What would be the easiest way to model green leaves (see picture) in SolidWorks?
An easy way is to start with a flat half-leaf without the stem and use the bend tool.
Attached is a leaf modeled using this method, but using displacement mapping and stuff to get the texture, instead of just a decal. Think I left the stem out of this one because the plant I put it on had them already.
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Step 1:
Do a sketch on the Top Plane of half of the leaf, with the vein (midline) of it vertical and coincident with the origin, and make sure it's a closed sketch.
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Step 2:
Create an extrusion from the sketch that is about 0.01", so you will have a flat half-leaf solid.
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Step 3:
Next, use Flex tool (in Bending mode) to curl it slightly midway between the vein and outermost edge (this curl should be parallel to the vein).
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Step 4:
Now curl it using Flex (bending) again, but this should be perpendicular to the first curl.
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Step 5:
Use the Move/Copy feature to move (not copy) the half-leaf so that the vein was just over the right plane. This is sometimes necessary because the Flex Tool will curve the geometry slightly.
Use Cut-Extrude to trim off the inner part that overlaps the right plane.
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Step 6:
Use Cut-Extrude to trim off the inner part that overlaps the right plane.
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Step 7:
Mirror this about the right plane so that you now have a whole leaf.
Finish by making the stem with a swept boss. You can then project an image on it by using Decal. If you have a specific leaf you are shooting for, it might be good to use the same image as an Image Sketch and the Decal. Hope that helps! :)
