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SketchUp 3D - LOA (Extended but Intermittent) 3D Modelling
Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:43:22 GMT uk.people.silversurfers
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pmj...
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I know Dave Lear periodically Posts up an LOA (leave Of Absence)
Request/Notice when he gets involved in a "Frag Fest" - playing all his FPS (First Person Shooter) type games... I won't be around in here so much, for a while, (though I will still be Contactable & Available using Skype & M$ NetMeeting as well as by Phone & eMail) Why? Well, I have been Playing with - Errr... Sorry, I mean "Testing & Evaluating" - some 3D Modelling type Programs. Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...
Huh? Wassat then? Some people might ask?... 3D Modelling is a bit like doing Drawing/Designing & Pictures etc, like with PaintShop Pro or various other Programs, such as PhotoShop etc, but doing them as *Live* (Rotateable, Animated) 3 Dimensional Designs. :-) I'm no good at (& not interested in) "Arty" type stuff, but I have always been reasonably good at (& competent in) what we knew as "Technical/Engineering Drawing" at School & used to use various CAD (Computer Aided Design) Programs on a my very first PCs that I had, yonks ago, such as TurboCAD (Originally Created by Pink SoftWare, subsequently taken over by IMSISoft) & AutoSketch (by the same firm who supplies AutoCAD), but have never really used any of the later type CAD stuff that is available now, such as DesignCAD, TotalCAD & IntelliCAD (Fully AutoDesk AutoCAD Compatible, from AutoDSys & CADopia) etc. - They seem to be either far too complicated for what I want to do, especially when it comes to the 3D Versions, or too limited & awkward to use, such as the IKEA Planner & IMSI FloorPlan3D etc. I was going to ask in here for Comments & Suggestions about what is the best sort of Software to use for 3D Design & Modelling - I know there are several different Programs available, but I decided to try out a few that I had come across, while looking around... I want something that is *easy* to use & that doesn't "get in the way" of the Design (& thought) process & that is Intuitive, rather than obstructive, which so many Computer Programs these days seem to be. I have come across several 3D Modelling/Drawing/Drafting/Rendering Programs (available for *Free*) which look(ed) fairly promising (many of them are now available for Free, having previously cost several Hundred Pounds) & tried a few of them out, such as... DesignWorkShop Lite (previously for Apple Mac, but now also available for windoze) ImageWare Developments ModelMagic3D Amabilis 3D Canvas Those are all very good - DesignWorkShop Lite is a much older Program & though it is rather limited in what it can do, it's actually very intuitive & easy to use & you can make 3D Scenes & Models using it very quickly & view them in all 3 Dimensions, Zooming in & out, moving around the Model & also moving the Model around in 3 Dimensions The other 2 are much newer Programs & are also a lot more involved, but are still reasonably easy & intuitive to use & they both offer sophisticated Rendering Features. BUT... & this is the real reason for this Post - I also came across an incredible Program called SketchUp 3D & have Downloaded & Installed it & have been using it for a few days, finding out all that it can do & be used for... Product Features (Just have a look at that Page & you can see the sort of things it can be used for & how easy it is to use) & they have a Gallery of things that people have made, showing the type of thing that can be done, using it... Gallery You can even Integrate the Designs you make in it, into web-search Earth! So you can not only Fly in & Zoom around the Designs (in full 3D) on their own (like you can with web-search Earth), but also have them Positioned anywhere in the world that you want & Fly in from a Continental View, through a Country View, down to a County, then to a Town View & finally into the actual 3D Model of the Buildings & Layout & Terrain. :-) I had a good look around the Website & there are also lots of Tutorials (available to View online as Shockwave Flash Movies, or for Download as (Zipped) .SWF Files or .WMV or (QuickTime?) Video Files Training & Tutorials (Beware, some of them are over 50 MB in size!) & they have various .PDF Documents for Reference & some of the Demos are available as "Interactive Models" .skp Files, as well as various PlugIns & Extensions along with Components, Materials & Textures & you can Import Model & Picture Files in various Formats & also Export them into the various Industry Standard Formats, such as .DWG & .DXF (AutoDesk Drawing & Drawing eXchange Format) & .3DS (3DStudio) & .OBJ (Object) Formats. It's available as a (Time Limited) Full Function Demo (not Crippled at all, it Saves & Prints OK)... The main Product Download Page expects you to Fill out the usual Form, with an eMail Address etc, but I found that it can also be Downloaded directly from the Support Pages, without having to Fill in any Form... I'm well impressed with it - it really is very easy & intuitive to use (which I think is very important) & it has a huge range of features for Importing stuff, Creating things & then Rendering them & Viewing them in all sorts of ways, with real time Shadows etc. & you can also Save (or Export) the from it in various (2D & 3D) Formats & as Animations. Obviously, it prolly has a limited appeal to a lot of people, but for anybody who is interested in that sort of thing (& I know that some people in here are), it's well worth a look! :-) Tickettyboo...
Old Grizzly...
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