Having a good connection to several levels of the art departments 2D, 3D, games and movies alike I have also seen a dramatic shift of artists switching from Autodesk products over to Blender, be it for blockouts, high poly modelling, retopology, rigging and animation. Especially EEVEE seems to draw even more people in. Great to see open source flourish.
One very serious limitation with Blender is that it is not often used in pro 3D pipelines (games and movies and TV). So Art Directors and Production Managers don't regard Blender very highly, however unfair that may be.
Kevin Phillips I agree, I hear this trend is changing and I hear 2.8 was thoroughly put through its paces with the new Netflix full length animated feature film about a girl and her robot, the name escapes me at this moment, done for the most part in Blender, very impressive evolution of blender about to become mainstream.
Fusion 360 is extremely powerful ... However I use both ... Blender has the ability to be used quickly and repair quickly. Fusion is much more thorough and powerful though.
One big problem with Blender is that you start off wanting to draw a table and you get sidetracked into making an animation in which the table gets set on fire and then gets water splashed all over it
LOL. I know that so well. But let us be honest: That is not a problem with Blender but with us. It is not Blender's fault if we let us getting sidetracked. :-)
I constantly start getting lost in the modifiers and then have the table switch from Nintento64 to high end computer model in the same animation, just to see how I would do a LOD. For a 3d print.
There is SO MUCH MORE to know when building models in Blender. Textures, materials, UV mapping, rigging, collisions, baking, painting, exporting, particles, rendering, vertices, topology... I used SketchUp for 8 years before getting into Blender and believe me if u don't recognize those terms you can spend weeks just getting the hang of EACH one! But the truth is I won't go back to SketchUp now I finally have the hang of Blender. You can make stuff with incredible detail and photorealism.
But the thing is, you don't even have to. You can also do very basic stuff in blender with about the ease of Sketchup. Especially 2.8 will have a strong focus on being more friendly for basic entry level users. But unlinke in Sketchup you have the possibility to use and learn about all the available tools.
UV mapping is torture, i prefer just marking faces with different materials and create my own procedural materials instead lol. also: what bartosz said blender is extremely feature-filled and complex, even encompasses simulations that aren't standard in even the big 3d suites... they're usually paid addons that go at a hefty price... trying to see 100% of what blender is about is almost impossible in a human lifetime, as it keeps updating and adding features. stick to what you know for work, but dare to experiment in your off hours ;)
Been using sketch up for the pro trial duration and I figured, notes the time....prolly for the better because, I feel like there’s no chance of me switching once I actually get completely competent with sketch up so, time to acquire all sorts of headaches.
I have heard wonderful things about Blender, specially from game modders. But as a woodworker, sketchup is a god send. Simple enough for an old guy like me, and powerful enough to get my furniture plans done.
Blender has also for the baisc things some basic keys. I use it for making 3d models for 3d prints, what are mostly more technical objects, and after you get the basics keys for that, you can do basically everything in an exact way with exact measurements. Once if you get the system of the points (vertices), lines, surfaces, where you can switch between easy with an click, found the (e)xtrude, (r)otate, lock axis ie at extruding (ctrl-shift x,y or z) or y, x,z to lock it to one axis, you can make almost anything from the cube in a flexibal but exact way. ua-cam.com/video/ICBP-7x7Chc/v-deo.html
Man, you have just made my day! I was pondering whether or not I should part from few hundred bucks of my hard earned money to buy Sketchup pro...I could not justify it, in the sense that I'd not be making any income from its use, it's just for my architectural hobby. Your video has given me enough reasons to spend the money in red wine and start learning Blender. Kudos to you dude!
the fun thing is he didn't even touch on half of the functions blender has to offer. and I can guarantee there are plenty of native functions he is unaware of. blender is a powerhouse.
If you're doing building design - SketchUp is still the better choice *at the moment*. Blender lacks the associative dimensioning and 2D drafting features (Layout) in SU Pro. SU was originally developed by Architects and architecture is still its strength. That said, a few clever developers could add those capabilities to Blender, and I'm betting it will happen as Trimble continues to jack up the price of SU. Because of what I do for a living, I was lucky to have an NFR (Not for Resale) copy of SU Pro for years when @Last and then Google owned it. Trimble was not as generous and so I decided to stop begging and buy a copy... which I thought was still around $400. Sticker shock when I had to lay out $700 plus another endless $10/mo ($120/yr) for updates. I bet it'll be $995 before much longer, or a subscription of $149/mo or more. Time will tell.
Robert Pollock you point makes me think if You know blender. You can model and structure your work there equally using groups and components. While I know sketchup I only teach it - for work I don’t touch this inferior drafting based 3D modeling application that over the past 10 years hardly evolved. In addition everything in sketchup is final - with better modeling apps like in blender you can work parametric
Fernando Pizzani yeah forget sketchup pro. It is not worth the money. You can do the same and better with more options in blender. I am the chair of interior design and teach in industrial design. Sketchup is an overhyped bad application - people love it because it is easy to learn - but easy means it cannot do much. You will hit the limits quite quickly.
I'm a long term Maya user, hardsurface modeler, but around 2 months ago I started to play with B3d more seriously and now I'm doing my assets in Blender completly. Still not very strong, but everything is comming together realy fast
Awesome! Having any trouble figuring stuff out? I'm learning Maya now (school), but I've been using Blender for 6 years, watched it evolve from around the time Cycles was first introduced.
yeah, I model and unwrap in Blender then export it to max, not a fan of Cycles
6 років тому+255
Sketchup, as its name implies, is for designing and modelling architectural models quickly, without having to undergo a steep learning curve. Blender is a fully fledged, general purpose 3D program. It's not really fair to compare them, just as you wouldn't compare a bike to a car. I'm a long time Blender user, and I use Sketchup every now and then, when it comes to make a quick "sketchup" of a building. Then, sometimes I would import it into the Blender working pipeline. So we are talking about 2 different tools here. You can, however compare Blender to Maya or 3D Max.
I disagree. It is fair to compare them as they both are used for many of the same things. Not everyone who uses SketchUp is an architect or designing buildings. There are plenty of concept artists, woodworkers, game design artists and others who use SketchUp. These videos are for them, not architects, and I state so in the first part of the video where I say Architects may want to stay with SketchUp.
I also disagree. You can use Blender in every step of architectural design. From concept design to Modeling. From decision make to visualizing. Its only a question of how to use Blender.
I used to do everything in Sketchup, creating artwork for documentation, advertising, and illustrations. Then I changed jobs and didn't use it for a few years, imagine my dismay when I decided to go back to it for a project, and found that all I could get for free was their sucky little web based app that didn't support any of the plugins I'd become used to. Learning Blender now.
I just downloaded Sketchup make 2017 for free on a new machine this afternoon. Depending on the type of modeling you do, its often plenty adequate. I am researching Blender now considering trying it out as well. All the talk of the learning curve has me a little apprehensive.
@@ryanhammer6116 i feel you man , i used sketchup for a time and liked the fact that i could do 3d models with ease , however as i got more into doing complex 3d models it soom became a nightmare and i had to find the right extentions and even then it didn't work as i wanted , but then i saw what people said about blender 2.8 about how easy it is and so on so i wanted to try and let me tell you it was worth it . The first thing that i would suggest to someone that is coming from sketchup to blender is to find the basic tools that you have in sketchup like the : - how to enter in edit mode - how to draw a line / add shapes like circle and so on .. ( also learn about simple curves and bezeir curves and how to convert from one another ) - push % pull ( in blender it's extrude ) - how to measure stuff - how to place geometries in the same line ( like the way you use the guide lines in sketchup ) - how to use the tool that is equivalent to the follow me on sketchup - how to model in different scales ( meters , km , inches and so on ... ) * i have some good videos if you want about how to do these things after you learn these basic things you can start making simple models like the ones that you can do in sketchup , and after you get used to it you can start adding a few things like booleans and so on ... also with the new update you don't need to remember that much key combinations .
