The Google SketchUp team is listening and wants to hear what you have to say about SketchUp 8!
This week at 3D Basecamp, selected SketchUp enthusiasts will gather in Boulder CO, to meet the SketchUp team and discuss all things in nature. One of the perks of attending 3D Basecamp is that users are presented with the opportunity to speak with SketchUp engineers face to face. They can ask their most pressing questions and share their most brilliant ideas for improving SketchUp.
Well guess what? This year, we are happy to announce that there is a way for every SketchUp fan (whether at 3D Basecamp or not) to be heard by the SketchUp team.
Today, we are launching our Google SketchUp Questions and Ideas moderator series where all SketchUp users can post questions and share ideas directly with the SketchUp team. The team is looking to clarify any questions you may have related to SketchUp 8 and is interested in hearing suggestions and ideas for improving SketchUp. We’re interested in hearing all your wildest ideas, so don’t be shy! While you’re on the series, also make sure to vote on other users’ questions and ideas. The SketchUp team will address top submissions publicly at 3D Basecamp and responses will also be posted directly in the series and in subsequent blog posts.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using the series. The series will have two different sections: one for asking questions about SketchUp 8, and one for posting any suggestions or ideas you have for making SketchUp better. Make sure you are posting in the appropriate section. Secondly, Please search for your question or idea FIRST to make sure it hasn’t already been posted. If it has, you should vote for it instead of writing in a duplicate. Also make sure to only submit one question or idea at a time, so it’s clear to your fellow users’ what exactly they are voting on. Following these rules will allow for more accurate voting results, and the SketchUp team will be able to comment on the questions and ideas you really care about.
The SketchUp team looks forward to hearing from you!
Questions and Ideas for SketchUp 8
Thursday, September 2, 2010 6:00 PM
Announcing Google SketchUp 8
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 12:00 PM
Today is an exciting day around the SketchUp World Headquarters out here in Boulder, Colorado. We’ve just kicked off our third bi-annual “3D Basecamp” to a crowd of SketchUp-savvy folks converging on The Dairy Center from all around the world. I’m looking forward to some great conversations about SketchUp and 3D modeling in general over the next few days. But that’s not our only news today...
We’ve also finished work on SketchUp 8, the next major release of our favorite 3D modeling tool. We’ve been heads down and working hard for most of the last year, and I’m happy to be able to share with you the fruits of our labor.
Google SketchUp 8 includes a batch of exciting new features. We’ve made it easier to build site context models for your projects using our ever-growing collection of geo-data. We’ve added a new collection of “Solid” tools for doing common additive/subtractive modeling operations and we’ve packed out LayOut with some new features that make it easier to document your models professionally.
Ordinarily, those of you who use SketchUp in a language other than English have to wait a few weeks for a version in your language. But not this time—today, SketchUp 8 is available for download in English, French, Spanish, Italian or German language versions. (We weren’t able to get all our translations done in time for release today, but keep an eye on this blog for news about SketchUp 8 in more languages soon)
As always, SketchUp Pro 8 is available for $495 from our web store. Upgrades from any previous version of SketchUp Pro can be had from for only $95. And, of course, we’ve still got a version of SketchUp available for free. Head on over to our main website for all the details.
You can be sure we’ll be talking about this release a lot over the next few days at 3D Basecamp, but I want to make sure that those of you who weren’t able to join us in Boulder have a chance to let us know what you think, too. I’ve posted a new Google SketchUp Questions and Ideas series. I’m listening, and I’ll respond to as many of the top posts there as I can.
Community Celebration in Peru
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 5:00 PM
Recently, a team of Googlers traveled to Peru and celebrated the winner (and community) of the Google International Model Your Town Competition. Jorge De Albertis of Lima won through a process where people all over the world voted for one of five finalists. His ability to win so many votes was a testament to the power of a community coming together to support Jorge’s efforts. His contribution creating 3D models of many of the historical buildings in the Barranco District of Lima has garnered a lot of attention in his country, and worldwide.
