Datasheet

13
Chapter 1: Meeting Google SketchUp
You. By making SketchUp free for everyone, Google is leading the 3D charge.
Rather than relying on a small number of 3D nerds to get around to modeling
everything in the universe, Google made SketchUp available to anyone who
wants to participate. After all, Google is about organizing the world’s informa-
tion — not creating it. By giving SketchUp away, the company has created a
whole new kind of information to organize. Chapter 11 is all about SketchUp
and Google Earth, as well as the Google 3D Warehouse, where the world’s 3D
information is being stored — at least for now.
Comparing SketchUp to Other
3D Modeling Programs
If you’re reading this book, I presume you’re at least interested in two things:
building 3D models and using SketchUp to do so. The following sections
tell you something about how SketchUp compares to other 3D modeling
programs — how long it takes to figure out how to use it and what kind of
models it produces.
Jumping right in
When it comes to widely available 3D modeling software, it really doesn’t get
any easier than SketchUp. This software has been as successful as it has for
one reason, and it has everything to do with how quickly people are able to
get good enough at SketchUp to build something within a couple of hours of
launching it for the first time. You have no thick manuals to read, no special
geometric concepts to understand; modeling in SketchUp is about grabbing
your mouse and making something.
So how long should it take you to discover how it works? It depends on your
background and experience, but in general, you can expect to be able to
make something recognizable in under four hours. That’s not to say you’ll be
a whiz — it just means that SketchUp’s learning curve is extremely favorable.
You don’t need to know much to get started, and you’ll still be picking things
up years from now. In fact, I’ve learned a couple of things just writing this
book.
But is SketchUp easy? Lots of people say so, but I think it’s all relative.
SketchUp is without a doubt easier than any other modeling program I’ve
tried, but 3D modeling itself can be tricky. Some people catch on right away,
and some folks take longer. But I can say this for sure: If you want to build 3D
models, and you have an afternoon to spare, there’s no better place to start
than SketchUp.