SketchUp Hooks Up With Google Earth

zmarties writes "Having recently bought the company and 3d design product SketchUp, Google has now taken the next step of releasing a free personal version of the SketchUp software. Currently available for Windows XP, with a Mac version 'coming soon', the program allows for simple drag and drop design of 3d models - which amongst other uses can then be displayed in Google Earth. The pro version remains available for commercial use, with lots more features. Google are also introducing 3D Warehouse, designed as a repository for 3d models created in the program. The models can be viewed in Google Earth via a network link, so you can see geolocated models as you browse the world, rather than having to explicitly download them. Google has pre-populated the warehouse with a number of models which range from complete complex buildings, such as the Taj Mahal, through to individual design elements such as traffic lights and furniture."

Comments

Vs. SketchUp Pro

[chroma]

Unfortunately, the pro version offers one critical feature that the free version doesn't:

• Access to the following 3D export formats: DWG, DXF, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, VRML and FBX.

If you're going to have something manufactured from a SketchUp design, you'll need to be able to export in a format that can be read by something other than SketchUp. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up: the Pro version is $495.00 for both Windows and Mac. You can get a free trial of the pro version, though.

Re:Vs. SketchUp Pro

[eMartin]

"In other words, look at Sketchup - but don't touch if you want access to your data."

Do you do 3D work?

Some of us do. These days, we mostly "access" our data with 3D software. Not text editors. *Most* 3D programs use proprietary formats to store data specific to their own features.

With that said, Sketchup offers several import and export options to other standard 3D formats, and can be extended with plugins to support more.

free trial..

[joeldg]

if you have not tried out this program.. download it now..
the push/pull tool is amazing and so intuitive it is like .. "magic".. has been a long time since I have been that impressed at a program.

read some of the reviews out there and see what people are doing with it. The online galleries are inspiring..

you can import almost any model, export to almost any kind of model..

amazing amazing program I have been using for a few months now..

This is what makes Google kewl

[GillBates0]

While there's definitely a market for a product like Sketchup, Google usually goes a step further and introduces features that may not necessarily make money for them, but are cool to use and fun to understand for regular geeks and lay-users.

In this case, it's the free version of Sketchup, the free design warehouse and "geolocation" feature within the free version of Google Earth. Quite cool, IMHO.

Blender is Already Free

[plaidhacker]

I recently wrote a KML (Google Earth) export script for Blender.org. Blender is certainly less intuitive than SketchUp, but its undeniably more powerful, as well as open source. It supports importing and exporting a number of other industry standards, so you could use it to transform models you already have.

Blender KML Export
Blender.org

Re:Blender is Already Free

[slapout]

Check out Blender: Noob to Pro. Once you get used to it, the interface makes a lot of sense.

First Impressions

[kebes]

Just downloaded the program and am playing with it. My first impressions:

Pro:
Very intuitive interface. Unlike most 3D modelling programs, you can start creating and coloring objects immediately. You can create simple layouts very quickly, and then use the neat "tape measure" tool to measure distances. This is absolutely great for making a model of a room to consider different layouts for desks or whatever.

Con:
As in many cases, simplicity leads to limited designs. To make anything complex would be a nightmare. Also, I can't see any way to make things look "slick and cool" or to render them in anything but a simplistic cartoon-like style. It has none of the elegant programatic control of something like POVray, for instance.

Overall I think it's a neat toy that some people may enjoy, but I think anyone serious about 3D will give it a pass (including, I'm guessing, the Pro version). On the other hand, I would like to see some open-source projects get some inspiration about the interface from this program. An add-on to POVray for creating simple shapes (with the more complex work then being done in code) would be nice.

Re:First Impressions

[zxnos]

but I think anyone serious about 3D will give it a pass

as an architect, i use it all the time. i can spend 4 hours in sketchup creating a decent model with people and trees for a client to see the massing and a walkthrough of their house or office building. all kinds of other studies can be done quickly in sketchup.

or i can spend 16 hours in formz or some other rendering program. guess what the client usually wants early in the game... ...when marketing the slick image comes in. but then i can import the sketchup image and apply textures, lights, etc.

Does Google have a Linux strategy?

[erroneus]

I'm not quite as married to Google as other users although I use Google to search almost exclusively. But I'm disappointed that there is no Linux version of Google Earth. Now another Google offering that's not Linux. Frankly, I'm disappointed.

Re:Does Google have a Linux strategy?

[saltydogdesign]

No Amiga version either. What the hell's the matter with those people? How do you explain a company making free software and not porting it to niche markets with little demand???

Anyone tried Wings?

[Peepsalot]

I haven't had a chance to use SketchUp yet, but from the screenshot it looks slightly similar to Wings 3d
http://www.wings3d.com/

I may be completely off comparing the two, but it's definitely a fun program to play with anyways. Open source and more intuitive than other alternatives such as blender IMHO.

It does what it says on the tin!

[happywillo]

Although looked down on by serious modellers, I find that sketchup models are better recieved by clients. I spent years with 3D Studio and lightscape trying to make realistic models that never quite seemed believable and now use sketchup as a tool to give clients an impression rather than a finished "as bought item". I find that it is perfectly suited to my discipline as it is just a maquette rather than a "disneyfication" of reality that most modelling programs achieve. The surfaces, shadows and light refraction may look real, but in the end the building always looks too crisp against the background photos used for montage (so lets stop pretending!). Just my few cents worth as an Architect/ IT manager for a firm of Architects.

Re:SketchUp rendering

[bsy_at_play]

i don't think the images are all that blocky, though limiting the number of polygons make smoothly curving surfaces difficult/not as nice. http://www.bennetyee.org/bathroom/ contains a sketchup model that i made to help communicate what we want with contractors. of the complex shapes that i had to make, the lighting fixture took the most time and the sink is the least realistic. i didn't include additional surface images and only used the ones provided (with some stretching for the glass tiles), but i think it turned out pretty well.