There were four majors parts to the celebration:
1. As part of the winning prize, Google gave a donation to a public school of Jorge’s choice. Jorge talked to the students and staff at a ceremony in the school’s courtyard, and we presented a large check to IE 7053 Reino De Espana Public School. Googlers helped students with a hands-on paper 3D modeling project, where they constructed models of the buildings Jorge submitted for the competition. The school graciously hosted a celebration for Jorge and Google, which included a welcome by student marching bands, traditional Peruvian dances, ballerinas, theater acts, singing, and a poetry jam.
Click here to see more photos from the events.
2. Jorge and Google hosted a series of tech talks to over 80 design and architecture students and faculty at the University of Lima, explaining how others can get involved with modeling their communities. Demos were presented on Jorge’s project, SketchUp, Map Maker, and Building Maker. Watch a video of an interview of Jorge at the University of Lima.
4. Google held a celebration in Jorge’s honor at Picas, which was attended by designers, architects, educators, tourism officials, and the general Lima community. The fun-filled event had demo stations where people could learn more about Google Earth, Map Maker, Building Maker, and Google SketchUp. The band, Colectivo Circo played to a packed house. Jorge received a plaque and spoke to the community about his efforts. We are thrilled to have visited Jorge and to have met many people in the Lima community. Congratulations, Jorge!
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3D Basecamp: Submission deadline extended
Monday, July 26, 2010 8:25 AM
It would appear that giving folks only the weekend to submit their requests for 3D Basecamp 2010 invitations was a not-so-good idea -- my sincere apologies (and thanks) to all those who rushed. Most of the image links we've received so far are both beautiful and inspiring. This is going to be one heck of an event.
We've still got lots of space available, so please keep those submissions coming. We plan to keep the form online an extra two days -- until 09:00 MDT (15:00 GMT) Wednesday, July 29th.
Critical links:
Apply for an invitation to 3D Basecamp 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010 9:00 AM
A couple days ago, I blogged about our upcoming get-together; SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2010 is set to take place during the first three days of September in Boulder, Colorado.
The form for requesting an invitation to 3D Basecamp is now live, and will be through 09:00 MDT (15:00 GMT) July 26th, 2010. If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form and submit it as soon as possible -- we plan to invite the first 150 (or so) people on the list who meet our requirement (see below).
SketchUp aficionados only, please
As I mentioned earlier this week, 3D Basecamp 2010 is for accomplished SketchUp modelers. As part of the invitation-requesting process, we’d like you to submit a link to a single image that demonstrates your SketchUp modeling prowess. Model anything and render it -- or don’t render it -- however you like. The important thing is to show us you know your way around the app.
Please take a look at the previous post and the FAQ for more info, but don’t delay; these invitations are going to go quickly. Good luck!
Go to the Invitation Request Form »
Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Evangelist
Announcing SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 4:46 PM
Back in 2005, we held our first-ever SketchUp conference here in Boulder, Colorado -- a good time was had by all. Two years ago, about 300 of you met us at Google's headquarters in California for 3D Basecamp 2008. Our guests told us they had a fantastic time, and we resolved to do it again. So here we go.
It's my pleasure to announce that 3D Basecamp 2010 will take place at the end of this summer. We're bringin' it back to Colorado, and we're changing the format a little bit. This time, we'd like to welcome SketchUp experts – ninjas, gurus, fanatics, la crème de la crème – to join us. We want to see what will happen when everyone in attendance is a SketchUp master.
In keeping with the times (and the crowd), we've decided to make this an unconference. Apart from a few "we'd like to show you a couple of things" presentations, the content of Basecamp 2010 will be decided by you. Less slide show, more discussions; that's what we're aiming for.
To recap:
3D Basecamp 2010
September 1, 2 and 3
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Who gets to come?
