SketchUp is an intuitive and powerful 3D modeling program for all types of users, professional and non-professional, to create and edit 2D drawings and 3D models.
The software, which was released by Colorado-based Last Software in 2001, came under the umbrella of Google when Google acquired Last Software on March 14, 2006. In April 2012, Trimble announced that it would purchase SketchUp from Google, and on June 1, 2012, SketchUp became a part of Trimble.
What is Sketchup and Who Can Use SketchUp?
Sketchup is very easy to use and there are videos on its use in almost every language. It can be used to enhance workflows and creative concepts in a wide variety of industries, from architectural design to construction, woodworking, film design, landscape design and game design.
In summary, anyone who wants to convey their idea visually can use SketchUp.
What is SketchUp used for?
SketchUp program has both free and paid versions; It is a simple 3D drawing program that users of all levels can use. You can make drawings for personal use free of charge with SketchUp Make, which is offered free of charge by Trimble.
In the SketchUp Pro version of the program, which is offered mostly for professional use, drawings for professional use are made. SketchUp program used by hundreds of thousands of people around the world; It is a program used by professional designers in many different fields such as architecture, construction, engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, kitchen and bathroom design, urban planning, game design, film and stage design and wood modelling.
SketchUp offers easy design opportunities to its users thanks to its different structure from traditional 3D design programs; It also has features that are only available in itself, such as Push – Pull, Import – Export, Sun – Shadow Analysis, Texture and Material Color Assignment, Ruby Console, and Hand Drawing View.
With SketchUp, a simple program used for 3D modeling, three-dimensional modeling can be started even using simple hand drawings or photographs. With the Push and Pull command of the program, two-dimensional drawings can be converted to three-dimensional with a few clicks, just like Extrude and similar commands in AutoCAD and SolidWorks programs.
SketchUp brings many easy innovations. With the large three-dimensional model archive of the program, users do not have to model everything from scratch. Users can choose examples of the model they want to design from among the sample models and use that model in their own designs or get inspiration for their own models.
Thanks to the Import and Export plug-ins of the SketchUp program, drawing collaboratively with other programs has been simplified. Thanks to the import feature, images and drawings prepared in other programs such as AutoCAD or Photoshop can be edited with the SketchUp program or easily combined with SketchUp drawings. Thanks to the Export feature, if desired, a drawing completed with SketchUp can be saved in a format supported by another program, imported in visual formats such as JPG, or saved in formats such as PDF and made ready for printing.
The texture and color of the drawn model can be adjusted as desired with the paint bucket command among the commands. Then, thanks to the various rendering engines the program has, the drawing textures can be rendered realistically and a visual output similar to a real photograph can be obtained.
Thanks to the rendering feature of SketchUp, professional drawings can achieve realistic images. Professional drawings made with the rendering feature leave an important impression on the customer or buyer about how the product will look after production. For example; When a tablespoon is drawn with SketchUp, the solid model can be covered with steel by selecting steel from the features of this model. Thus, when rendered, it will look just like a real spoon. Likewise, the texture of a glass can be made transparent by choosing glass.
