Hello, Gentle Readers. I miss you. I apologize for the sporadic posts of late…have you wondered why that’s been? It’s for a good cause – an exciting cause – but an exhausting and time-consuming one.
I am co-authoring a designer’s guide to the drawing program Google SketchUp, and it will be published by Pearson. We’ve had deadlines recently. Several of them.
(SketchUp , by the way, is is downloadable FOR FREE via this link. Of course I was the last known person to actually PAY for SketchUp several years ago; 10 minutes after I pressed “buy now,” the program was acquired by Google and became available for free. Figures!)
Anyway, the brilliant Bonnie Roskes of 3D Vinci is the super-author of the book. She wrote The Sketch-Up Cookbook, which remains an excellent – possibly the definitive – guide to the program.
Bonnie was a client several years ago, and it was she who introduced me to it. “You don’t use SketchUp?” she asked, incredulous. “But do you know what it can DO?” And within minutes, she had created a scale model of her kitchen, “painted” the floor w/ the actual tile we planned to use, dropped in pre-drawn models of the stove, refrigerator, etc., and chose the exact color of her countertop from the Google 3D Warehouse.
It was pretty amazing.
SketchUp model by Bonnie Roskes
Like many designers and architects, I was trained in AutoCad. It isn’t intuitive…but to be fair, my projects didn’t require me to use it often enough to become truly proficient.
Warm and fuzzy SketchUp, on the other hand, really IS easy. Easier, anyway; the more you know, the more you can get it to do, of course. We’re writing this guide especially for interior designers – and aspiring designers and all-around talented people like you, who want to make the world more beautiful, starting w/ your own homes.
SketchUp drawing by bossy color
So. Between co-writing this book, tending to client projects – you know, the actual DESIGN part of my life 
- training a second bossy color superstar, and effecting the transition from Quickbooks (Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, you overly complicated, pompous accounting program!) to Design Manager (Come on it! Would you like some tea? Or a Diet Coke, perhaps?), I’ve been a little busy. Sleep has not been a priority. But food has, believe me.
SketchUp drawing by Surya Murali (who obviously REALLY knows this program!) via the Google SketchUp 3D Warehouse
Thank you for your patience. More on bossy color’s exciting – or at least entertaining – design projects soon, and get ready for the new SketchUp guide to hit the shelves at the end of the year.
Or whenever Bonnie and I finish it.
(Are ANY designers using Auto-Cad, or is that now exclusively for architects? What drawing programs – if any – do you use? Any highly skilled hand-renderers out there?)
Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She has been quoted in publications from The Washington Post to Real Simple and is considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.
I definitely agree, Sketch up is an amazing program and the book looks very helpful — can’t wait to check it out. Beautiful job & loved reading a post like this!
yr how i can download il please reply me please….!
Hi Annie,
We use Archicad at Studio B Designs and then put in textures and fills for renderings with Artlantis. It does take a lot of time so I am excited to use sketch up for residential projects and some fast rendering! Can’t wait for your guide book!
Hi Annie,
So frustrated with digital painting programs out there and use them infrequently–only for quick exterior renderings. Do you use Sketchup for exterior color placement? Am contemplating learning this summer.
Love the progress of the kitchen in St. Michael’s – we often sail over there from Annapolis. : )
Congrats on all of your achievements Annie!
I definitely agree, Sketchup is an amazing program! I’m not as proficient as I’d like to be, so I look forward to your book! I use Revit a lot for any renderings, but for interior design renderings the resolution is not as solid as Sketchup. AND its free…
I have Sketchup downloaded, sitting quietly in my applications folder and just waiting to be used. The 1 year anniversary of that download recently came and went and I’ve still not found/made the time to figure it out. Could it really be so easy? Does it do more than 3d models? Can it do elevations? Will it refill my coffee?
I am looking forward to your book! Perhaps YOU are the light at the end of the tunnel (that I cannot even seem to enter). Roxanne
Yay Annie! Can’t wait to see the book.
This is great!! Sketchup is an amazingly powerful free program, and the book looks very helpful — can’t wait to check it out.