We're not charging a fee, but space is definitely limited. We've already stacked the deck by inviting a select group of the SketchUp faithful -- they've already heard from us. Now we're opening up the remaining slots to anyone who'd like to come. Anyone who's a SketchUp wizard who'd like to come, that is.
Here's what we've decided to do: On Friday, July 23rd at 09:00 MDT (15:00 GMT), we'll switch on the Invitation Request form. All you have to do is fill out the form. We'll ask for your name, your email address and a single link. That link is very, very important.
Your link should lead to a single image. That image should portray an example of your SketchUp mastery. Show us your best model. It doesn't matter what you've modeled; it only matters that your work clearly demonstrates your level of skill. Blow our socks off, please.
On Monday, July 26th at 09:00 MDT (15:00 GMT), we'll switch off the form and start looking at submissions, beginning with the first one we receive and working our way down the list. Once we've reached our quota of first-class modelers (probably around 150), we'll stop looking.
If you're selected, you'll receive a confirmation email on Friday, July 30th 2010. That email will contain details about what to do next. One more thing:
See you in Boulder!
Questions? Check out this FAQ.
Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Evangelist
Announcing the Google Model Your Town Competition winner
Friday, May 14, 2010 10:45 AM
On April 1st, we announced the five finalist towns for the Google Model Your Town Competition and asked the public to help pick the winning town. For the past month, participants reviewed the 3D models, explored the buildings in Google Earth and watched videos of the 3D towns.
Well, we’ve tallied the votes and we’d like to congratulate our 2010 winning town: Barranco - Lima, Peru!
Jorge De Albertis Bettocchi, a 38 year-old corporate business attorney, modeled the Barranco District of Lima. He entered the competition to generate pride among his fellow citizens and created his 3D models to serve as a tool for tourism, promotion, investment and preservation of Barranco’s historic architecture. Jorge also created a blog, Barranco 3D Project, that includes descriptions of his models, his modeling process, community involvement and press videos.
Jorge is also a musician who plays the keyboard, has a small recording studio, and has participated in the production of concerts in Peru. “I started creating SketchUp models in 2007 when I was asked to design a stage for a rock concert, and a concert-production partner recommended using SketchUp. Since then I have not stopped using it and it is the only 3D design program I have ever used.”
Jorge, you have impressed people all over the world with your SketchUp models. Congratulations to the Barranco community!
We’ll be awarding the local school district with US$10,000 and the SketchUp team is planning a visit to Barranco later this summer to recognize their efforts. Visit the Google Earth Gallery to download a 3D tour of Barranco, Peru and visit our winners page for more details.
Thanks to all those who voted to help us find the winning town. And thanks to all the modelers out there who submitted entries — we hope you'll continue to add 3D buildings to Google Earth!
SketchUp goes down under...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 3:06 PM
A few weeks ago, members of the SketchUp team traveled to Sydney, Australia. We met with customers, attended the Form & Function Conference and presented a SketchUp Pro Demo to local architects at our Google Sydney office. In the next few weeks, I’ll post some of the work they’ve created in SketchUp & LayOut and include a few words on how they’re using 3D design & modeling in their offices.
For Part I of this SketchUp Pro “Down Under” series, the folks at Collard Maxwell Architects shared their story with us:
SketchUp Pro “Down Under” Part I: Collard Maxwell Architects
Collard Maxwell Architects is a Sydney-based architecture firm with a philosophy that successful architecture is the synthesis of art, technology and building economics resulting in memorable, economic and sustainable building solutions.
Alberto Sunderland, a Project Leader for CM+A, says that initially SketchUp Pro was used as a quick visualization tool of early concept work.
“The models were never very detailed and it was a tool used primarily within the office. It was used as a quick way of understanding massing and scale to determine if the design was heading the right direction."
SketchUp is used to confirm a complex set of egress stairs from a substation.“As our skill grew we began to use SketchUp to generate models we could show our clients to help them understand the projects and to provide a quick and effective way of trying out changes before updating all our cad documentation."