Switched over a year ago as sketchup kept crashing with high polygon counts in my thirst for high quality modeling. Used to make low poly cars that crashed the program now can make photorealistic high quality models. Whoever made blender and kept it free I love you
I was totally new to 3d program,When I started learning blender, after first week I thought it's too difficult to figure out different modes shortcuts modifiers but I didn't give up and continue practicing watching tutorial on you tube, now It's fun for me to make models and enjoy shaping my imaginations in blender.
@@layoutarchitect No, he's right. The only area Sketch wins is ease of use, and the others are specialty software. He's wrong on the Blender bit tho, since Blender can render anything rhino or revit can inherently, when those programs cant render everything Blender can.
Great video, pinpoint explanations. In fact I did a similar transition to Blender with almost exact same reasons couple of months ago. I still can’t believe we have such a powerful free/open-source 3D software and it’s growing rapidly. Looking forward to see Blender 2.8 release later this year.
I'm 2D/3D enviro artist for 20 years now. The whole time I was using 3DS Max, Maya or LW for 3D modeling. I always considered Blender as a some kind of toy without even trying it. Well... few months ago I tried the 2.8. And since then I'm having trouble to get back to Autodesk. Blender in combination with HardOps, DecalMachine etc is simply amazing!! :)
A few very minor corrections/additions. 1) It's easy to model just about anything organically shaped (for instance, baroque decorations or iron work) in Blender. Ctrl+ click to extrude new faces, edges, or vertices from your current selection. You really can't get much easier than that. 2) BlendSwap also has lots of great models, though surely not nearly as much furniture and architecture. 3) Freestyle for Blender gives you line art rendering. It's built in. 4) You can actually start making good art really quickly if you already have a skill for sculpting. Load a cube or a sphere, go into sculpt mode, turn on dynamic topology, and go to town. Should take you much less than an hour to figure Blender's sculpting out. Conversely, if all you're doing is making furniture, that's mostly just cubes with bevels. Learn to add primitives, subdivide, translate, rotate, scale, and add modifiers and you're pretty much good to go. That shouldn't take long. Realistic materials and lighting take time, but frankly I've found that true in every single render engine/material system I've used, and I've played with at least 6. Basically, you need to understand direct and indirect light, diffuse/albedo shading, reflections, the Fresnel effect, refraction, the difference between metals and dielectrics (mostly colored reflections vs. white), and different types of scattering if you want to do any realistic rendering in 3D. But once you do understand those basic components of light and materials, it takes about a day or two to figure out any well documented rendering/material system, and about three or four days to figure out one that isn't well documented but has a community where you can get questions answered. The better the renderer, the easier the whole thing is. And most modern renderers are pretty good. Really, the tricky part of any renderer is figuring out the right settings for your scene, your machine, and that renderer. 5) and 6) Definitely true, to a point. SketchUp is obviously _way_ better at architectural design. That said, Blender does have 2D sketching tools which are currently being hugely expanded, and will get a whole tutorial series when the new tools are released. And you can convert your drawn lines to curves or surfaces. It's not that hard to be precise in Blender. Hence, for instance, the _free_ jewelry modeling add-on that can compute exactly how many carats are on your design. Also, there are a few different free architectural plugins, as well as GIS and city building ones. And let's not forget that it's _much_ easier to make or even download all the stuff that goes with architectural visualization (trees, bushes, bodies of water, grass, flowers, rocks, etc.) in Blender. Just to be clear, Cycles is _not_ unbiased. It's deliberately designed to balance realistic and artistic usage. It does not, for instance, support spectral dispersion (like a prism). So if you want diamonds that sparkle properly or prisms that make rainbows, well, you can make a special shader to fake the effect, but it's probably easier to switch renderers.
Cycles is unbiased by default, but has options for introducing various kinds of bias: blenderartists.org/t/will-cycles-ever-be-a-biased-render-engine/559774
It's just really not. Even at default, it has caustics of all kinds turned off, controlled number of bounces, etc. It's not spectral, and does not model light in a realistic manner, so for instance you can't get diamonds to sparkle without a major hack that still fakes the funk and is not at all on par with unbiased renders of diamonds (I've tried both). It's just a raytracer. Being a raytracer does _not_ make it unbiased. Modeling real world physical phenomena does not make it unbiased, it just makes it a renderer. That's what all renderers do, and the unbiased part is about the _type_ of model the renderer uses. I remember when Brecht posted about it before it was even added to Blender, and he explicitly said it was _not_ unbiased because he wanted to balance its ability to create realistic and stylized renders.
Thanks for this. Subscribed. I have been using Sketchup for years but the recent changes are making my switch decision easier. I work offline a lot because of remote work. I need the program and the models resident on my computer. I do not like thinking my creativity is dependent on internet connectivity at my end or an issue at their end. I also have a fundamental dislike for having my creations held ransom by a company by having them resident on that company's servers where they hold the key to the vault my work is in.
Blender does have layout for 3D architect, you can either archipack and archimech add-ons that come with blender and you can create walls grease pencil lines.
@@trowawayacc archimech and archipack both are free, and come with Blender, you just have to activate them on your user preferences. You can download the most up-to-date version of archipack from GitHub
@@trowawayacc that feature is pretty old you can see it in action here: ua-cam.com/video/a4QCRMLddYU/v-deo.html, I'm sure you will find more useful features with the addon today. of course you can use blueprint IMG as guides in the background, by using the N-panel.im sure you can Google it to figure it out.
Layout is the 2D drafting product for Blender. It is a full and different application for creating architectural documentation for print. Blender has no such equal.
And an additional comment. I've used 3DS for a long time. But picking up blender for the first time it only took a week or two and I was comfortable enough to use it for structure layout presentation purposes. I personally love it.
This is amazing. I wish I learned blender instead of 3ds max, and if I ever return to 3d, this video has convinced me the Blender is the right software to switch to
Great video Chipp. I was on autodesk because of octane, now octane is available for blender and i already made the switch. What i love the most is the time it takes to load.
Thanks for the overview. I downloaded Blender based on your video. It may take some doing for me to learn though, being a retired engineer and working from an old version of ACad (version 2002). I opened Blender after downloading and didn't recognize much, so it looks like it may be a long road ahead before I start getting comfortable with it.
Especially if you don't need photoreal renders of your furniture. SketchUp is particularly good at furniture modeling, though it can be done in Blender. The issue is what happens when SketchUp is no longer supported except inside a browser? It seems that's where Trimble is headed.
Hi Chipp, I recently jumped ship from SketchUp to Blender (less than 3 months ago) and couldn't be happier. I found SketchUp was ok building houses and geometry with straight edges but I design Star Wars based lightsabers as a hobby and needed a few more curved shapes. It was impossible in SketchUp to get the flowing shapes I wanted but in Blender I can bend hilts perfectly, not to mention adding the glowing blades and spikes, horns or shrouds.
I think it is a combination of the tools I needed for curves were only available in the paid version and I'm not able to afford the license just for a hobby. The second point is there was a lot f functions that I attempted to use but then found out they were third party add-ons. No disrespect to UA-camrs but a lot of the tutorials say things like "Get Quick Curves using this trick" etc but fail to mention they used those add-ons. Blender however has 99% of these tools straight out the box which is great.
Hello Chipp! How do I feel about Blender? The more you use it, the more you love it :) Waiting the upcoming 2.8 with Evee realtime render engine. I expect big things with my Gtx 1080 Ti!!
Implying that you have to use either one or the other. Why "switch"? Why not use both? You don't have enough space on HDD to install blender and SketchUp together? :) I mean, seriously. I use SketchUp for any kind of architectural and precise modeling, almost like autocad. Use blender for general purpose modeling like characters, animals, nature. Also for any kind of animation blender is obvious choice. So IMO don't switch, use both!
You are welcome to either listen to the video where I state you can continue to use SketchUp or read the many, many responses to the many many EXACT same comments as yours below.
yes, its pretty much dependant on individuals. if when i suggest 3dmax & autocad to new colleagues, their mind is like cost and learning curves, when i suggest blender, its either they never heard of it or they will claim too hard to learn, and when comes to sketchup, everyone sees it as their best tools ... fyi I'm using sketchup for interior design works, and some modelling works, and I'm also learning blender : D i don't see a need to choose. people should just learn as much as they can and use which ever softwares that are available.
@@0xDEAD-C0DE Blender's pretty cool. There is some initial effort you must do in order to learn it. Memorize the hotkeys that you'll use the most. That's the best advice I can give you. Follow some step by step tutorials that you can find throughout the internet to get practice. It can be tough at first, but rewarding given time.
Ah, I just posted, but one more point as I'm watching this: the fact that SketchUp keeps getting passed from company to company - SO TRUE! I've only been with it as it crossed from Google to Trimble... but I always suspected they were going to nerf the free version of it into uselessness, and in 2018 it finally happened. This whole video is really helping me go from the denial phase to the grieving phase, and hopefully into a new realm of opportunity. Much appreciated!
Although I'm afraid of new things, I absolutely LOVE the rendering of Blender. I'm gonna say my goodbyes to Sketchup over the next few months, and slowly convert to this new program. Thanks for sharing!
Platform stability is the most important feature for those of us working on never ending dream projects. Trimble have done their free user base proud, and I respect and admire them for it.
Simple reason... Sketchup STARTED as completely free, but Google got its hands on it, and sold it out to Trimble, which appears to be going through the steps to make it "less free", and, eventually, a subscription model. Blender started FREE and open source, and will REMAIN free and open source, with all its capabilities. The only reason that I need. If someone develops a drafting package, Blender will reign supreme... Sketchup died for me with Sketchup Make 2017...
Igor Schmidlapp you are wrong, Sketchup started as commercial app for architects created by @lastsoftware then google got it and they made the free version and explode it with Google warehouse. ... I use SU since version 1
Thanks for the presentation so well done. I’ve spent years becoming proficient with Sketchup for hobby build purposes. Getting the rug pulled out from under me is very disappointing. Hard to justify spending the bigger bucks on Sketchup to maintain what I had in the past. For that reason alone I’ll be learning blender. Might be an unintended consequence to my advantage.
I'm an engineer. I use sketchup since it is easy. But, knowing how fast blender development recently and the awesome features that blender has, makes me on the fence of moving to blender..
Ronin Red Blender has a steep learning curve. The best tutorials for novices are those by Neal Hirsig, who can pull you up very quickly on Blender. Though his tutorials may be little old, they are still very useful today, as you learn off the basics plus hotkeys.
Ronin Red you might initially be put off by first impressions when you see its resolutions. First read comments on Neal Hirsig's tutorials before watching them.
i kinda like andrew price too (blender guru). he often explains the whys and hows just enough for it to make sense, but in a way doens't overwhelm you, (at least if you're already having a bit of a hunch on how to approach things) the node/shader editor is something you need to really get a feel for by just experimenting though, i've seen quite some people having the biggest troubles with that one (i was an exception since i already coded a bit, and had used puredata, which is a node-based coding language) but it becomes 2nd nature quick enough.
An excellent overview of the reasons why Blender is the way to go. I started with 3DStudio for DOS way back in 96, then onto 3dsMax, Softimage and then taught myself Maya. I started to seriously use Blender in 2008 and have never looked back since. Blender is beginning to be taken seriously in the industry and that points well for its future. So for you new guys out there, learn Blender and get a head start! Learn and use Blender today!
Sketchup: Let's make the first line with 2.75 meters on y axe. Done. Blender: How to make a line? ( Google it, tutorial, "make a retangle, delete 3 lines..."). How to resize this line ( Tutorial, change the metrics to meter, precision to .001). How to put this line on origin... How to make the second line? This is the big problem of Blender: He makes amazing things, but fail on make the more simple things with direct and intuitive way. Please community... a simple line, a simples line !!!!
Set scaling to 1, now you can size anytning in blender by typing in the actual dimension. Blender is unitless. Want 2.34 meters just type in 2.34..as long as you use the same scale for everything and make sure not to scale things in edit mode. Blender 2.8 also now has a measure tool
I don't know. I'm looking for something for designing 3d prints other than OpenSCAD. And I'm used to model things not by modifying vertices and faces directly, but by precise design which works in a steps like: create rectangle of size 20x30. Make it 1cm high. Make hole of diameter R1 at position X,Y. Round the upper edge of the hole with radius R2 milimeters. Problem with OpenSCAD is that it's nearly impossible (or very incovenient) to make rounded edges and corners when two shapes are blended together.
Great video! I just started working with Blender recently and I am astounded at the capabilities of this free program. (talk about a steep learning curve though!)
I've seen a couple plugins to make it more Sketchup like though not the complete package yet, still enough to draw me in however, Sketchup really is just getting to be too much of a pain in it's limitations
they will have that eventually too. its thousands of open end developers (blender) vs a few dozens (sketchup). If they feel this is a must have feature they will roll it out eventually
I just want to learn 3D design for product modelling and packaging and found your video for SketchUp to keyshot. After watching this video I'm sold, thanks for helping me decide what to invest my time in
#1 is soooooooooooo true. Sketchup free is only possible in the cloud, and VERY limited compared to earlier versions. And when your projects/drawings is under complete control of the company via cloud, we all know what is about to happen. I've used SketchUp this year for modeling a staircase, 3 years ago to try out some different bathroom layouts, 5 years ago to model a complete bathroom with sewer, watersupply and electrics. And some other small stuff earlier. I ofc made the models I created useable for others. Mainly the sewer components. I'm certain, that next time I need it for something, it will either not be usefull or not free. I earlier recommended Sketchup to my professional users, those days are over. I will look into Blender as a 1st choice.
Actually it really depends on what you want to do. Sketchup is very very easy to learn and u can draw objects mainly having flat surfaces (thats why it is preferred by architectures. But Sketchup as it is very empty. You need plugins and dont know why Sketchup developers not aiming on this. Without plugins u can get brain cancer). And it is really effective when you want to give a presentation. Because organizing your (almost static) scenes are very much easier in comparison to many other programs. You can easily tell your ideas to others. Blender is a different world actually. It has many abilities. But mainly made for animation and visuals, but lacks "easy to use and lots of drawing thingys". But very very very very much better in object creation than sketchup. Actually comparing "creation ability" is ridiculous between 2 programs . It is not suitable for precise designs. What does a precise desing mean? Ok, drill a 10mm hole and drive a 9.98mm shaft through it, and send it to manufacturing process. Well, u cant do it in blender neither on sketchup. But you can make a marvellous animation of that drone and show everyone how it flies and demonstrate its abilities fantastically in Blender. You can organize the scene where that drone will fly very easily with sketchup. And make it manufacturable with all the parts in solidworks/inventor/fusion 360, design complex but "precise" surfaces of that drone with Rhino for manufacturing (Rhino's drawing tools are barely matched by other drawing programs. Actually i can call Rhino the king of all in drawing, but it also has an unfriendly user interface :p:p). Blender has sufficient (but not all the necessary) tools sufficiently on every category. If you want to get to a certain point, definitely go to Blender. But for a particular aim other than that (i mean manufacturing, mechanics, mecatronics) go to another software. You wont be able to find a complete complete complete all-in-one software. You need to learn atleast 3 programs together to be a proffessional. i mean to say is none of the programs will give you every-everything. i hope it helps.
