

It’s not even necessary to read it’s manual or be familiar with special geometric concepts. That’s not to say you’ll be a sketch whiz in that time – it just means that SketchUp’s learning curve is shallow. In fact, you can build something recognizable in under four hours. The program’s popularity lies in how quickly you can build something, even if you’re using it for the first time. When it comes to 3D modeling software, it doesn’t get easier than SketchUp. Perfect training ground for new designers Just like Google Earth, it’s a useful but advanced feature. Files Take your inspirations to SketchUp by building a model based on a JPG or CAD file of the product you want to build. In Google Earth It will take some time to learn this, but SketchUp allows you to create a model on top of a Google Earth aerial photograph. You can opt to delete him to start with a completely blank slate. Sketchup gives you three options to begin your designįrom Scratch The home page of SketchUp shows you a little person standing in the middle of your screen. When Trimble acquired SketchUp, it forked the product into several tiers, keeping the free desktop version around as “SketchUp Make.An inexpensive and easy-to-use 3D modeling softwareĪs an artist, your program should not restrict how you want to create a model. The SketchUp web app is decent and might be good enough for many people, but for a long time, the desktop version was completely free, too. If you want the latest full desktop app, you’re looking at $300 a year for personal use.

At the time of this writing, the only modern free version of SketchUp is a web app. SketchUp has changed hands a few times over the years, once having been owned by Google, and currently owned by a company called Trimble. Trimble even warns it might have security problems as it hasn’t been updated since 2017. However, as of May 2022, the official SketchUp website is no longer offering the free version (SketchUp Make 2017) for download. Update, 5/23/22: This worked when we published it in 2021. Or does it? You can still download a free desktop version if you know where to look.

Originally released as free open-source software, the popular 3D-modeling program SketchUp now comes with a premium price tag.
