Google SketchUp 6 is a 3D modeling software tool that's easy to learn, simple to use, and lets you place your models in Google Earth. Are you remodeling a kitchen, landscaping your back yard or adding a deck to your home? Google SketchUp makes it faster, easier and a lot more fun. From simple to complex, from conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp helps you see your vision before you build it.

There is a remodeling project going on in my home, and I was looking for a quick way to draw up my current kitchen cabinet configuration to bring in to the kitchen designer so they would have a reference of my kitchen layout. I didn't want to spend a lot of time, and after spending a frustrating couple of hours trying to work with a popular retail home design program, I decided to give SketchUp a try.

Wow, was it easy! I only needed a few minutes to review the beginner's tutorial, and I was off. About an hour later, I had the simple drawing you see in my screen shot here. It won't win any awards, for sure, but it was just what I needed for my project.

You draw basic forms in SketchUp by first drawing the object's footprint, then you click and drag using the Push/Pull tool to stretch the object into a 3D form, or carve into it with other basic shapes. Obviously, I only worked with basic rectangular forms here, but you can get more complex as you learn the program. You can also "paint" your objects with a variety of colors, textures, and materials.

I'm very impressed with the simplicity and user-friendliness of Google SketchUp, and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the online tutorials to see how I can improve my SketchUp models.

Google provides 3D Warehouse, an online site for SketchUp users to search, share, and download free pre-designed 3D models. They also offer Google SketchUp Pro 6, a more advanced version of SketchUp for professional designers. While Google SketchUp 6 is free for anyone, the Pro version costs US$495.

Google SketchUp Home Page

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