I don't want much. I don't buy much. Yet this is probably the most effective comparison and unintended "pitch" I've ever seen. SUPERB. I'm a Sketcher (using an older version; mostly doing "industrial design" prototype studies or blocking out construction ideas) and I think I've seen enough to make the move. (Instructional animation's a growing interest.) THANKS so much!
I teach college level industrial and interior design and SketchUp is one of the worst 3D apps every, snapping often does not work well, push n pull to cut through works only on very simple geometry, follow me only works well on simple geometry - to extend the apps ability you need to install extensions and deal with terrible interfaces. Actually blender has a similar if not even better render style engine named freestyle besides being able to make realistic images with cycles and eeVee. Also Boolean in blender are interactive while in sketchup it is part of the pro package. Sketchup models can be loaded into blender too. People only use sketchup because it is tauchst often as the standard architecture modeling tool without considering if it is even the best use. My students are always mad when they so how I can build in blender vs sketchup. What’s the point of an easy app if later the workflow requires workarounds.
Perhaps the point of an easy app is, some of us aren't pros and only want to use a sketch tool for fairly simple projects a couple times a year. The required learning investment for SketchUp is apparently smaller than for Blender, and I've already done it. Even IF Blender was AS EASY to pick up (and I keep hearing it's not), it might not be worth it for me to switch...until I HAVE to. 😐
@@markmark5269 the problem that i have with sketchup is how it handles organic shapes , without extentions i can't do much , and even with the extentions not always it turns out right .
Deffinately sticking with Sketchup, and for one of the biggest reasons you neglected to mention. It has the ability to create 'dynamic components' that automaticly change in accordance with their programing. It is an EXTREAMLY powerful tool (if you understand how to use it) and can automate certain tasks that would take MUCH longer in other CAD software. It does this by allowing the user to define certain 'rules' that a component needs to obey, setting user-defined variables, and automaticly determining certain parameters by following simple equasions.
I don't think it is a simple "just switch" situation. From a blueprint, creating a house in Sketch Up can be way faster than in Blender. When the situation is more complex I don't think twice and go to Blender. While I can choose my tools, I am fine using both.
@@ChippWalters, but you are still couching it as switching or not switching. If you read the comment you're replying to, they are suggesting that's a false dichotomy.
@@ChippWalters bugger - I was looking forward to shift from Sketchup to Blender, but I'm a architect, so I think I need to stay with Sketchup, until Blender get's the right tools for architect, and just fiddle with Blender in the sparetime.
This video was super helpful. I just got into 3d modeling and rendering, I'm glad I've made the EARLY decision to use blender because of your 20 reasons to use and not use!! although, sketchup is sooooooo easy to use at first. but thanks for the help!!!
As an old but casual user of Sketchup, I've always appreciated it for its simplicity and intuitiveness. Blender's interface gives me anxiety. But lately I am more seriously considering diving into Blender for all my needs. Especially with the recent announcement of Adobe's "new" Substance tools, I may move to Blender for modeling, material editing and staging.
I have been using Sketchup to design a tiny house for my wife & I to build and live in. I also use it whenever I need to design & build something out of wood or steel. I really hope that Trimble doesn't ruin the world's access to Sketchup in the typical way that software companies usually do when they get hungry for cashflow. Making powerful open source software tools for humanity is far more useful to the evolution of the human race than putting up pay walls to squeeze every user possible. The cloud-based model is also doing a dis-service, and it will fail miserably in the end too. Just stop adding a zillion features that most users will not need, and give students, tinkerers, amateur architects, small builders and homesteaders a stable, reliable free tool for designing things that they need to build. Then go ahead and sell a souped up Pro version to professional architects, builder/contractors, fabricators, and other engineering professionals. Use the rest of your time to make money doing something else...
I have been long thinking of ditching Sketchup after the insane price tag. Your video makes me desperately want to jump to Blender. I believe it is worth it to take the steep learning curve for the long run
Sketchup fan but I can't stand the push towards cloud software, the free 2017 make version is still available but I'm doubtful there'll be another version other than their rubbish cloud offering that locks you into being fully reliant on their servers and privacy etc.
it just take me like 2 weeks to find that sketchup is a garbaje.... one thar is not soo complicated and also free is design prak mechanical .... grat software
Thing with blender is that you can take your cad drawing and import it into blender to be able to do more expansive and creative things plus you can you use render farms thanks to a plugin like Sheepit
Yes Thats true Paul but the scale is so far off and frustrating after you get it to work , but you can fake it ! some times I draw something and raster it in to Autocad And they want the file ,I tell them its autocad and blender Hybrid ,.!LOL
CAD apps typically are solid modelers and have smooth curve representations. Blender is neither. Blender is a polygon based surface modeler, just like SketchUp.
Nice video. Thank you for sharing. You saved my time. It takes many hours in Sketchup modeling, creating primitives and extrude. So many problems in Sketchup modeling and searching plugins.
I wouldn't compare sketchup to blender. Sketchup is more like the first gateway to 3d modelling, like an elementary school. I used sketchup almost 9 - 10 years & still using in my construction field, still an advanced skill in my field in my country. I teached others & only take them 2 weeks to know almost all the sketchup function. Blender for amateur 3d modeller that way passed sketchup. Heck, now i still not good in Blender even im now good in Revit. To me, your vid should be next level software after sketchup instead of comparing both at the same level where they are not.
I disagree with what you say. There are very large projects (and non-architectural projects) which have been completed in SketchUp. I know of no SketchUp masters who learned in only 2 weeks. To discount SketchUp as an 'elementary school' product shows you have little understanding of how SketchUp is actually used. Please visit this page and then let me know if you think SketchUp is for children. sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=33509
Your #1 is right on. Blender is growing really fast. We already see people making strong arguments for going with it for major usage - replacing things like Maya, Fusion, 3DS, and even Autocad. The architecture is already robust, and with just a little more we can see Blender having the CAD design elements needed for real drafting, and even the physics to tackle the Solidworks market. I don't see Blender slowing down, and I kind of wonder what the other teams out there are going to do when they can't compete. The only thing that will keep them afloat will be the brand-stamping ~ e.g. the Autodesk name itself. Some contractors may flat out refuse drafts not 'certified' as an Autodesk out file.
I stopped using sketch up for this few reasons: 1- No camera controls (target, camera path, etc) 2- No zoom to selection (edited. is a hidden tool, why hidden? who knows? it has to be unlocked trhough shortcuts while selecting an object then going to preferences and bla bla bla... failed design decision) 3- No compatibilities (obj, etc) 4- No "more" terrain grab, and the one on the paid version doesn't match the mesh from Google earth ...sketch up is an expensive 3D software that lacks on basic tools.
Because of the way prefs in SU works, you must FIRST SELECT SOMETHING, then go into the prefs panel and there you'll find the Zoom Selection shortcut available to you.
That sounds clunky. I like the option in Blender to zoom-to-mouse, without even having to click. This makes it very quick to navigate around your scene.
As an architect, Blender's not an option for me. But as a 3D printing enthusiast, I'm interested to switch from Fusion360 to Blender for solid modeling... and all your points still apply in that case. Thanks Chipp. ;)
You dont SWITCH! Choosing a program depends on what you 're working on. If you like both you just use both. Sketchup is meant to be used for other stuff than blender and so does blender. Using both as a combination is the way to go!
