Can I use SketchUp for life?

[RonaldKing]

I was introduced to Sketchup by my friend, I find that this is a necessary software for me if I want to be an architect. I see there are many released versions. Which version has the best price? and I am learning about SketchUp copyright, can I buy and use it for life?

 

[Ronald]

I find that this (Sketchup) is a necessary software for me if I want to be an architect.

1 - You might want to re-think this statement if you are truly serious about this goal and are willing to get into architecture for life

2 - "Sketchup" - to my personal opinion - is just a nice tool to get started to learn the basics of 3D modelling
- https://www.sketchup.com/ - Website
- https://www.sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing - pricing and licensing models
- https://forums.sketchup.com/ <- this would be the perfect place to ask this question too ;-)

3 - More important is that you need to plan the direction in which you want to go, evolved and continue to grow for the rest of your Life (first).
3a - Make a personal (growth) blueprint / roadmap first where you-will-be-later-in-your-personal-life within 5,10,15,20,25,x year as "an architect"
or on the plan B, C, n track of your own design future course-in-life. Start with YOU(r self) not with "some random tool" somebody else recommends. Get it?

3b - When this personal/career roadmap has been complete, only then is the right time to:
- find the right (self) educational path, materials, institutes which perfectly fits your own needs.
- find the right (analogue /digital) tools that fit your own personal needs and carreer-path-direction.



4 - My advise: Stay Neutral, Stay Objective, Stay Open ,Stay autonomous and start with FREE TOOL(-SETS) to learn the very ArchViz basics first
After you have learned the very 3D Modeling basics, and still want to continue to become and architect, only then start to pay for software and other tools
when you already have developed the business need, customer base in order to be able to pay for your tools later on.

When you now already start - that the very beginning of your Life's journey to use some flavour of payware, licensed Sketchup:
- You have to PAY from the beginning on forward.
- You set yourself up to get "locked_down" into a certain (Sketchup payware) eco and licensing system
and that is - to my personal opinion - not how you want to get started....ever.


5 - My tip: If you want to do some seriously goodlooking architectural visualisation, you definitively need
to look into the awesome life-long-free, fully opensourced "Blender" package (too):
- https://www.blender.org/ - website
- https://www.blender.org/download/ - download location
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSMOQeBJ2RAnuFungnQOxLg - Blender's own Youtube channel
-

- Blender's own Basics tutorials playlist
- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blender+archviz+tutorials - 3rd party Blender supported ArchViz tutorials
..
- https://blenderartists.org/ - Blender EndUsers forum
..
- https://www.archvizblender.com/ Blender ArchViz website
- https://www.an-archviz.com/blender-for-archviz-academy


6 - BONUS VIDEO:
Here is a nice inspiration speech from a awesome, great guy who 100% knew what he was doing and why
-

Enjoy

 

[=rk=]

I think you will find only personal opinion here. Blender is great, for what we do principally, at this website. I watched the video above and I did not see anything like Sketchup Layout, for example.

So you see, no video editing, no VFX, although Sketchup has access to a virtual universe of plugins and tools, free and payware, that are specifically designed for architecture.

I have used Sketchup for our kind of modelling, like the stuff shown in the above video, since about 2013 and only recently, have considered also using Blender, instead of my other 3d animation software, FSDS, due to specific limitations of the latest simulator. I encourage you to browse my personal Warehouse collection from the link below.

I also use Sketchup for my work, I am a carpenter. I don't know if Blender can import a cell phone photograph, grab a 3d model of the local terrain, take my 3d model of the clients proposed awning, slap those all together into a tableau, a scene I can screen grab for them, or better yet, scroll through together - but Sketchup can.

I find Sketchup to be incredibly intuitive, a little hard to start, but a well thought and principled way of accessing and editing the 3d space, that is incredibly versatile. I don't think any one software is indispensable, but the only reason I could ever feel "tied" to Sketchup, is because it is just so versatile, with the geo locating, rendering, community based addons, etc, there is a lot of virtual manipulation power, really.
The fee is about $300/year, this is my second year paying. It is easy to get around by using earlier versions, I use it professionally and it is well worth the cost.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

Sketchup version 17 is still free and available here: https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions

It would be a good way to learn Sketchup, and with architectural plugins, it should work for you. With ModelConverterX you can convert Sketchup models to formats for FSX, P3D and MSFS.