Thanks, everyone!

Stan

I also would like to illustrate logistics procedures showing how equipment is packaged, warehoused, and shipped from several different mfg sites to differing pre-prep/build facilities and finally to customer sites.

Very exciting! How is the name of Holy Jebus Harold Christ on a cracker do you do this stuff? !!!

Thanks, everyone, for making me feel welcome.

Solo here are the answers;

Why do you want to learn Sketchup?

Technical docs, mainly.

I'm a media systems design engineer who works mainly on my own with equipment that is usually jet black, very heavy, and hence hard to manipulate and photograph (since I'm on my own...hard to photograph myself putting heavy stuff together). I would like to make 3D models of the equipment (stands, rack mount DIN rail equipment, printed circuit board assemblies, etc,) to allow me to create how-to build and assembly documentation and exploded views by exporting 2D shots from any angle (and animations!). I need to communicate these procedures to field engineers all over the world to show them how things go together without having them fly from all over heck to be shown personally.

I'm originally trained in autocad (to do line drawings of how equipment gets hooked up...not machine design). So I am frustrated with how the people who designed Sketchup have absolutely no concept of simple autocad principles (like right-click pen-up, object snap [my GOD anything like object snap would make Sketchup a dream to use. I go whack freakin' nuts just trying to stick two objects together with the thing]!).

I've done some of this with sketchup models that others have done, but I want to learn to build the models myself and take it further. I would kill to be able to know how to illustrate bundled cable and wire harnesses to show how they run through racks and equipment.

Right now, I'm not interested in any modeling software beyond sketchup, unless sketchup can't do what I want. I'm really not interested in writing code...ever...sorry. It just seems like something that will suck remaining limited lifetime. I'm not interested in glorious achievement in 3D modeling for achievement's sake if you know what I mean. This is why I like Sketchup. I want to do whatever I can without writing software myself...or spending a lot of money. I also have no interest in doing character animation or other entertainment content creation or art. My goal is to help engineers understand my designs, not to be a 3D artist.

Personally, however, I'd like to do all kinds of 3D representation of various concepts what with me being interested in science and the like. I'd like to create animations to explain processes. Years ago there were these educational videos on early in the morning on PBS that employed very, very simplistic 3D animations explaining scientific processes like photosynthesis or chemistry like how soap works showing simple representations of molecules and so on. I'd like to be able to do such things.

What do you know about 3D modeling?

I know that wireframe models are built (somehow) although when I see the complexity of some of this stuff, I can't imaging how one person draws it...like the interior of Gothic cathedrals and such (how in the heck?). If you asked me how the heck they do Ironman's suit, I wouldn't even begin to be able to tell you.

Do you know anything about rendering?

I know what it is (software that works applying surfaces and lighting to models to create 2D representations either still or moving) but that's about it really.

Have you watched the SU getting started videos yet?

No. Thanks! Where are they?

Thanks, I think I rambled again.

Stan

Quick Newbie ramble to introduce myself.

Never done 3D animation anything at all...period...zilch.

Google Sketchup. Hmm. draw square, push/pull into a box, hollow it out. Cool. rotate. wow. looks like 3D! Hey, I could do 3D with this...you know, design stuff and show exploded views to show how it goes together.

Play around some. Animation, eh? Cool. Scene1, scene2...meaningless rotation...but cool nonetheless! Wow. I think of the possibilities.

I poke around on the web; Ray Tracing, omnis, render time, polygons...Hey, polygons...Maybe that means those little triangles in a mesh...oh hell I've heard something about that; "blah, blah, blah number of polygons blah blah polygon count yadda yadda..." Oh I see, any smooth surface on a model consists of these triangular polygons and the more you have the smoother the surface the more time to process, bigger files, ok...well I'll be damned.

Oh hey, SketchUcation...CatchUp Magazine (flip, flip, flip) "Now, that SketchUp and Twilight are “LAA” the 32-bit, applications can access up to 4 Gb on x64 operating systems and up to 3 Gb on x86...." Whaaa? (flip, flip) "TGI3D SU Amorph" ??? (flip, flip) "made Luxo fully functional in SU physics and saved him at different positions that served as templates..." Huh?

Man these people are smart! I've only been a media systems engineer for 27 years.

But every 3D maze/haystack has a front door somewhere.

Any suggestions where to start for someone that just wants to do a little 3d illustration/animation of how stuff goes together and doesn't intend to end up working at Pixar or programming every minute of their life?

Thanks for enduring my feeble attempt at entertainment!

Stan