Hornsby Project - Model was especially useful as the client was asked by council to explore a number of options for the façade treatment. Council signed off the changes based primarily on the images generated from the SketchUp model.
Balcony Detail - Model used to help the owners of the building understand very clearly what their balcony extensions will look like and show the builder detailed information.“Over a period of time we began to use SketchUp Pro for tender presentations. Although we originally took the images and “dumped them” into Photoshop to create the presentation posters, we eventually discovered the possibilities of the SketchUp Pro’s LayOut tool. Combining LayOut with our SketchUp work has made the creation of simple, effective and clear presentations much quicker than our previous method utilizing Photoshop. We are very impressed.”
“We anticipate that SketchUp will become the primary visualisation tool in this office and, together with LayOut, it will be used to create most, if not all our presentation slides. The speed and ease of use of the software is amazing, and we are coming to appreciate the importance it may have within our workflow.”Thank you Alberto and the entire CM+A staff for providing the project graphics and their story. SketchUp Pro “Down Under” to be continued...
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Mappers and Modelers converge on Google Zurich
Monday, April 19, 2010 4:32 PM
What do you get when you put 90 Map Maker, Building Maker, and SketchUp users into one big room? A truly incredible experience and a lot of great ideas.
Summit attendees and staff at Google Zurich.Last month some of our most talented Mappers and Geo-Modelers came together in Zurich to celebrate their work and talk about how to make mapping and modeling better. Attendees came from all over the world (Peru, Mongolia, Germany, Ukraine, Taiwan and Tanzania to name a few places) and had lots of opinions on how to improve our programs.
This summit was unique in that it was an unconference -- lots of smaller sessions proposed and run by the participants. We talked about everything from mapping historical data to user moderation in Google Earth (and you can read all about our discussions in the session notes). This format was amazing from a staff standpoint because we got to talk individually with a lot of different users. It was great from the attendees' perspective too, as they got to talk about the subjects that mattered most to them.
In addition to all the brainstorming, we had a lot of fun, too. Office tours, evening social events, and a fondue dinner overlooking all of Zurich made for a very entertaining (and filling!) few days. Check out this highlight video to get a feel for how things went:
Want to experience the conference for yourself? Check out our abundant photos and prolific session notes. Thanks to everyone who made this event such a success!
Posted by Vicky Tait, SketchUp Support Operative
Tour the March Madness arenas in 3D
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 10:05 AM
Hello college basketball fans! It’s March and that means March Madness is in full swing. 65 teams were pitted against each other in this single elimination tournament to decide the 2010 NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship. In getting into the spirit of the season, Google launched a College Basketball webpage to see the latest results, get live information on teams, manage your bracket, and tour 3D models of the arenas.
Here at the SketchUp office, we gathered 14 models of the arenas and added them to a Featured Collection. These models are located all over the country, and largely created by users like you. Especially cool is the model of the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, where you can fly inside and see the interior of the model! Both the Edward Jones Dome and the HSBC Arena are great examples of high quality photo-texturing, and the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis was created using Google Building Maker.
We also put together a 3D tour (kml file) of these arenas for Google Earth 5. You can see the relation of the cities to one another and explore the surrounding 3D models. Creating a tour like this is a snap with the touring feature in Google Earth 5.
So explore the collection, enjoy the tour and hopefully rejoice in how well your bracket still looks.
Green design in the Mt. Annan Botanic Garden
Friday, March 19, 2010 11:15 AM
We received this story from Kennedy Associates Architects in Australia through the SketchUp Go Green! website. Read below for their story on how they used Google SketchUp for their project and watch an animated video.
The Bowden Centre is a new educational and multipurpose resource building at Mount Annan Botanic Garden, Sydney NSW. The building’s primary purpose is to provide a teaching facility for the numerous school groups who visit the garden every year -- a place to learn about the garden and Australian flora. However, the facility has also been designed to accommodate a broad range of other activities, from seminars to weddings.
