Sketchup Rules

Building models.  It's something most of us did as kids.  Personally, I hadn't thought of modelling as art, but now I think the act of creating anything is indeed art - craftsmanship, detail, and patience coming together to make something new, something that wasn't there until we make it.  But later, money and time becomes less available for such pursuits.  The years pass and modelling becomes fond memory.

But sometimes the urge to build comes back.  Restoring classic cars, home shop carpentry, and even gardening becomes our big kid's modelling.  If you have the need to create but not the money to buy a shopful of woodworking tools, let me introduce Google Sketchup. Following the link  ( http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/index.html )will take you to the beginning of your own Sketchup adventure, but allow me to show you a few previews. 

Sketchup is free 3D modeling software.  In a world where free usually means worthless, Sketchup is anything but.  It is simple enough to get started creating right away, and complex enough to stay ahead of your imagination.  Google very kindly took Computer Assisted Design software that usually costs hundreds, even thousands, of dollars and made it available to everyone.  Even their Sketchup Pro, which costs about $500, handily matches other professional level CAD programs from 2 to 10 (!) times the price.

Here's a few things I've done in Sketchup:


Using a Cape Canaveral photo background, my granddaughter's rocket is now on display.  Heh!

A DARPA project inspired this model.  Meet the Multi-Role Agile Tactical Vehicle (M-RATV) 

This model represents a dreamscape, was built to compete in a modelling challenge.  Welcome to REM City.  

Sketchup can handle architecture, carpentry, interior decoration, and any other project that needs realistic, 3 dimensional rendering.  It lets you 'take a picture' as I have above, store your models for others to share online, even download and use other folk's models.  The only downside is that complex models can take a long while to render on older or less capable computers.

Is it real?  Is it art?  I don't care, it's real fun!