I never used sketchup, but i used Maya and 3ds max for awhile while i was making maps for ut2k4. When i switched to linux Blender was the only option . . . at first i hated it . . . but i knew there had to be a reason my fellow mappers raved about it, so i stayed the course and learned everything i could. Honestly, when it comes to uv's, blender is superior to the others. I have been away for a few years, and i have forgotten all the basic commands of Blender but one tutorial clicked everything back into place, i'm going to have fun learning about the new features, and with a shiny new drawing tablet, its going to be fun.
New to Blender with bursts of amazement on a daily basis I was using SU since the early days (remember @last software company?) and having this wonderful piece of software made the hub of my workflow for over a decade. I will never give up installing my old licenced versions since Sketchup is unique in doing what it was originally made for - laying out concepts with a fingersnap. More for the 'less organic geometry' I never found another 3D tool so easy and fast - a bit sad that things have changed so much. While on the other hand with all the new possibillities software tools give us today the world of making and designing has reached a totally new level already. A step for which SketchUp was probably not meant to be still sitting in the front row (in real life, if I would be going to the cinemas with my now old long term love relationship, no doubt my choice would be the seats in the back anyway). Unchanged today remains my opinion towards presentation of design in general, meaning that the visual style of concept drawings has an enormous effect on the development of a project. This I think is still vastly underestimated and if asked, I would always refer people to the sketch style rendering of good old SketchUp. In combination with some artistic filters in photoshop the results are unmatched - unless you happen to be really good with an analogue pencil. thanks for your video Chipp, many greetings!
I agree with your point about the presentation style. Blender has a freestyle render mode that can be setup to virtually mimic SU's line drawing look. Thanks for the kind words.
I taught Sketchup for years, and everything you said about it is true. I can't comment so much on Blender, but since your video, I am going to give it a try (although I don't teach anymore) just for my own pleasure. I think what turned me off to Sketchup the most was when they went to the web-based free version. Used to be that I could install it on a student's computer and as long as I didn't upgrade I could count on the features staying the same as I taught. But with the web-based free version, no telling what might change online, and then I had to change my lessons to match. Plus, the web-based version is REALLY dumbed down in features from what the free version used to offer. The only thing holding me back from Blender is the steep learning curve, and I'm not sure I have patience for it anymore. But thanks for the video.
I am an architect trying to migrate to Blender as I migrate to Linux. I used to work in Windows environment, but Windows update is starting to be annoying and interrupt me during important session. So far it is great. I just need to get used to the interface and memorizing some keystrokes, but overall modelling is fine. Creating simple furniture and extruding floor plan is easy. Combined with Draftsight (which is free for Linux users), Blender makes a great 3D modelling tool. Its built in render engine is a plus too. It has pretty much similar features to V-Ray with less resources to create stunning render.
HUH? No Architect is going to work with a joke like Sketchup, they use real professional tools made for architecture ;-) Sorry, just found point 5 ridiculous. Architecture might not be your main skill, but then don't claim you know what people are using. Ever heard of Autocad and the company called Autodesk? ;-) And by the way, you do know that there are TONS AND TONS of addons for Blender, exactly for the very same reason: to replace missing functionality, and, interesting enough, there is a an addon called archimesh, which... caters to people doing architecture with Blender, like me. Blender is definitely not the perfect too for architecture, I'm not claiming it, but it can do a lot more than sketchup, which is fairly limited, because it is simpler. Otherwise, you make very good points and comparison, good video, thanks for doing it!
Had the same thought: real architects would never consider using Sketchup. It's only for 3d sketches of whatever is in your head. You can create a sketch of a building, however;) Blender is Graphics, not a CAD tool and can't be efficiently used for architectural tasks either.
errr maybe in the office you’ve worked for. having worked in arch vis for almost 10 years Id say maybe half of the models ive imported have been sketchup. used to be a more rhino, and now we re starting to receive more revit but still lots of sketchup. the reality is that there are loads of sketchup models that have been translated into drawing and built - you’ve seen them, boxy plaster extrusions. i don’t put it past ‘real’ architects to do whatever possible to sell a project.
@@michaos1 I consider myself as "a real architect" and have been using Sketchup for a long time (since the days of @Last Software - pyh). I use Sketchup every day, for fast sketches (and it is extremely fast), then I move to Revit for more exact plans area analyses, and might end up drawing the whole project in Revit. But I would say I use Sketchup 75% of the time, and most of my colleagues uses it 95% (some 100%) of the time. I think Sketchup is a widely used program here in DK, but I know that I a lot of new students uses Rhino. But I'm trying to get a hang of Blender - but it's really a steep learning curve.
@@oybrj thanks for answering! Good to know that this program is not a toy but a tool for real architects. But when it comes to calculating tensions and loads, I know that Archicad comes in handy. It's designed around architecture with all construction peculiarities and necessary tools (works without millions of plugins). Haven't heard of Revit, never used Rhino. I meant not sketches or looks, but real blueprints of multi-floor buildings that'll be used for construction. Good luck learning Blender! it's a great program for creating anything you can imagine, including interior design and building visualization (it's the least convenient tool for architecture, though).
michaos1 you are probably right. But here in DK the professions are sharp separated, architects concentrates on the architecture, and engineers does the constructions. So as an architect you come a long way using just sketchup - (e.g. in combination with enscape or vray) but that’s an other discussion :-) but the missing development of Sketchup - for many years - is so disappointing.
Actually, as an amateur game developer, I highly prefer the fast learning curve, ease of use and modularity of SketchUp. It's really good for level-design and props modeling. For more organic stuff however I tend to switch over to Sculptris or things like that.
Cant argue with that, but if you can figure out blender you will stop using other as you can commercially release assets and props made in blender. So a little hardwork which can gaurantee income is good i guess
Sorry you feel this way. There are a lot of SketchUp users who want a more powerful modeling workflow and pipeline, and this is for them. Probably NOT for you.
Not stupid at all - blender for architecture to furniture modeling is far superior than sketchup, people only think sketchup is good because it is easy to learn - but the moment you want to make more advanced work the downside becomes evident fast that sketchup is a poor application.
The power of competition and multi faceted programs is what moves us forward. I'm not a 3D modeler... I just started with Sketchup to make my house in 3D to import in another piece of software (xLights sequencer). I found it fun and challenging to work with and SKP got the job done for the house I wanted. I have heard of Blender, but after watching this video I have an understanding of the differences and a reason to try to make non-architectural models with it. Chipp's video has valid points. He doesn't bash SKP, he points out positives and flaws of both programs, who they are targeted for, what their support is in the community, and a good peek into B3D's capabilities all within 12 minutes.
Stupid? When you call somebody or something stupid, think again to see if it is you that is really stupid. ALL in this world are different, your logic leads to the conclusion "Never compare any things or you are stupid." Stupid.
I've been working with SUp for the past 6 years now. One of the reasons its because it's very intuitive, but that's not the main. The main one is due to file sharing (import and export in various file formats). Once Trimble took over that is something that has been gradually getting lost, but still most of the clients want the files in skp or 3ds or RVT...I've thought about changing to Blender for sometime now, the main reason that i didn't is that one. I'm sure that if Blender could solve the compatibility issue, then Blender would be the top modeling/rendering software all around...
I use both programs. Sketchup for technical drawings, blender for artistic view of stuff. You can import and export 3d models both way from sketchup to blender etc..
While true, I cannot figure out how to get Blender UVs (or anyone else's) transferred into SketchUp. So, it appears to me the best direction is to go from SketchUp to Blender and not back the other way...
I'm a sketchup user , I use it for arquitectural means , my son mentioned blender to me , he even downloaded it to my computer , but the interface was very different to what I was accustomed to
Yes, for longtime SketchUp users, it is a big paradigm shift. For most other surface modelers, like Maya, 3DMax, Modo, Lightwave and others, it's fairly normal. You do have to rethink how you model, and that can be hard for many.
Having a good connection to several levels of the art departments 2D, 3D, games and movies alike I have also seen a dramatic shift of artists switching from Autodesk products over to Blender, be it for blockouts, high poly modelling, retopology, rigging and animation. Especially EEVEE seems to draw even more people in. Great to see open source flourish.
One very serious limitation with Blender is that it is not often used in pro 3D pipelines (games and movies and TV). So Art Directors and Production Managers don't regard Blender very highly, however unfair that may be.
@@TheKevphil the same can surely be said for SketchUp. Even so, more professionals will become more impressed with Blender when 2.8 is released.
Kevin Phillips I agree, I hear this trend is changing and I hear 2.8 was thoroughly put through its paces with the new Netflix full length animated feature film about a girl and her robot, the name escapes me at this moment, done for the most part in Blender, very impressive evolution of blender about to become mainstream.
@@brendanc2585 next gen is the name i think
Fusion 360 is extremely powerful ... However I use both ... Blender has the ability to be used quickly and repair quickly. Fusion is much more thorough and powerful though.
One big problem with Blender is that you start off wanting to draw a table and you get sidetracked into making an animation in which the table gets set on fire and then gets water splashed all over it
LOL. I know that so well. But let us be honest: That is not a problem with Blender but with us. It is not Blender's fault if we let us getting sidetracked. :-)
@@ChristinaMcKay Too true. Too much to do and not enough time
I'm gonna go to blender doing the exact same thing
Terry D - Haha. You hit the problem on the head. It is a nice problem though ;-)
I constantly start getting lost in the modifiers and then have the table switch from Nintento64 to high end computer model in the same animation, just to see how I would do a LOD. For a 3d print.
There is SO MUCH MORE to know when building models in Blender. Textures, materials, UV mapping, rigging, collisions, baking, painting, exporting, particles, rendering, vertices, topology... I used SketchUp for 8 years before getting into Blender and believe me if u don't recognize those terms you can spend weeks just getting the hang of EACH one! But the truth is I won't go back to SketchUp now I finally have the hang of Blender. You can make stuff with incredible detail and photorealism.
But the thing is, you don't even have to. You can also do very basic stuff in blender with about the ease of Sketchup. Especially 2.8 will have a strong focus on being more friendly for basic entry level users. But unlinke in Sketchup you have the possibility to use and learn about all the available tools.
If you didn't need uv mapping, physics, painting and rigging in sketchup, no one forces you to use them in Blender
UV mapping is torture, i prefer just marking faces with different materials and create my own procedural materials instead lol.
also: what bartosz said
blender is extremely feature-filled and complex, even encompasses simulations that aren't standard in even the big 3d suites... they're usually paid addons that go at a hefty price... trying to see 100% of what blender is about is almost impossible in a human lifetime, as it keeps updating and adding features.
stick to what you know for work, but dare to experiment in your off hours ;)
These skills are with you for life tho. That's the great thing about spending that time learning Blender.
Y
Been using sketchup for 11 years, finally making the switch to blender. So far it's a world of difference for the better.
I used sketchup only for a couple months and it was hard for me the transition, I'm only confortable with the new workflow now 5 months later lol
Doing this right now. Archviz from SketchUp/Lumion to Blender
Been using sketch up for the pro trial duration and I figured, notes the time....prolly for the better because, I feel like there’s no chance of me switching once I actually get completely competent with sketch up so, time to acquire all sorts of headaches.
I have heard wonderful things about Blender, specially from game modders. But as a woodworker, sketchup is a god send. Simple enough for an old guy like me, and powerful enough to get my furniture plans done.
Mikhail Galatinov yeah for basic box modeling sketchup is fine
Indeed, this is where Sketchup shines!
michaos1 yeah also how adding basic dimensions for readouts is well solved
Blender has also for the baisc things some basic keys. I use it for making 3d models for 3d prints, what are mostly more technical objects, and after you get the basics keys for that, you can do basically everything in an exact way with exact measurements. Once if you get the system of the points (vertices), lines, surfaces, where you can switch between easy with an click, found the (e)xtrude, (r)otate, lock axis ie at extruding (ctrl-shift x,y or z) or y, x,z to lock it to one axis, you can make almost anything from the cube in a flexibal but exact way. ua-cam.com/video/ICBP-7x7Chc/v-deo.html
And let’s not forget about dynamic components!
Man, you have just made my day! I was pondering whether or not I should part from few hundred bucks of my hard earned money to buy Sketchup pro...I could not justify it, in the sense that I'd not be making any income from its use, it's just for my architectural hobby. Your video has given me enough reasons to spend the money in red wine and start learning Blender. Kudos to you dude!
the fun thing is he didn't even touch on half of the functions blender has to offer. and I can guarantee there are plenty of native functions he is unaware of. blender is a powerhouse.
If you're doing building design - SketchUp is still the better choice *at the moment*. Blender lacks the associative dimensioning and 2D drafting features (Layout) in SU Pro. SU was originally developed by Architects and architecture is still its strength. That said, a few clever developers could add those capabilities to Blender, and I'm betting it will happen as Trimble continues to jack up the price of SU. Because of what I do for a living, I was lucky to have an NFR (Not for Resale) copy of SU Pro for years when @Last and then Google owned it. Trimble was not as generous and so I decided to stop begging and buy a copy... which I thought was still around $400. Sticker shock when I had to lay out $700 plus another endless $10/mo ($120/yr) for updates. I bet it'll be $995 before much longer, or a subscription of $149/mo or more. Time will tell.
Robert Pollock you point makes me think if You know blender. You can model and structure your work there equally using groups and components. While I know sketchup I only teach it - for work I don’t touch this inferior drafting based 3D modeling application that over the past 10 years hardly evolved.
In addition everything in sketchup is final - with better modeling apps like in blender you can work parametric
Fernando Pizzani yeah forget sketchup pro. It is not worth the money. You can do the same and better with more options in blender. I am the chair of interior design and teach in industrial design. Sketchup is an overhyped bad application - people love it because it is easy to learn - but easy means it cannot do much. You will hit the limits quite quickly.
You might redirect some bucks to enter the Blender Cloud ^^ enjoy drawing!
I'm a long term Maya user, hardsurface modeler, but around 2 months ago I started to play with B3d more seriously and now I'm doing my assets in Blender completly. Still not very strong, but everything is comming together realy fast
Awesome! Having any trouble figuring stuff out? I'm learning Maya now (school), but I've been using Blender for 6 years, watched it evolve from around the time Cycles was first introduced.
Vojtech Lacina what is b3d?
@@MrAkurvaeletbe It's short for Blender 3D.
yeah, I model and unwrap in Blender then export it to max, not a fan of Cycles
Sketchup, as its name implies, is for designing and modelling architectural models quickly, without having to undergo a steep learning curve. Blender is a fully fledged, general purpose 3D program. It's not really fair to compare them, just as you wouldn't compare a bike to a car. I'm a long time Blender user, and I use Sketchup every now and then, when it comes to make a quick "sketchup" of a building. Then, sometimes I would import it into the Blender working pipeline. So we are talking about 2 different tools here. You can, however compare Blender to Maya or 3D Max.
