing you to see not only the top of buildings but the sides as well. These images, called oblique images, resemble how people normally view their world compared to traditional top-down (orthogonal) photos. The following image is an orthogonal or "top-down" photo:
The following image is a oblique image:
Each 3D block in Building Maker can be manipulated (sized and oriented) and combined with other blocks to match 2 dimensional aerial photos of a structure. Blocks are matched to a building by dragging and placing the block's points to fit a structure in the image. The following image shows a box block adjusted to a 2D image of a building. Notice that you don't see all sides of a building in this photo.
The following image shows the same building from a different angle:
Notice that the block in the previous image is blue. Building Maker blocks turn from orange to blue when the block has been adjusted to fit the shape of a building (also known as constrained to a position in the image) in at least two images.
Saving your building will initiate an automatic process where digital photographs of the building are applied to the sides and top of your blocks. This process is known as photo texturing. Your buildings are also automatically submitted for inclusion in the Google Earth 3D Buildings layer so that everyone using Google Earth can see your buildings. The following image shows the completed building:
