3DConnexion SpaceExplorer

There isn't a lot of hardware out there for 3D programs.  Really it comes down to having a good wheel mouse, keyboard, and a few monitors.  A few years ago I heard about a device called a 3D mouse.  My geek sense kicked into high gear and I started searching around for one.  I stumbled upon the 3D Connexion Space Navigator.  This amazing little device allowed me to "grab onto" my 3D models and work with them almost as if I was holding them.  Recently, the folks over at 3D Connexion were kind enough to send over a SpaceExplorer for me to try out.  Read on to find out how I liked it:

The 3D Connexion line of 3D mice all have one thing in common: the "cap" in the middle.  This cap is what you grab onto to move about in 3D space.  You can move the cap in six directions.  This allows incredibly fluid and intuitive control of where you are in 3D.  Within minutes of using this thing you will be flying around your models just like Superman, no phone booth or cape needed.

After using it for a while, you will notice that you hardly need to pick your hand up off of it when you are modeling.  Your motion throughout your model is so much smoother.  The way this thing gets you around really allows you to access places and get views that would normally be far more challenging.  If you've ever modeled in the interior of something in Sketchup, you know that when something gets in front of your view, it's frustrating to get away from it.  Usually you have to bail and do "Zoom Extents".  Not with this gadget!

Check out this video I made of me using it:

The 3D Connexion mice also offer fine grained tuning of just about every function imaginable.  From motion speed, to macros, you can control it all.  It even automatically switches presets for each application you are in.  For those of you that don't think glowing blue lights are cool, you can even turn that off. (Lets be honest, you aren't going to do that, are you?)

I love this thing.  It has made me faster and more efficient.  It's also an excellent presentation tool because it allows you to make presentations less "herky jerky" and more smooth and immersive.  Just don't try to re-create the Star Wars trench run scene unless your viewers have strong stomachs!

Plugin Review: Fredo6 Round Corners

Ahh, laziness, slacking off, and procrastination...  You wouldn't think these words would be associated with the innovators and "movers and shakers" of our world, but I disagree.

Without the aforementioned qualities how would we have gotten the Moo Mixer, the Segway, the spaghetti twirler, or the great Nugget Cup?

Well, there's another innovator in the Sketchup world: Fredo6, he is a regular poster and plugin creator who is on the SketchuCation forums.  He is the creator of several brilliant Sketchup plugins.  Ones that are even more useful then the "Moo Mixer".  One that I use on almost a daily basis is called "Round Corners".  In Sketchup, its rather difficult and time consuming to make rounded corners on things.  Using his plugin makes doing this easy, and fast.  Read on to see a video of the plugin in action!

I have talked about plugins before for Sketchup.  Google's open API for Sketchup makes it easy for creators to write these plugins.  Just like Apps can make your smartphone do amazing things, plugins can make you even more fast and productive with Sketchup.

Check out this link on SketchUCation to get this plugin, and instructions on how to install it.  Its free of charge, so go check it out!

I'd be remissed if I also didn't mention the "Hawaii Chair" in my sarcastic list of inventions!

3DVia on the iPad

As a recent new owner of an iPad, I have been discovering so many new apps that are useful in my daily life at work.  I am a former iPhone owner, so I am no stranger to iOS, or the App store.

I had no idea that the larger form factor of the iPhone would make such a huge difference in the "app experience"

I have been looking for a way to put Sketchup models on the iPad in 3D, so I can present them to clients without having to drag out the laptop.

There is a company called 3Dvia.  They have a 3D iPad browser that can do just that.  They also have an online 3D repository that their 200,000 members can upload 3D models from a variety of 3D design softwares.

All of these models can be browsed with just a few touches right on your iPhone or iPad, check out the video below:

So now I can take all of my 3D models with me on my iPad!  I use this to show clients current projects, and as a portfolio for my previous work.  Head on over to 3Dvia and check out their mobile apps, pretty cool stuff!

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, how much is a 3D model worth?

Sketchup 8 M1 Released!

Google is releasing an update to Sketchup 8 today.  They've creatively named it "Sketchup 8 M1"

I would't be doing my due diligence as a blogger if I didn't tell you about this update.  With every update Google pushes out for Sketchup, there are are always lots of little fixes.  Things that you may not even realized they fixed have been fixed.

This update includes a big one however... the shadow bug has been fixed!

For those of you that aren't aware, the shadow bug can cause your models to sometimes look like this if you have shadows turned on:

Basically what happens is sometimes when you are "inside" a shadow you can see this effect that make your shadows look "shattered".

This bug has been around since Sketchup version 1.1 and its wonderful to see it finally fixed!

Google put together this great little video to show you the difference.

The best part about this is that its a free upgrade!  To get it, go the following menus in Sketchup.

Windows: Choose Help > Check for Update
Mac: Choose SketchUp > Check Web for Update

I'd like to also thank the SketchThis.NET art department for taking the time to edit the Sketchup 8 logo.

UPDATE:  You can see the full release notes here.

Apps for Sketchup? Steve Jobs is not amused

Sketchup is as useful in the 3D world as a Swiss Army knife, but sometimes it just doesn't do exactly what you want it to do.

Just like you can put an app on your smartphone, you can add a plugin for Sketchup.  There is a great developer community out there, and just like the smartphone apps, a lot of the Sketchup plugins are free.

Plugins solve problems.  One problem that I have is that clients always love to change colors.  When you've got a Sketchup model full of materials it can be time consuming to swap them all out.

Thanks to a plugin by Thomas Thomassen I can now do this with just a couple of clicks.  Check out the video of his "Material Replacer" plugin below:

This fabulous plugin can be had for free by downloading it right here.  Thomas, or "ThomThom" on the forums works for cookies.  So please, if you like this plugin send him a cookie.