@unknownuser said:

Kent,

Sorry, but I would be another that would agree with the other replies you don't agree with. While you are making money selling 300,000 copies (and proud to tell us) you need to understand we also work for income (most of the time). Free advertising is really not what I would consider you are offering. Remember you are a professional writer, but we are also professional designers....both of which are professional positions and deserve to get paid. Photos are far different than making a 3D model. While taking a photo can take time, snapping a photo rarely takes as much time as a detailed 3d model like the request. Maybe it was the tone of your reply or the "We sold 300,000 copies but can't offer you a dime" that spun me wrong, but I think if you are profiting from the book then those helping with it should be paid as well.

Glass houses....

Scott

Scott, the purpose of mentioning the 300,000 copies is precisely to explain the advertising possibilities. If I only sell a few books, it's obviously not much of a deal for anyone.

I can't believe that anyone would take issue with this. Got a plan design business you want to promote? Offer a drawing in exchange for exposure. I offer free excerpts and articles from my book all the time to promote my business. Don't want to do that? Don't have a business? That's fine too. Move on. Nothing of interest here.

This has nothing to do with anyone's talent, worth, time, etc. I'm a Sketchup artist too, drawing many of my own illustrations. I know how long it takes. If you or anyone else here doesn't think free exposure is worth offering your hard earned work, that's fine.

But I don't understand the need of some people here to criticize the work of others.

Since everyone here seems to think there's some pot of gold at the end of the book rainbow, let me put this in perspective. I will make about $15,000 per year on this book for 3-4 years. That's after spending two years assembling and writing it with no pay. It takes about 5-700 hours. I have to contact hundreds of people to get photos and establish rights. I travel to promote the book. I spend countless hours making my own sketchup drawings. I post on blogs to promote the book. After 4 years, the book goes stale and I have to refresh it with another round of updates.

I suspect many of you designers make more per hour than I do. If I offered money for the illustrations and photos used in the book, there would be no profits left for the author.

So, again, just exactly why do you think I deserve all this animosity?????

@unknownuser said:

I'm sure there will be people here that will help you but I hope others consider what kind of message this sends out. With the exception of charity it is not sustainable to work for free and it will never gain Sketchup modellers any respect.

All the best with the book, if you pay for a bespoke model for the cover that perfectly suits your needs, surely you will most likely make more profit.

With all due respect, I didn't post this request to get in a philosophical debate with some stranger who doesn't know me or the publishing industry. There are tremendous expenses involved in writing and illustrating a 450 page, four color book, much time and money invested, etc.

I stated a need, and set the terms, and anyone who was interested could respond. If you're not interested, fine. But don't proceed to lecture me about the value of your work vs. mine.

I suspect there are some people on this board who understand the concept of market trade. I am offering a free advertising vehicle for the display of a designer's work on the shelves of bookstores and libraries for several years along with an acknowledgment. In exchange, I'm asking for free use of a drawing, most likely one produced for another project. Have you priced advertising lately? The costs of publishing a full color plan book? There will be about a hundred free photos in the book from construction manufacturers, whose marketing departments are more than happy to advertise their product at no charge. Both parties benefit.

If you can't appreciate this concept, why not just move on?

Thanks Al!

That's very helpful information!

@al hart said:

Have you tried the 3D Warehouse.
Every time I need a house model, I look around on the 3D warehouse.

Thanks Al,

I'm searching through models there. I'm looking for a model with exterior and interior construction details that can be displayed as an x-ray or cutaway. So far I haven't found anything like that at the warehouse.

I'm also not sure about the licensing issues, unless I can get explicit permission from the original artist.

If you know of any model that fits that description, I'd be interested.

@sepo said:

No offence but you sell 300000 copies and can't pay someone.....Hmmmm.

Well, no offense, but you must have a very distorted view of the publishing industry and the profits made. I sold those 300,000 copies over a 15 year period and split the proceeds with my co-author. The money went for food, utilities and the other things most of us have to pay for with our career proceeds.

People in glass houses....

I'm an author of books on construction and remodeling and I have the fourth edition of The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home coming out this year. The book is being completely rewritten and will be in full color. All my illustrations will be drawn with Sketchup.

What I need, is a good residential house design drawn with sufficient detail so that we can do an "x-ray" shot of the exterior and interior, showing all the layers of construction. This illustration might end up as the full color back of the book.

If any of you designers have such a Sketchup project, I'd be interested in discussing it with you. Due to the market and the costs of publishing, I can't offer you any money. However, I can give you a byline under the illustration and an acknowledgment inside the book. This could be some good free advertising for a residential design studio, considering that past editions of this book have sold 300,000 copies.

If you're interested, contact me at: "unitech at mindspring dot com"

Thanks! Kent

These suggestions are great! Checking them out now.

I've been using the materials library extension that comes from the Sketchup website, but I have a lot of trouble with the materials creating repeating patterns that look ugly on larger projects that are to scale. (soil and grass materials especially)

What is the best way to overcome that artificial look?

Are there some good free materials out there for Sketchup??