When it first came out, SketchUp caused quite a stir in the three-dimensional (3-D) art world for a couple of reasons. First, it's the easiest program you can use to create three-dimensional models of buildings, furniture, and everyday objects. And second, you can get your hands on a fully useful copy for free.
People haven't always found it easy to draw three-dimensional images on two-dimensional surfaces. Just ask the Lascaux cave artists or anyone who sat in art class studying 2-point and 3-point perspective. Even with computers helping out, you can still run into problems. Most 3-D graphics programs have learning curves like the Eiffel Tower and they cost a fortune. In 2000, SketchUp came along and changed the rules by making 3-D drawing almost as easy as drawing on the back of a napkin. Three years later, Google acquired the company that developed SketchUp (@Last Software), since the program works so well with their online program Google Earth.
With SketchUp, you start off with simple tools that are familiar if you've ever used a computer to draw rectangles or circles. Then, to create 3-D objects, you use specially designed tools to push and pull your objects into the desired Ferraris or hot-air balloons (Figure 1). Pushing and pulling may sound like a haphazard way to build models, but that's far from the case. SketchUp lets you create models that are accurate down to a fraction of an inch. Also, using SketchUp's component tools, you can minimize repetitive tasks and build complex models quickly. When you're done, go ahead and place your model on a map of the world using Google Earth.
So, what's the catch? There isn't one. All you have to do is download the program from http://sketchup.google.com. Then follow along in this book, and you'll become a SketchUp master artist in no time.
Note
SketchUp Pro, the pay-to-play version, costs $495. It's meant primarily for architects and builders who need to share their 3-D work with programs like AutoCAD. If you're not one of them, relax. You can use the free version of SketchUp forever, and the program won't even nag you to upgrade to Pro.
Figure 1. SketchUp may be a favorite of architects and builders, but all sorts of people use it to design models of just about anything you can imagine. This hot-air balloon is one of the thousands of models found at the Google 3D Warehouse, a website where SketchUp artists share their models.
As the name implies, SketchUp lets you create 3-D artwork quickly. SketchUp does a few things, and it does them very well. Here's a short list of the jobs SketchUp does well:
Create models of buildings, furniture, and other everyday objects.
Design models with interior and exterior details, like houses with individual rooms.
Quickly design special architectural elements, like pitched or complex roofs.
Create reusable parts that you can use in other models.
Easily add colors and textures.
Create landscaping around buildings.
Add accurate shadow effects based on geographic location, time, and date.
Place models in a specific location on the Google Earth map.
Develop 3-D models from 2-D photographs or drawings.
Produce walk-through animations.
By contrast, here's a short list of jobs other—that is, more expensive—3-D programs perform better than SketchUp:
Character animation with moveable joints.
Organic elements such as realistic hair or fur.
Complex lighting using multiple light sources.
Kinetic effects in animation such as bouncing balls or flying bullets.
Elemental effects such as flames, smoke, and explosions.
Animations where characters move about a scene.
Complex architectural designs detailing every electrical wire and pipe in a building.
So, you won't use SketchUp to create a 3-D feature film that competes with Shrek or to design a computer game. But once you get the hang of it, you can create great-looking 3-D drawings very quickly. Most people use SketchUp to model buildings, but you can just as easily create other 3-D objects like furniture and appliances. Because SketchUp can export artwork in Google Earth's .kmz format, you can place your SketchUp models on the map as shown in Figure 2.
SketchUp is available in two flavors: the free version and the $495 SketchUp Pro version. Let your wallet and your 3-D needs be your guide.
With the free version, you can design complex 3-D models and print pictures and export 2-D art to use in websites or other programs. You can save your model as a JPEG or PNG file and edit it in Photoshop. You can also save your models in the .kmz file format that lets you place models in Google Earth. Here's the lowdown on the file formats you can create with SketchUp:
Standard 3-D file format: .skp. You can also save to formats used by earlier versions of SketchUp.
Google Earth: .kmz. Place your models anywhere on the planet!
2-D image files: JPEG (.jpg), Portable Network Graphics (.png), Tagged Image File (.tif), Windows Bitmap (.bmp). You can both import and export images in all of these formats, and also import Targa files (.tga).
3-D models: SketchUp (.skp); Google Earth terrain, 3DS (.3ds); AutoCAD (.dwg, .dxf); DEM (.dem, .ddf). You can import models created in all of these formats, and export your own models as SketchUp (.skp) or Google Earth (.kmz).
Animations and walk-throughs. Video for Windows (.avi); QuickTime (.mov) files on Mac.
Tip
You'll learn all about importing and exporting with SketchUp in Chapter 13.
The SketchUp Pro version gives you many more ways to share your 3-D models with other programs, like AutoCAD, or 3d Studio Max. It lets you use all of the same file formats as the free version, plus more:
2-D image files. You can import and export all of the same file formats as the free version, plus export in the following additional formats: Portable Document Format (.pdf), Encapsulated PostScript Format (.eps), Epix (.epx), and AutoCAD (.dwg, .dxf).
3-D models. You can import and export all of the same file formats as the free version, plus export in the following additional formats: 3DS (.3ds), AutoCAD DWG (.dwg), AutoCAD DFX (.dfx), FBX (.fbx), OBJ (.obj), XSI (.xsi), and VRML (.vrml).
The Pro version includes two additional programs:
LayOut gives you a set of tools that let you place, arrange, title, and annotate SketchUp models for computer and print presentations.
Style Builder helps you customize the look of your SketchUp drawings. Want to produce a 3-D drawing of a client's new home that looks as if it were laboriously hand-drawn? It's a snap with Style Builder.
In short, the Pro version gives you better ways to work with other pros and the ability to communicate more complex 3-D details to clients and colleagues.
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