The brief for the project, the first permanent building at the Botanic Garden, was to set the benchmark for future buildings on the estate and to provide a unique multi-function facility that demonstrates high standards of ecological sustainability, within a very modest budget.
This was achieved through, amongst other things, siting the new building in the location of an existing structure, recycling the steel structure and aluminum windows from the earlier building, the use of low maintenance materials, the thermal management of the building via a ground coupled, water based air conditioning system and the inclusion of a series of plywood clad, vertical wall openings that act as alternatives to conventionally glazed windows. 
What prompted us to spend the time building the SketchUp model was that we were preparing a talk about the building and wanted a method to explain concepts behind the building design. We set upon using the SketchUp animations as a way of bringing these concepts to life, particularly through the use of the sectional animations. We now regularly use SketchUp animations as a presentation tool to present models built in our CAD package.
Shooting for three: Keeping up with the Madness
Thursday, March 18, 2010 11:00 AM
(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long blog)
Do you feel it, sports fans? Has the anticipation fully gripped your college basketball soul? It's definitely got my attention. Therefore I've embarked on my third consecutive journey into mapping the NCAA College Basketball tournament. This may have caused a bit of personal March madness - a lot of long nights and triple-checking each arena placemark - but I hope you’ll enjoy the result. I’ve made a Google Earth KMZ file that includes the home arenas of the field of 65, and the 14 tournament venues. Each entry in the field of 65 is color coded by region and the game sites have a special basketball icon this year.
You may wonder why I’ve kept this up for three years. Well, aside from the fundamental fact that I'm a college hoops nut, I just so happen to also love seeing the geo-spatial distribution of the teams. The research and compliation of the information led me to several interesting facts you can see for yourself in the layer and then use to wow your friends, such as:
- There are two first-round matchups that pit two teams which have the same mascots
- Bears, Eagles, Gophers, Grizzlies, and Lions have a common trait: they are all 'Golden'
- This year’s tournament is quite colorful: Blue Devils, Mean Green, Orangemen, Big Red, and Yellow Jackets
This My Map also shows you all the key locations for the Madness, color-coded for your viewing pleasure. The East division is indicated by a blue pin; South with green; Midwest with red; and West with cyan. The pins with a dot in the center tell you who the #1 seeds are. View the College Basketball Tournament 2010 in a large map.
Travel to the tournament without leaving home! All 14 arenas are in the “3D Buildings” layer in Google Earth, ready for you to explore. Take a tour of these 3D models by watching the video below or download this kml tour and open it in Google Earth 5. Be sure to check out the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City -- even the court is modeled.
Also, teaming up with a few other March Madness enthusiasts, we’ve created a page, google.com/collegebasketball2010, where all of you basketball fans can find additional Google tools to help you track the tournament. Keep up with your favorite teams and get up-to-date information on scores, schedules, and brackets with our iGoogle gadget. By doing a quick search for your favorite team, you can see live scores. If you haven’t already made a bracket, check out our Google docs tournament bracket template to help you create and manage your pool in an online spreadsheet. You can also see real time search results so you never miss any March Madness news or chatter!
For all the times when I can’t be planted in front of my television watching the action (or during those pesky commercial breaks), these tools will keep my head in the game!
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City visualizes projects through 3D tours
Thursday, March 11, 2010 2:18 PM
3D fly-overs and walk-thoughs are a great way to communicate and inform to an audience. This type of digital communication is becoming more accessible and prevalent in the work we do and Glen Cove, New York wants to see more of it.
I recently discovered this news article about the city of Glen Cove requiring 3D tours for all large development project proposals. With this requirement, they hope to gain a better understanding of how projects will impact their community. It's great to see cities using 3D in their community.
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Cities in 3D Case Study: Fredericton, Canada
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:10 PM
Cities and local governments around the world are beginning to realize that it takes more than a traditional website to get discovered. Millions of people around the world are touring the planet or searching for businesses through free geospatial tools like Google Earth and Google Maps. Imagery, terrain, and 3D models all help these virtual visitors to formulate a picture in their mind.
