Product Description

• Considerably easier to use than other 3D software, Google SketchUp has found a niche in architecture, landscaping, real estate development, furniture building, and other design professions
• The fun and friendly approach assumes no previous 3D modeling experience and explains the basic concepts involved in 3D modeling
• Shows readers how to build a 3D model, print it, share it, export it to another professional design package, export it to Google Earth, and create a 3D animated tour
• Helps readers harness the power of Google SketchUp so that they can populate Google Earth with 3D buildings, monuments, and other sculptures

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144774 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
"full of tips and techniques" (British Woodworking, October 2007)

From the Back Cover
Get a whole new perspective on 3D modeling

Build your house in 3D, do some remodeling, and share it in Google Earth

Developed with architects and other design gurus in mind, Google SketchUp is the fast, easy way to build 3D models of anything you want — buildings, furniture, or your own unique creations. Best of all, it's free! You don't have to know anything about 3D to use this handy guide — just download SketchUp, fire it up, and you'll be modeling in no time.

• Create models from photos

• Master the interface and 3D tools

• Animate a walkthrough of your model

• Arrange furniture and decorate your space

• Try out landscape designs

About the Author
Aidan Chopra has always had a thing for computers — his parents thoughtfully sent him to Apple camp instead of hockey lessons like every other eight-year-old in Montreal — but he learned to draft and build physical models the old-fashioned way, working for his architect father. These days, Aidan is a Product Evangelist at Google, where he’s been since that company bought SketchUp in the first part of 2006. In the three years since he graduated with a Master of Architecture degree from Rice University, he’s done a lot of writing and lecturing about the way software is used in design. Aidan writes the SketchUpdate, a monthly e-mail newsletter that reaches a half million SketchUp users worldwide. He has taught architecture at the university level and, at Google, works on ways to mediate between power and usability; he believes the best software in the world isn’t worth a darn if nobody can figure out how it works. Aidan is based in Boulder, Colorado, even though he is what many would consider to be the diametric opposite of a world-class endurance athlete.

Customer Reviews

Good for experienced users too.
I am a retired professional engineer, architect, and 3D graphics artist/instructor. I have been using SketchUp Pro for about 3 years mainly for creating Earth and space structures that I later import into Daz Bryce for rendering. This well written, light-hearted, and extremely thorough book is an essential asset for begineers and a valuable reference tool for anyone using SketchUp. Computer software manual writers can often times get over zealous with methods and confuse everyone but themselves. Fortunately Aidan Chopra is not one of those people. If you want to draw most anything you can imagine you need to do two things. First download the free version of SketchUp and second buy this book. You will be very pleased with both actions.

Just what the doctor ordered!
This book along with the online videos will get you up and running fast. It's see one, read one, now do one. The online videos are the key to doing the book as sometimes the books doesn't contain all the information for completing the project. So you have to write down the dimensions from the video into the book. This is what I did and I was able to follow along with the book and complete the projects. In a word "excellent."

Great - for beginners
I bought the book because I wanted to get started using SketchUp to draw a house construction plan. I wanted to see what the house would look like in 3-dimension. I reviewed the on-line training files and got a good understanding of what SketchUp could do, but, as one might expect, there was not a lot of "how-to-get-started" information.
The book is well written and easy to follow. It is set up based on a training theory I like, trial and error. The base example is a house sketch with vague dimensions. As you begin to follow the instructions, you make mistakes. You quickly learn how to erase your mistakes and re-start. After a bit, I began to have something worth saving. Once saved, it became a means of re-starting after "big" mistakes.
It is truly a learn-by-doing tool.
I haven't used the book for the more complex features of the program.
I got what I wanted and the price of the book was a small price to pay for the lesson.
I used to use MacDraw years ago on a Mac. This is the best casual drawing tool I've seen since then.