The Sketchup struggle. Real?

[TomD_Arch]

So I'm being forced to learn Sketchup at my new job.  I loathe Sketchup.  I think it's a shit program for lazy people that don't want to take the time to learn Max, Blender or C4D.  Why would you ever choose to use Crayola Crayons when you could be using Prismacolor pencils or Copic Markers?  I get it, architects love to use it because "it's so easy to learn."  I'm not seeing the easy part of it yet.  Sure, the basics of the program might be easy, but once you've moved on to attempting intermediate or advanced modelling it's a pain in the ass.

Maybe my workflow is wrong.  I'm trying to have a positive outlook like: "It's good to learn another program."  But, Every time I have to go look up how to do something I find myself think "It shouldn't be this difficult."  I keep telling myself I need to stop resisting, that's what is making this so uncomfortable.

 

Is there hope?  Is it really easy and one day, sooner then all the rest of the I've learned programs, I'll say "See now that you are rocking out Sketchup models aren't you glad you took the time?"

[Nicolai Bongard]

Im not really up to date when it comes to sketchup, so everything i say may now no longer be relevant/correct, but from my understanding a lot of the power of sketchup comes from the different plugins/extensions.

You may want to check out these links for motivation, allthough they may as previously mentioned be slightly outdated:

 

http://www.peterguthrie.net/blog/2013/05/sketchup-extensions

 

http://www.peterguthrie.net/blog/2010/11/sketchup

 

My guess is that once you get your head wrapped around the logic/ways of doings things in sketchup, you will be able to do a lot with it, not to mention have fun while doing it. Good luck!

[Scott Schroeder]

I feel your pain. I'm forcing myself to learn both Rhino and SketchUp and it is slow going, even with some really good tutorials. The biggest hurdle for me is I'm completely engrained in my Max keyboard shortcuts that I hit them all of the time in another program and end up turning something on that I have no idea what it is doing.

I would echo what Nicolai says about the SketchUp plugins being life savers, I've got quite a few of them and they make some tasks so much easier to do.

[Eliot Blenkarne]

On 6/7/2021 at 11:32 PM, TomD_Arch said:

So I'm being forced to learn Sketchup at my new job.  I loathe Sketchup.  I think it's a shit program for lazy people that don't want to take the time to learn Max, Blender or C4D.  Why would you ever choose to use Crayola Crayons when you could be using Prismacolor pencils or Copic Markers?  I get it, architects love to use it because "it's so easy to learn."  I'm not seeing the easy part of it yet.  Sure, the basics of the program might be easy, but once you've moved on to attempting intermediate or advanced modelling it's a pain in the ass.

Maybe my workflow is wrong.  I'm trying to have a positive outlook like: "It's good to learn another program."  But, Every time I have to go look up how to do something I find myself think "It shouldn't be this difficult."  I keep telling myself I need to stop resisting, that's what is making this so uncomfortable.

 

Is there hope?  Is it really easy and one day, sooner then all the rest of the I've learned programs, I'll say "See now that you are rocking out Sketchup models aren't you glad you took the time?"

What are you trying to do? That's what it comes down to.

We have an advanced computational team where I work, and they struggle to match a 50 year old architect using SketchUp when it comes to fleshing out an idea, testing  or just quickly iterating on an idea using Rhino+GH (in the area where those workflows overlap, usually concept, certainly not fenestration etc). Likewise, when they want to see an updated detail in some of our viz work, they get frustrated with the intricacies of max. There's no doubt both of these programs are far more powerful than SketchUp, but the "dumb" nature of SketchUp makes it a lower threshold and faster for our architect friends who aren't in a position to learn Rhino/Max/Blender etc. That's not in their batting arc. It doesn't exist in the gaming and cinematic world practically speaking for good reason!

Stick at it, I've used SketchUp since 2010 and it's really pretty amazing once you get to grips with it. Once you accept it is software that encourage a loose and "flawed" workflow, you can just have fun and explore a bit. 