The City of Fredericton uses Google Earth for city planning and other official uses. They had access to 3D building data so when they learned about Google's Cities in 3D Program they offered to contribute their data to Google in the hope that it might appear in Google Earth. In addition to Google Earth, 3D data contributed to Google is used to display 3D buildings in Google Maps, which will benefit anyone trying to find a specific location in the City. If you're a city or local government, have access to 3D data, and would like to "get on the virtual map", we encourage you to learn more by visiting our Cities in 3D Program website.
About Fredericton
The City of Fredericton is the riverfront Capital of the province of New Brunswick, which is one of four provinces that make up Atlantic Canada. The population of New Brunswick is around 750,000 with urban and suburban areas extending into rural. The population of the city is 50,535; with a total of 85,688 people living in Greater Fredericton. Fredericton was named the Capital in 1785.
Today, Greater Fredericton is home to more than 70% of New Brunswick´s Information Technology industries. The city is the New Brunswick centre for information technology, engineering and environmental technology industries. Fredericton is also home to two universities (St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick) and a variety of training colleges and institutes.
Fredericton offers a balanced lifestyle to its residents, with abundant recreational and cultural amenities. The City is an ISO 9001:2008 certified organization delivering more than 150 programs and services to residents and visitors alike.
Fredericton was added to the Smart 7 Communities List for 2009 by the Intelligent Community Forums - for the second year in a row. Environmental awareness is top of mind for the City of Fredericton. In 2009, the City was named a national leader in the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Fredericton is only one of four Canadian cities to achieve the highest level of program requirements for greenhouse gas measurement and reduction in municipal operations in Canada.
Other awards and recognitions that the city has won include:
- "Cultural Capital of Canada" 2009 (Government of Canada)
- "Top Five Renovator-Friendly Cities in Canada" 2009 (Canadian Contractor Magazine)
- "Fourth Best City for Families in Canada" 2009 (Who's Your City - Richard Florida)
- "One of Canada's Best Places to Live" 2009, 2008 & 2007 (MoneySense)
- "City of Fredericton National Leader in the Partners for Climate Protection Program” 2009 FCM
Fredericton & Cities in 3D Program
Rob Lunn, GIS Coordinator for the City, told us that he discovered the Google Earth 3D building models and SketchUp utility at the GeoWeb Conference in 2008. City employees were already using Google Earth for work or personal purposes.
Rob Lunn said, "I knew there was a program to upload data to Google and getting data to Google was a big initiative for us. We wanted to find avenues to release available data and information to be public at large and the Cities in 3D Program seemed like a perfect solution."
"We decided to go through the Cities in 3D Program because of time and having Google folks involved helped speed it up. We want our city to be discoverable through Google as well as through our local website. But if there are people going straight to Google, we want them to discover it there too."
History of Sharing
The City of Fredericton has a partnership with the local Military in New Brunswick, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. The CFB Gagetown is one of the largest military bases in Canada. "We provided data for creating models (building footprints with heights, DEM, aerial photography, oblique angle aerial photography collected by a firm with an ultra light plane and street level photography) and they built up the data sets. The group is the Army Learning Support Center for Tactics School and one of the largest bases in Canada," says Rob Lunn. This high-tech military group took this model and integrated it into a first person tactics game. They wanted a real life model for training purposes.
"We also meet PSAB (Public Sector Accounting Board) legislation for tracking assets. From a city perspective, we have to know the tree cover, quantity of trees, park benches, how many meters of sidewalks, how many meters of sewer pipes, etc. We truly have to know what we have because they have to be accounted for. There's an expense and you have to replace the sidewalk, etc. We have to have a good understanding of what we own."
Fredericton in Google Earth
"Of course, we're interested in promoting Fredericton and have people discover the 3D models, that's wonderful for us. For staff it is important to be able to see the impact that buildings or other structures (e.g signage) have on the streetscape. Right now, we're using the models more for tourism and economic development, but plan to expand into more areas. What motivated us to contribute our data was the opportunity to make the information available to a wider audience through a tool (Google Earth) that they are already using.