Lorrie, one of the really cool things about Sketchup is that you can easily export your creations to a free rendering program called Kerkythea and create beautiful photorealistic renderings. There’s a free Sketchup-to-Kerkythea plug-in that makes exporting quick and easy.
I use Chief Architect for my 3D modeling, but do my rendering in Kerkythea (and I’m also learning Thea, the new “professional” version of Kerkythea). You can see some examples at CastleView3D.com.
I’ve also recently started a blog dealing with 3D design and rendering, called “Life Should Be 3D,” so I hope you’ll check it out if you’re interested: http://lifeshouldbe3d.wordpress.com. I’d love to have guest posters share their experiences with using 3D design and visualization in their business, so drop me an email if you’d like to contribute.
I sure agree with Lorrie’s points, esp about using SketchUp frequently, and in depth, to retain proficiency. It reminds me of cooking a turkey…I forget how to do it between holidays, and I stumble around feeling like a beginner. For sure I CANNOT do it with client peering over my shoulder…embarrassing to look so rookie.
Maybe designers are, by nature, visual to begin with and doing these sketches simply don’t capture the warmth, the personality of the spaces we envision. No SketchUp rendering will capture that…at least so far. For me.
In general, I embrace technology. I did teach myself to use it when we were faced with a giant warehouse-becoming-a-multiuse-retail/entertainment space. But maybe my bread-and-butter projects are too small to use this tool on a daily basis?
Anyway, I’m glad somebody is figuring out how to make it more accessible…thank you!
Hi Annie, Thanks for the update and the exciting news. It all happens at once, huh? Regarding your question…I agree that the rendering world has been a crooked path for designers. I am in the same boat as you. I learned AutoCAD in school and have used it for basic furniture plans and for working with architects on custom homes. But beyond that, it’s not great for presentation purposes unless you really dive in deep and it’s a complex program that needs to be used regularly to keep your proficiency high. I have used Icovia for floor plans, which turn out well. But they don’t have 3D and their elevations are severely limited in scope. I have also used Chief Architect which does a good job especially with kitchens and baths. I find that a lot of the consumer programs are a lot more user friendly. I know designers want more options but our lives are busy enough…give us a workable solution!
I have tried Google SketchUp a few times but I am not sold. Everything comes off looking so stiff and cold. It does not relate the warmth and creativity that we put into our projects. Beyond giving a client the 3D feel, I fear it may undersell what we are actually creating. But I respect your opinion and am all ears and willing to give it another try. Keep us in the loop!
The new Google Sketchup 8 has plugins. (Vray and Shadowlight) that allow photorealistic rendering right in sketch up! It is amazing and transforms those harsh surfaces into actual soft renderings..fur, mirror and all!!
Thanks so much for that info, Leslie! Glad to hear that Sketchup is working for you!
Hi Annie, Thanks for the update and the exciting news. It all happens at once, huh? Regarding your question…I agree that the rendering world has been a crooked path for designers. I am in the same boat as you. I learned AutoCAD in school and have used it for basic furniture plans and for working with architects on custom homes. But beyond that, it’s not great for presentation purposes unless you really dive in deep and it’s a complex program that needs to be used regularly to keep your proficiency high. I have used Icovia for floor plans, which turn out well. But they don’t have 3D and their elevations are severely limited in scope. I have also used Chief Architect which does a good job especially with kitchens and baths. I find that a lot of the consumer programs are a lot more user friendly. I know designers want more options but our lives are busy enough…give us a workable solution!
I have tried Google SketchUp a few times but I am not sold. Everything comes off looking so stiff and cold. It does not relate the warmth and creativity that we put into our projects. Beyond giving a client the 3D feel, I fear it may undersell what we are actually creating. But I respect your opinion and am all ears and willing to give it another try. Keep us in the loop!
My step father uses Auto Cad and other complicated things to design sprinkler systems. SketchUp sounds very cool. I had never heard of it before. Since I’m not a pro, that’s not too odd. Good luck with all of your projects.