Are you 'good'?
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I tend to think of myself as good with SketchUp because of the reason Charlie noted. I can do what I need to do quickly.
Then there are the times when I stand over my boss' shoulder and watch him try to use it, then I feel like "The Company Computer Guy" sketch on SNL... "MOOOOVE!"
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sketchup is just a tool that craftspersons uses in the process of completing their craft. in that regard being good at sketchup is not the end goal being good at your craft is the end goal. In order to be good at your craft you need to be competent with the tools you use. As an architect my craft is about designing objects to be built like houses for instance. In order to validate the design and to illustrate it's validity we produce drawings. Since the objects we are designing are 3 dimensional producing 3 dimensional drawings is only natural. sketchup allows me to communicate my ideas to others in a natural and effortless way. So my goal is not to be the best modeler but to use the tool (SU) to help me better communicate the design.
People pay me to produce 3d models to help them communicate and I've heard that the models and presentations I've created have been effective.
I'm sure if I gave one of my models to a good modeler they could find a thousand things I've done that make the model "BAD" like modeling insanely minute details that will never be seen and only add to the file size and complexity. But for me if the details are not there than the images seem too unreal. my "BAD" modeling habits do get me in trouble at times when I'm on a deadline and SU starts to BOG down. I often mentally kick myself for over modeling. but old habits die hard. I was an over drawer too. I remember the look of astonishment on my co workers face when he realized that i had drawn the threads on the screws in a mill work section drawing for a cabinet.
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I am proficient in that I don't come across many obstacles doing what I need to do - draw buildings, but that is what you'd expect to be able to do with SU. I am not "good at SU" in that I don't push the software out of the box (it doesn't even come in a box, so that wouldn't be hard). I agree with Phil about bad modelling habits, I'm guilty of incoherent groupings and details that just make the model fat. I wouldn't know where to start on modelling a human with SU - and I've read the tutorials. If I could write ruby scripts for sketchup then I'd consider myself to be pretty damn good.
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After using SU for over two Years I have only recently discovered the interscect Tool.
I don’t use hardly any scripts or short cuts for that matter. So what does that make me.
To quote Phill:
Sketchup is just a tool that craftspersons uses in the process of completing their craft.
in that regard being good at sketchup is not the end goal being good at your craft is the
end goal.. -
@unknownuser said:
sketchup is just a tool that craftspersons uses in the process of completing their craft. in that regard being good at sketchup is not the end goal being good at your craft is the end goal.
i see what your saying, and thats sort of what i was trying to get at by saying 'proficient' instead of good. a good point none the less.
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yeah but it's usually not until you reach the end and get close to a deadline that SU feels the need to remind you about your BAD modeling habit. It seems that the program works fine and dandy and lets you add all sorts of extraneous polygons with no apparent degradation in performance until about an hour before the deadline...then SU seems to BOG down from the weight of all your pursuits in nano modeling. By this time though it's too late to delete them and you have to sweat bullets to finish up on time. Telling yourself that in the future you will be more efficient in your modeling habits...We lie to ourselves about our addictions all the time.
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I'd agree with some of the others..that SU is a tool and being good at it is a matter of fulfilling the needs of the client. In my case, that usually involves modelling people without the whites of their eyes or wrinkles, but people who look reasonably natural from a few feet away. With SU's obvious handicap of being geometry-intolerant that means modelling anything as economically as possible but with the appearance of being far more detailed than it actually is.
Personally, I'd say that using SU to model detailed organic shapes is a bit like modelling a full size bridge out of matchsticks...it's possible but just not the best tool for the job. You'd be much better using ZBrush or a new freebie just out...CB Model Pro http://www.cbmodelpro.com/
I'll do a heads up of this on a separate thread if people think it's worthwhile. -
jsut had a quick browse of that website lan, look like a really cool progam, good for doing the stuff it's hard to do in SU, and free for beta useers as well!
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I've had CB model pro for a while, it is very simple to use but hard to do things accurately, you can bring models into sketchup via obj format. I think Moi is better but tha's just me.
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jsut had a really quick go with it, and i see what you mean about modelling accurately. seems to be better for doing ideas and quick stuff rather than proper accurate models to turn into plans. good program none the less.
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I would be interested to read Alans view on this software.
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I started a new thread (did not want to distract from original topic) with my opinion of CB model pro here:
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