Over 100 photo-textured 3D buildings in Fredericton were added to Google Earth in January 2010. The buildings included government offices, commercial buildings and parking structures. To visit Fredericton, download Google Earth and search for "Fredericton, Canada" and make sure the "3D Buildings" layer is checked.
How are you using LayOut?
Thursday, February 25, 2010 8:52 AM
Over the years, we've gotten to know a lot about how our customers are using SketchUp Pro. What we've learned has helped us to educate professionals in other, related fields, and has done a lot to influence the development of our product. In short, we love to see what you do with the tools we make.
When it comes to LayOut -- SketchUp Pro's 2D companion app -- I think there's an opportunity for us to learn even more. Since LayOut 2 launched in late 2008, we've seen a huge increase in usage, but we don't have as many user stories as we'd like. We want to know more about how folks are using LayOut, and we want to see (and show off) more examples of the inspiring work that's being done.
If you're using LayOut, we'd love for you to take the time to tell us how: Please submit a case study (it doesn't need to be very long) by following the instructions at the bottom of our Case Studies web page. We'll do our best to feature your work on our blog, in the SketchUpdate newsletter, and on our website. Any architectural LayOut documents that we receive may also be showcased in our booth at the AIA National Conference this year -- fame and glory in Miami!
This is a great way to get your name out into the community; you'll also be helping us to understand more about the uses of LayOut in a variety of industries. To submit, just check out our Case Studies web page. When you're attaching files, it would be great to have your original LayOut file; it makes printing a whole lot easier (don't worry -- we won't share your original files with anyone).
One more thing: You can also find great examples of other people's submissions by filltering this blog for User Stories. Thanks, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve done.
Take a virtual tour of the Olympics in 3D
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 9:05 AM
The countdown to the 2010 Winter Olympics has begun, and the Google Boulder office has been busy modeling the Olympic venues in Vancouver, BC using Google SketchUp.
Last month, we introduced photo-realistic 3D models for eight of the nine venues hosting the games.
Today, we released updates to many of the models using higher-resolution imagery, and, the last venue for the Olympics: the Bobsled Course!
Olympic venues (click to enlarge)With today's release, all nine venues (54 buildings in total) are completely modeled in 3D and available for viewing in Google Earth's "3D Buildings" layer (or view the collection in the Google 3D Warehouse). The collection includes 3D models that range from downtown event centers to ski lifts and spectator bleachers.
In addition, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games incorporated the models into the Official website using the Google Earth plugin. To see the models, simply click on "Spectator Guide," then "Venues." You'll find a "3D View" tab that loads the 3D model.
So wax your virtual skis and take a tour!
Bruce Polderman, Product Manager
Popular Woodworking in the Warehouse
Friday, January 8, 2010 1:55 PM
One of the great benefits of working on the SketchUp team for the past five years has been the opportunity to be around designers who have inspired me to become a woodworker (albeit a fledgling one). That said, it was a nice surprise to find Popular Woodworking's Collection in the Google 3D Warehouse recently.
I was intrigued, so I contacted Bob Lang (the Senior Editor) to ask him the reason for providing such a robust collection of models. He says that using Google SketchUp has changed the way they design projects and it's a "tremendous advantage for a woodworker to be able to build a project on screen before heading to the shop".
Bob says it seemed natural for them to upload designs from the magazine to the 3D Warehouse; that way, people can "pull the models apart" to gain a more intimate understanding of the project's details. Although the folks at Popular Woodworking have built some of the models themselves, most are created by their readers – it's truly a community of shared ideas.