[Francisco Penaloza]

I used to hate Sketchup, and I am not a heater really. But once I learned it limitations and way to do thing, I find my self doing some stuff in Sketchup because it is just "faster" than X or Y Software.

Yes the main thinking for hardcore 3D modelers is that Sketchup was or is a dum 3D software, and maybe it is true but IMO that's what it make it so flexible or useful in many cases. With time I have learned just to use it for what it is good at it.  For instance I start building my sites in Sketchup, cutting grass area, sidewalks and other it is way faster than doing it in 3D Max, then for more detail I send the mesh to 3D Max and finish there. But if the site is not uniform, then 3D Max will be a better fit.

To block an Architectural design for VR I'll do it in Sketchup, put basic material and then Datasmith to Unreal, this is way faster than 3D Max, in my experience, but of course depending on what your work is, this may not apply.

Let me give you other point, All the Architects that design in my company use, Sketchup, Rhino or REVIT, many times it take longer to export, clean mesh, fix errors and crashes in 3Ds Max than render the same image inside their software, I use V-Ray or Enscape.  If quality is very important then it is worth to send to other more advance 3D app but for quick iterative images, Working inside Sketchup, Rhino or what not is more efficient.

Sketchup may be frustrating at the beguiling but once you learn it logic everything is the same. I would rather say, that Sketchup is a limited software, you can actually learn all the tools that it offer and how they work, from there you only need to figure out a workflow that works for you.

I could not say the same of 3D Max, Cinema 4D and others.

Changing to any software is always a scary phase, it is frustrating and depressing sometimes, but is the same for anything in life right? At the end it just make you a more talented artist with a wider way to approach your work.

 

[Jnew24]

My suggestion is that if they use Sketchup and have a Rhino+GH Computational team like you said. I would simply learn V-ray for rhino. This workflow has suited me a bit more because I can directly open SKP models in rhino, make materials in v-ray share them between both and get pretty decent renders. However you will run into the problem of saving large rhino models to SketchUp as it is very time consuming and will potentially crash your computer. The work around is export the models as CAD files and the v-ray components as vrsences so that you can interchangeably relink and add then when you have too. 

And the learning curve is pretty easy seeing that the SketchUp v-ray and Rhino v-ray interfaces are similar if not the same. Tons of information on YouTube to  get you started and rendering decent renders in about a week. 

[Chris MacDonald]

Couldn't disagree more. Sketchup is phenomenal.

[Karin Skaug]

I switched from 3ds Max to SketchUp (almost) three years ago. It was hell at first, but now I find Max the hellish option - when I have to go back to Max to do something - it seems like everything need far more clicks to do the same ting as in SketchUp. So you will be able to work faster in SketchUp.

I have a lot of extensions. It is hell when they upgrade and you have to load 75 new versions one by one. But some of them make all the difference. You can get instant VR experiences with Enscape (without exporting or prepping anything!),  ForestPack-like scattering with Skatter and organic sculping with Artisan. Most of the extensions are free, some cost more than SketchUp.

I use the simlab exporter in Revit to get a neatly organized model- with textures- into SketchUp. (It even respects instances, so you get multiple linked copies instead of hundreds of "stupid" unique objects as you got from Revit to Max.) The Revit models often needs more detailing, so you still get revision hell if that is the case. "My" architects usually have a building file, and a topo file with the buildings linked in. I usually import the topo file since I then get the north direction correct and I don't have to adjust the position of the model with each revision import.

SketchUp is sadly really weak at handling lots of geometry, but Enscape is amazingly strong. Enscape gives you the possibility of using proxies, and that makes you able to easily work with large projects/lots of detail. But you have to link/proxy almost everything.

I'm happy now with how the program works, but nonetheless I still feel a bit ashamed when I tell people which program I use.
My bad, I guess.

[Karl Larsen]

I've been using SketchUp since 2002 when it was owned by @LastSoftware - they created the first version of SketchUp in 1999...

It is phenomenal for creating accurate architectural models, fast, and as other have said, with a few extensions, you will be surprised what SketchUp can do.