My Webcast is Up!

I did a live webcast on May 14 for O'Reilly, based on material in my book The Google SketchUp Cookbook. The focus was mostly on presentation: styles, scenes, layers, and sectioning.

If you didn't see it live on the 14th, you can see the recording now.

For a bigger version, go to O'Reilly's site.

While you're watching, keep in mind that O'Reilly had just installed a new version of WebEx, the conferencing software they use for webcasts. And for some reason, I got kicked out of the webcast three or four times at the very beginning, though the first few minutes aren't part of the recording. It happens about 4 minutes in, and I come back after a minute or so. Also, the recording itself is a little choppy - it was smoother on my machine during the recording. I guess this is function of WebEx's recording settings.

The feedback was great, so maybe they'll have we do another one soon! It was quite fun.

Anyway, enjoy!

Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

Making it Harder to Get Away with Murder

I found this interesting article about how prosecutors are using SketchUp and Google Earth in courtroom trials. These applications can be used to recreate a crime scene, and jurors can be walked through the events. The picture below is from the article - if you look closely you can see SketchUp models on both monitors.



SketchUp has been used for years in the film and stage industry, in set designs and storyboarding. Reenacting a crime is just an extension of this. Very cool.

Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

New SketchUp Geometry Videos

In my blog post from yesterday (the one right after this one) I mentioned that I created a bunch of new videos, showing how SketchUp can be used for 2D and 3D geometry. These videos were based on the material we presented at NCTM, which made 400 math teachers ooh and aah.

Yesterday I placed all seven videos on YouTube. One of these videos can be seen in yesterday's post, and here's one more as a teaser:



Go watch all of them, and send them to any math teachers you may know!

Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

Vote for Me on Mindbite!

So I heard about this video tutorial contest, and I had already created a bunch of math project videos for YouTube (not there yet, I'll let you know), so I thought why not enter (it's free!)

Here's my video:

Cubes and Pyramids in Google SketchUp | How-to videos at MindBites

Most of these tutorials have to do with software, including a bunch on Camtasia (which I love). But there's nothing else on 3D modeling, so go vote for me and make me $1,000 richer. I promise to split the winnings with all of you.

And while you're there, find out if Your Momma is Talkin' Smack.

Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

Suessian SketchUp

If you think that SketchUp can only be used to create "straight" geometry (boxes, cylinders, nothing particularly organic or wacky looking), check out these two Dr. Suess-like models I found in the 3D Warehouse. Clicking on the graphic takes you to the Warehouse page where you can download the model.


and


(The model above has shadows turned on, which looks very neat but you can get your model to mode faster if you choose View / Shadows to turn shadows off.)

Fun Stuff!

Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

Got an Hour to Spare?

I'm doing a free, 60-minute webcast for my O'Reilly book, The Google SketchUp Cookbook, this Thursday May 14, at 1 PM EST. The focus will be mostly on presentation: using scenes, styles, and layers. I don't know how many more folks can sign up, but here's the URL:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/e/1333

If you miss it, you should be able to access it for a while on the webcast archive (scroll down on that page). I'm not sure how long it'll stay there. Check out the other webcasts on this page - there's some great stuff!


Anyone can design anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net

SketchUp and Art

I received an email from an art instructor in Holland, with examples of some of his students' work using SketchUp. Here's one that's simple, elegant, and beautiful: a perfect example of how easy it is to use SketchUp for producing art.



The artist is a high school student. I used Google Translate to translate her Dutch into English, and here's what I got (edited a little by me):

"I had the idea to do something with a cube. I started experimenting with Google SketchUp, and repeated several ideas. The idea that I ultimately carried out is as follows: I divided a cube into 3 parts: top, bottom and center. The top and bottom are equal to each other. The middle section consists of 5 squares that are stacked. The squares rotate to create gaps, which are highlighted by the lamp in the middle of the cube."

If I only had SketchUp when I took a woodworking class in high school...

Anyone can create anything in 3D! www.3dvinci.net