As PW's audience asks for more and more digital content, free, user-friendly tools like Google SketchUp and the 3D Warehouse fit the bill perfectly: Bob told me that he's gained new readers who discovered Popular Woodworking through its models in the 3D Warehouse. Here's some of what's available:
A very SketchUppy holiday
Friday, December 11, 2009 11:02 AM
For the last couple of years, we’ve uploaded some holiday-themed SketchUp models to the Google 3D Warehouse. I thought it might be handy (for those of you who’ve found this blog only recently) to provide a recap of what’s available – you never know when you’re going to need some component-sized holiday cheer.
Santa Claus sitting down
Santa’s sitting (and wearing goggles) because I made him for a little sleigh-modeling competition we had in 2007. This version is "dynamic", meaning you can pose him. Click with the Interact tool to move his arms and head, and to change his belt buckle style.
We provided Santa and his reindeer (see below) and asked folks to send in designs for Santa’s sleigh. The results were inspiring.
Santa Claus standing upThis Santa's poseable, too. Just remember to download (or import) him directly into an existing model to maintain his "dynamic" functionality.
Reindeer in a variety of poses
Looking back, I’m not sure why I gave them dog’s heads. I probably should have looked at a photo of an actual reindeer while I was modeling. Live and learn. Incidentally, if you’re planning to line them up into sleigh-towing formation, this model might save you some time.
Menorah, unfinished and dynamic
The point of this model is that the candles are dynamic – they react when you click on them with the Interact tool. I created this last year as part of an invitation for folks to finish the menorah. This blog post tells the whole story.
Design-your-own gingerbread house
The above model is intentionally dull. It was meant to be a starting point for people who participated in last year’s Gingerbread House Competition (the winners were spectacular). It’s dynamic, you see – when you scale the house, the thickness and height of the walls stay constant. The instructions are watermarked into the model.
Most of the decorations below are dynamic, too; the best way to find them while you’re using SketchUp is to type gingerbread is:dynamic into the search box in your Components browser. These components need to download directly into your model to work properly.
Pinwheel Mint: Click with the Interact tool to change from green to red and back again.
Candy-Striped Pole: Use the Scale tool to adjust height and diameter. Use Interact to change color.
Wafers: Place on any surface, then use Scale to adjust length and width. Scaling adds or removes wafers as necessary. Use Interact to change colors.
Hooked Candy Cane: Nothing too exciting here. Just a plain ol’ candy cane.
Gumdrops: Use Scale to make rows longer or shorter, then use the Component Options dialog box (in the Window menu) to change colors, spacing and “Wobble” – choose “Robotic Precision”, “Close Enough” or “Too Much Eggnog”.
Happy holidays!
Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Product Evangelist
The making of a sweet physical model
Monday, December 7, 2009 1:58 PM
Remember the Design Your Dwelling competition we ran with Dwell magazine last year? The winner (in case you missed it) was a gentleman named Drew Wilgus from North Carolina. His prize included a physical model from Sweet Onion Creations, a model shop that combines 3D printing with hand-construction techniques.
The model they constructed of Drew's design is nothing less than spectacular. Better yet, they documented the process of building it and turned the footage into a great video:
Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Product Evangelist
Winners announced for Monopoly's Design Your Own Building Competition
Monday, November 9, 2009 4:20 PM
Since the launch of the MONOPOLY City Streets game in September, millions of buildings have been built in the game. Soon after the game launched, the Monopoly team hosted the Design Your Own Building Competition with the help of Google SketchUp to create three new MONOPOLY City Streets ‘must have’ properties. They received hundreds of 3D buildings ranging in design from towers to ice cream parlors. It was amazing to see the variety of buildings submitted to the competition.
The jury selected three buildings that are now incorporated into the game. The three winning entries have been selected for their beauty, originality and for capturing the fun spirit of MONOPOLY City Streets.
The winners are:
Grand prize winner: Stairway to the Future Tower by Matthew
Second Place: Revolving Restaurant and Blimp by Zoungy
Third Place: Spiral Scraper Luxe by Brendo
If you’d like to see all of the entries, please visit the competition collection in the Google 3D Warehouse. Thank you for the entries and congratulations to the winners!
