Podium 1.5 working in Sketch Up

image © Christ Haseldonckx, a.k.a.‘biebel’

SU Podium is a photo-realistic rendering plug-in for Google SketchUp 6. Now, you can run a TRUE photo-realistic effect rendering program from your sketch up model without going through too many complex processes.

"Podium runs completely inside Google SketchUp from start to finish. It uses SketchUp features such as textures, background colors, groups and shadows to achieve impressive results. Podium is intuitive to SketchUp users."

Here are a free evaluation version to download and play with it, no expiry. Some more this version is exactly the same as commercial version just only the smaller outputs (320x120, 500x500 image resolution). Before doing anything, let's browse through the video tutorial for your better familiar with the program.

Sketch-up component - chairs

If you are able to read Chinese words, here are some sketch up components (Chair) download for free from IDMEN.com (dead link: updated 12/3/11).

Google 3D Basecamp 2008, YouTube

Google 3D Basecamp 2008 video presentations are available on YourTube


SketchUp and AutoCAD
How to create a base-plan quickly and effectively, the relationship between AutoCAD blocks and layers with SketchUp components and layers, it would save all your time.



SketchUp and ArchiCAD
This video talks about the connection between SketchUp and ArchiCAD, describing the "BIM -building information modeling", as called "vitual building".



Promoting Your Work Using Google Resources
There are some architectural design case studies, majority to demonstrate how we can maximize using the Google resources.



Maxing Out Your Productivity with Ruby Scripts
How Ruby Scripts relate to SketchUp program.



SketchUp and Green Design
Does SketchUp relates to Green Design? Let's see...



Adding detail with the follow-me tool
A shape follows path, the video is also demonstrating the modeling shortcut method.



Marking Your Mark with SketchUp

Sketch up in light and shadow

You can even have a better Sketchup animation with the V-Ray plugin support. V-Ray is a rendering plug-in that enables Sketch-Up users to have a performance enhancements for producing an outstanding image quality. The renders using these V-Ray technique can appear more photo-realistic to the human eye, as actual lighting effects are more realistically emulated.

This is the sample of how the Sketchup output associated with V-Ray.

Google 3D Warehouse

Google 3D warehouse serves as a sharing platform for the sketch up users to publish and share your works. The 3D model has been categoried into 2 types: geo-referenced and non-geo-referenced. The geo-referenced is a real building object which has been built and located in Google Earth, and the non-geo-referenced is just the supporting 3D model like car, people, tree & etc....

There are some helpful modeling guideline (pdf format) for your better understand how to apply a new texture/material to the model (including the tutorial in Photoshop).

Car component in Google 3D warehouse

Here are one of the sample sketch-up component which is available in Google 3D warehouse. It is all free.

Sketch-up animation video

Sketch up is not only for paper presentaion, but also the animation, allow to create a fly through video. In the video, we can see how the 2D (plan) turns to 3D (form), and the 3D comes to animation (doors open & close).

Beijing Airport by sketch up

wow! the world's largest airport in Beijing, China. Developed by Sketch up.

Sketch up components available to download

Hi all, please be informed that all the sketch up components are available by just 1 click. Who those left a message requesting the component, please go each relevant page to download from there. It would be appreciated if you guys can share your any creative libraries with us.

from sketch up to 3D studio MAX

This is a demostration of modeling by sketch up and run the full rendering in studioMAX for the final presentation to your client. You can still have some final touch up in Photo shop (waterfall effect, background, tree, people etc).

Sketch design, 2D + 3D

The presentation of sketch elevation design in sketch up with the CAD lines (both elevation and plan) which are laid in layers vertically and horizontally as shown in picture. It looks pretty cool right....

Sketch up video tutorial

Interest video demostrates the process of building a building using the sketch up, it is fun !

Riverwood mixed-use project sketch up samples, by HOK international

Drawing courtesy HOK

Here is the sample of sketch up which is designed by HOK architecture, that showing how presentable the creation of sketch up.

How to generate a twisting form by sketch up?

One asked how to build a twisting form in sketchup, let's start with a simple form for your experiment and better understanding, here we go...

First, after building the form as shown in picture, then select only the top surface and rotate it, the twisting form will be automatically generated... try it out!

sketch up effect with a lightlight color

car showroom proposal

Here is the sample of creating the sketch up effect with a lightlighting color that expressing your architectural ideas. This features can be colored in photoshop or even in sketch-up before exporting to Jpeg file.