I disagree. It is fair to compare them as they both are used for many of the same things. Not everyone who uses SketchUp is an architect or designing buildings. There are plenty of concept artists, woodworkers, game design artists and others who use SketchUp. These videos are for them, not architects, and I state so in the first part of the video where I say Architects may want to stay with SketchUp.
Even then I would still take the car. THANKS
I also disagree. You can use Blender in every step of architectural design. From concept design to Modeling. From decision make to visualizing. Its only a question of how to use Blender.
I use 3ds max combined with SketchUp.....the Best from both worlds. I feel a hidden hate for Google on this video.
I agree Christoph mainly because Blender is soooo much harder to learn than Sketchup.
I used to do everything in Sketchup, creating artwork for documentation, advertising, and illustrations. Then I changed jobs and didn't use it for a few years, imagine my dismay when I decided to go back to it for a project, and found that all I could get for free was their sucky little web based app that didn't support any of the plugins I'd become used to. Learning Blender now.
Yeah, Trimble have killed it. The web app is a total joke. Lucky i had already gone pro back 2015.
I just downloaded Sketchup make 2017 for free on a new machine this afternoon. Depending on the type of modeling you do, its often plenty adequate. I am researching Blender now considering trying it out as well. All the talk of the learning curve has me a little apprehensive.
@@ryanhammer6116 i feel you man , i used sketchup for a time and liked the fact that i could do 3d models with ease , however as i got more into doing complex 3d models it soom became a nightmare and i had to find the right extentions and even then it didn't work as i wanted , but then i saw what people said about blender 2.8 about how easy it is and so on so i wanted to try and let me tell you it was worth it .
The first thing that i would suggest to someone that is coming from sketchup to blender is to find the basic tools that you have in sketchup like the :
- how to enter in edit mode
- how to draw a line / add shapes like circle and so on .. ( also learn about simple curves and bezeir curves and how to convert from one another )
- push % pull ( in blender it's extrude )
- how to measure stuff
- how to place geometries in the same line ( like the way you use the guide lines in sketchup )
- how to use the tool that is equivalent to the follow me on sketchup
- how to model in different scales ( meters , km , inches and so on ... )
* i have some good videos if you want about how to do these things
after you learn these basic things you can start making simple models like the ones that you can do in sketchup , and after you get used to it you can start adding a few things like booleans and so on ... also with the new update you don't need to remember that much key combinations .
@@daniel-zt6im Thanks for the extra push. I'm sold, I'll download it when I get a few minutes.
@@ryanhammer6116 no problem , good luck man .
SOLD on Blender as soon as you made & installed that motorcycle brake cable! That was real-time mind blowing! Great video, TYVM!!!
Blender is such a huge blessing for every creative mind to work with!!!
Switched over a year ago as sketchup kept crashing with high polygon counts in my thirst for high quality modeling.
Used to make low poly cars that crashed the program now can make photorealistic high quality models. Whoever made blender and kept it free I love you
I was totally new to 3d program,When I started learning blender, after first week I thought it's too difficult to figure out different modes shortcuts modifiers but I didn't give up and continue practicing watching tutorial on you tube, now It's fun for me to make models and enjoy shaping my imaginations in blender.
SketchUp for Architectural and construction documentation with layout and extensions.
Blender for animation and organic modelling.
rhino or revit are far more superior compare to sketchup, sketchup still loses in every competitions.
@@Hijab_Diffusion try me
@@layoutarchitect No, he's right. The only area Sketch wins is ease of use, and the others are specialty software. He's wrong on the Blender bit tho, since Blender can render anything rhino or revit can inherently, when those programs cant render everything Blender can.
Read again
You can also use sketchup to do 3d prints and 3d models with ease .
As a Sketchup Pro user, I found this video very interesting. Thanks for the effort.
Great video, pinpoint explanations. In fact I did a similar transition to Blender with almost exact same reasons couple of months ago. I still can’t believe we have such a powerful free/open-source 3D software and it’s growing rapidly.
Looking forward to see Blender 2.8 release later this year.
I would love to see more comparisons like this, particularly one between Rhino and Blender
I put off the switch for far too long. I've been using Blender for 5 years now and LOVE IT.
I am a happy Blender user. I have been using Blender for well over 5 years.
teach me plz
I'm 2D/3D enviro artist for 20 years now. The whole time I was using 3DS Max, Maya or LW for 3D modeling. I always considered Blender as a some kind of toy without even trying it. Well... few months ago I tried the 2.8. And since then I'm having trouble to get back to Autodesk.
Blender in combination with HardOps, DecalMachine etc is simply amazing!! :)
A few very minor corrections/additions.
1) It's easy to model just about anything organically shaped (for instance, baroque decorations or iron work) in Blender. Ctrl+ click to extrude new faces, edges, or vertices from your current selection. You really can't get much easier than that.
2) BlendSwap also has lots of great models, though surely not nearly as much furniture and architecture.
3) Freestyle for Blender gives you line art rendering. It's built in.
4) You can actually start making good art really quickly if you already have a skill for sculpting. Load a cube or a sphere, go into sculpt mode, turn on dynamic topology, and go to town. Should take you much less than an hour to figure Blender's sculpting out. Conversely, if all you're doing is making furniture, that's mostly just cubes with bevels. Learn to add primitives, subdivide, translate, rotate, scale, and add modifiers and you're pretty much good to go. That shouldn't take long.
Realistic materials and lighting take time, but frankly I've found that true in every single render engine/material system I've used, and I've played with at least 6. Basically, you need to understand direct and indirect light, diffuse/albedo shading, reflections, the Fresnel effect, refraction, the difference between metals and dielectrics (mostly colored reflections vs. white), and different types of scattering if you want to do any realistic rendering in 3D. But once you do understand those basic components of light and materials, it takes about a day or two to figure out any well documented rendering/material system, and about three or four days to figure out one that isn't well documented but has a community where you can get questions answered. The better the renderer, the easier the whole thing is. And most modern renderers are pretty good. Really, the tricky part of any renderer is figuring out the right settings for your scene, your machine, and that renderer.
5) and 6) Definitely true, to a point. SketchUp is obviously _way_ better at architectural design. That said, Blender does have 2D sketching tools which are currently being hugely expanded, and will get a whole tutorial series when the new tools are released. And you can convert your drawn lines to curves or surfaces.
It's not that hard to be precise in Blender. Hence, for instance, the _free_ jewelry modeling add-on that can compute exactly how many carats are on your design. Also, there are a few different free architectural plugins, as well as GIS and city building ones. And let's not forget that it's _much_ easier to make or even download all the stuff that goes with architectural visualization (trees, bushes, bodies of water, grass, flowers, rocks, etc.) in Blender.
Just to be clear, Cycles is _not_ unbiased. It's deliberately designed to balance realistic and artistic usage. It does not, for instance, support spectral dispersion (like a prism). So if you want diamonds that sparkle properly or prisms that make rainbows, well, you can make a special shader to fake the effect, but it's probably easier to switch renderers.
Thanks for sharing. I didn't know Cycles was a biased renderer, but should have figured it out because it is very fast!
Cycles is unbiased by default, but has options for introducing various kinds of bias: blenderartists.org/t/will-cycles-ever-be-a-biased-render-engine/559774
It's just really not. Even at default, it has caustics of all kinds turned off, controlled number of bounces, etc. It's not spectral, and does not model light in a realistic manner, so for instance you can't get diamonds to sparkle without a major hack that still fakes the funk and is not at all on par with unbiased renders of diamonds (I've tried both).
