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Kitchen Design Plugin for Sketchup, Sketchup training.

Visualizer for Sketchup

Visualizer for Sketchup is one of the newest render programs to come to Sketchup. If you've ever looked at rendering programs for Sketchup, you'll know there are a lot. Visualizer isn't going to win as the renderer for the next Avatar, but it certainly wins for being the easiest, most fun, and fastest I've used, by a lot.

Once it's installed, all you do is is just start it up, frame your shot by moving around in Sketchup, and let it run. Most renders take just a minute or two. Below is a gallery if a few that I just did in the past few weeks. 

You may notice that some of the foreground and backgrounds of these renders are blurred. There is no post processing done here, it's all happening inside Visualizer. Just like a normal camera, Visualizer has a "depth of field" adjustment. This is much like an aperture adjustment in a camera. To adjust this, all you do is drag the depth of field slider, and then drag the target to what you want in focus:

Visualizer_and_Untitled_-_SketchUp_Pro.png
VIZ_0084.png

Here I have the closest tube in focus. I did this just by adding a little depth of field and setting the target to the front.

Visualizer_and_Untitled_-_SketchUp_Pro.png
VIZ_0083.png

In this one I've done the same trick but put the focus on one of the middle tubes.

I love Visualizer, it's fast and downright fun to use. Most renders take just a minute or two. It's my new "screenshot" for Sketchup. At $20 bucks it's a bargain of a renderer. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Plugin version 1.1 out!

Great news!

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If you've been experiencing issues downloading components, your troubles are over.  We have found and corrected a bug that was causing that to happen in certain cases on bot the Mac and the PC.

Make sure you've got the latest version of the plugin so you don't experience this bug.  To do that, if you're on Sketchup 2013 just to to "Extension Warehouse" within Sketchup and find our plugin.  From there, instead of the "Install" button you'll see one that says "Update".  Choose that, restart Sketchup after it's over, and you'll be off and running.

Click here for a video on how to update

If you're on Sketchup 8, just download a new copy of the plugin from our download page in the link below, run the installer and you'll be all set.  You won't even have to log back in again!

http://sketchthis.net/plugin-for-sketchup/plugin-download/ As always, if you need any assistance, you can go to our site to get any support you need.

Sightspace 3D updated for Android

Limitless Computing out of Colorado is responsible for some really cool iOS apps.  They've been able to take Sketchup models and turin your iOS device into a "portal" to view them in real life!  (Don't worry, if you don't get that, there is a video below)

They've also got some super slick Android apps that they've updated for Jelly Bean.  Take a look at the video below!

I am pleased to announce the SightSpace 3D v1.1 update for Android devices is now available on Google Play. If you are not familiar with SightSpace, it views SketchUp (and other KMZ format files) on Apple and Android devices in Augmented Reality by superimposing the digital designs in the real-world in real-time, enabling you to walk through the model by simply moving your device. Additional features include stereoscopic red/cyan 3D, annotate 3D models, bookmark favorite views, take screenshots, share notes and photos, and more. And a quote from the Limitless computing website.

The SightSpace mobile app for SketchUp has the following improvements for Android:

  1. Compatibility for Android devices running 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
  2. Addition of a slider to control how sensitive your device is in Augmented Reality mode (this will only appear if your device has a gyroscope). As of right now, SightSpace is able to run on over 1300 hundred DIFFERENT models of Android devices. That is a lot of variation for us to account for. Each device is slightly different, so to give you the best experience, this slider will control how much movement the device picks up from you.
  3. Improvement of our custom VYZAR Augmented Reality engine and various bug fixes.

Note that SightSpace has a very cool feature that we designed ourselves: built in stabilization in Augmented Reality. When you hold your device still, SightSpace will always correct the orientation of the model. This may take a few seconds. I have included a video below of how to use the automatic Android Augmented Reality stabilization for SightSpace so you can see this in action.

2011 Year End Review

It's been a spectacular year for this blog.  What started out as a humble blog for Sketchup related tips has expanded into a globally read resource read by thousands every month.

Not only is this post a review of some of the high points this year, for all of the new readers it will be a great way to get up to speed on what goes on here.  Consider it a "Cliff notes" or a "Best of album" for 2011. Let's jump right in!

First and foremost, there is a lot of Sketchup content from this year.

There was a lot of coverage on mobile apps this year too:

And lastly, everything else!
And most importantly, I want to thank everyone for reading this year!