Since being purchased by Google, Sketchup has been split into two products: Sketchup Pro and ‘Google Sketchup’, the free version, and many of the features available in Sketchup 6 are available to users of both versions. Google offers an explanation of the difference between the products, which essentially boils down to: Google Sketchup is for use only with Google Maps, while Sketchup Pro is a full-featured 3D visualization tool for professionals.

Now Sketchup 6 is available, with a raft of new features. Users can now superimpose their creations into photos and match perspective using the Photo Match tool. I have been using Sketchup to pre-visualize media installations, and this tool is an invaluable time-saver. All you need is a few photos of a site and you can superimpose your creation into it.

The other feature that will take up much of your precious noodling-time is the ’sketchy lines’ capability. In addition to giving users more control over the way lines look in general, you can now alter the stroke of a line and make your model look like a calligraphic painting, a whiteboard sketch or a ball-point pen drawing. Notably missing is the ability to scale the strokes, or create your own. See these instructions if you want to make your own style (it isn’t a trivial task.) Regardless, combined with the ability to set background color and watermark, it’s clear that the Sketchup team has worked hard to make sure that the world doesn’t get inundated with Sketchup renderings that look exactly the same. Long live style!

See Also:
Google Buys At Last Software

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