Graphic Design CoursesSketchup for Mac is a great 3d modeling tool used for creating architectural, engineering and landscaping models. The program is easy to learn and use, making 3d visualization of projects easier than ever. We show you how in our SketchUp courses. 
SketchUp for Mac is essentially the same as SketchUp for Windows. The system requirements are Operating System: Mac OS X, and the required space disk is 79Mb.
A great bonus is that it’s free! You can buy the SketchUp Pro version for around A$600 – which means that you can import DWG and DXF reference files, and also export to Layout views for elevations and plan drawings. But you can perform all the modeling and animation functions with the free SketchUp Make version.
Depending on a user’s skill level, models can look photo-realistic, with incredible and accurate detailing. And the 3d rendering is fast and bug-free. You can create still images or short animations, and there are plenty of free components you can download – props like people, cars, foliage, street lighting, etc. There are also plenty of plugins for special features like roof-building, or for photo-realistic rendering. Maxwell is a great free rendering plugin, for example.
And when a model is complete you can share your work with the world by uploading it to Google Earth, or Google’s 3D Warehouse. Or send them as images via email and use geo-tagging on it with Google Maps.
Many useful tips and techniques can be found at the SketchUp website. And see many examples of our own clients’ work on our Facebook page.
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