It's just a raytracer. Being a raytracer does _not_ make it unbiased. Modeling real world physical phenomena does not make it unbiased, it just makes it a renderer. That's what all renderers do, and the unbiased part is about the _type_ of model the renderer uses. I remember when Brecht posted about it before it was even added to Blender, and he explicitly said it was _not_ unbiased because he wanted to balance its ability to create realistic and stylized renders.
Ummm .. caustics are on by default.
Also, this: www.chaosgroup.com/blog/the-truth-about-unbiased-rendering
Thanks for this. Subscribed. I have been using Sketchup for years but the recent changes are making my switch decision easier. I work offline a lot because of remote work. I need the program and the models resident on my computer. I do not like thinking my creativity is dependent on internet connectivity at my end or an issue at their end. I also have a fundamental dislike for having my creations held ransom by a company by having them resident on that company's servers where they hold the key to the vault my work is in.
Blender does have layout for 3D architect, you can either archipack and archimech add-ons that come with blender and you can create walls grease pencil lines.
How much if this is true blender has a new custumer.
@@trowawayacc archimech and archipack both are free, and come with Blender, you just have to activate them on your user preferences. You can download the most up-to-date version of archipack from GitHub
@@trowawayacc that feature is pretty old you can see it in action here: ua-cam.com/video/a4QCRMLddYU/v-deo.html, I'm sure you will find more useful features with the addon today. of course you can use blueprint IMG as guides in the background, by using the N-panel.im sure you can Google it to figure it out.
Layout is the 2D drafting product for Blender. It is a full and different application for creating architectural documentation for print. Blender has no such equal.
And an additional comment. I've used 3DS for a long time. But picking up blender for the first time it only took a week or two and I was comfortable enough to use it for structure layout presentation purposes. I personally love it.
This is amazing. I wish I learned blender instead of 3ds max, and if I ever return to 3d, this video has convinced me the Blender is the right software to switch to
Great video Chipp. I was on autodesk because of octane, now octane is available for blender and i already made the switch. What i love the most is the time it takes to load.
Thanks for the overview. I downloaded Blender based on your video. It may take some doing for me to learn though, being a retired engineer and working from an old version of ACad (version 2002). I opened Blender after downloading and didn't recognize much, so it looks like it may be a long road ahead before I start getting comfortable with it.
You might want to check out some of my getting started in Blender videos. They could help.
Especially if you don't need photoreal renders of your furniture. SketchUp is particularly good at furniture modeling, though it can be done in Blender. The issue is what happens when SketchUp is no longer supported except inside a browser? It seems that's where Trimble is headed.
Thanks Chipp. Will do.
Hi Chipp, I recently jumped ship from SketchUp to Blender (less than 3 months ago) and couldn't be happier. I found SketchUp was ok building houses and geometry with straight edges but I design Star Wars based lightsabers as a hobby and needed a few more curved shapes. It was impossible in SketchUp to get the flowing shapes I wanted but in Blender I can bend hilts perfectly, not to mention adding the glowing blades and spikes, horns or shrouds.
Those SketchUp renders always seem to have that angular look. Seems like it is impossible to get nice curves there.
I think it is a combination of the tools I needed for curves were only available in the paid version and I'm not able to afford the license just for a hobby. The second point is there was a lot f functions that I attempted to use but then found out they were third party add-ons. No disrespect to UA-camrs but a lot of the tutorials say things like "Get Quick Curves using this trick" etc but fail to mention they used those add-ons. Blender however has 99% of these tools straight out the box which is great.
Hello Chipp!
How do I feel about Blender?
The more you use it, the more you love it :)
Waiting the upcoming 2.8 with Evee realtime render engine.
I expect big things with my Gtx 1080 Ti!!
Marco Di Mario Try the alpha. Unzip and run the exe. So fun
The beta version is already really stable. I use it for half of my work.
I switched. Takes a bit of getting used to, but after a bunch of tutorials... I am VERY happy I did!
Implying that you have to use either one or the other. Why "switch"? Why not use both? You don't have enough space on HDD to install blender and SketchUp together? :)
I mean, seriously. I use SketchUp for any kind of architectural and precise modeling, almost like autocad. Use blender for general purpose modeling like characters, animals, nature. Also for any kind of animation blender is obvious choice. So IMO don't switch, use both!
You are welcome to either listen to the video where I state you can continue to use SketchUp or read the many, many responses to the many many EXACT same comments as yours below.
yes, its pretty much dependant on individuals. if when i suggest 3dmax & autocad to new colleagues, their mind is like cost and learning curves, when i suggest blender, its either they never heard of it or they will claim too hard to learn, and when comes to sketchup, everyone sees it as their best tools ... fyi I'm using sketchup for interior design works, and some modelling works, and I'm also learning blender : D i don't see a need to choose. people should just learn as much as they can and use which ever softwares that are available.
I can't install SketchUp because I use Linux.
@@0xDEAD-C0DE Blender's pretty cool. There is some initial effort you must do in order to learn it. Memorize the hotkeys that you'll use the most. That's the best advice I can give you. Follow some step by step tutorials that you can find throughout the internet to get practice. It can be tough at first, but rewarding given time.
Ah, I just posted, but one more point as I'm watching this: the fact that SketchUp keeps getting passed from company to company - SO TRUE! I've only been with it as it crossed from Google to Trimble... but I always suspected they were going to nerf the free version of it into uselessness, and in 2018 it finally happened. This whole video is really helping me go from the denial phase to the grieving phase, and hopefully into a new realm of opportunity. Much appreciated!
I'm "sold" - that looks great, I had no idea this was available. I love sci-fi and it would be fun to use this to create ships, gadgets, etc.
Although I'm afraid of new things, I absolutely LOVE the rendering of Blender. I'm gonna say my goodbyes to Sketchup over the next few months, and slowly convert to this new program. Thanks for sharing!
My recommendation: Don’t switch to anyone, just learn new software as tool for every and each needs.
As an architect, your spot on about the dimension stuff. Although we usually only use sketchup for visuals not documentation.
Alright, I’m dumping SketchUp. I always feel like I’m doing tons of work the software should be doing for me
Platform stability is the most important feature for those of us working on never ending dream projects. Trimble have done their free user base proud, and I respect and admire them for it.
Simple reason... Sketchup STARTED as completely free, but Google got its hands on it, and sold it out to Trimble, which appears to be going through the steps to make it "less free", and, eventually, a subscription model.
Blender started FREE and open source, and will REMAIN free and open source, with all its capabilities. The only reason that I need.
If someone develops a drafting package, Blender will reign supreme...
Sketchup died for me with Sketchup Make 2017...
Igor Schmidlapp you are wrong, Sketchup started as commercial app for architects created by @lastsoftware then google got it and they made the free version and explode it with Google warehouse. ... I use SU since version 1
Thanks for the presentation so well done. I’ve spent years becoming proficient with Sketchup for hobby build purposes. Getting the rug pulled out from under me is very disappointing. Hard to justify spending the bigger bucks on Sketchup to maintain what I had in the past. For that reason alone I’ll be learning blender. Might be an unintended consequence to my advantage.
I'm an engineer. I use sketchup since it is easy. But, knowing how fast blender development recently and the awesome features that blender has, makes me on the fence of moving to blender..
Ronin Red Blender has a steep learning curve. The best tutorials for novices are those by Neal Hirsig, who can pull you up very quickly on Blender. Though his tutorials may be little old, they are still very useful today, as you learn off the basics plus hotkeys.
Pink Lady thanks for the tips. Will look for Neal Hirsig right away..^
Ronin Red you might initially be put off by first impressions when you see its resolutions. First read comments on Neal Hirsig's tutorials before watching them.
i kinda like andrew price too (blender guru).
he often explains the whys and hows just enough for it to make sense, but in a way doens't overwhelm you,
(at least if you're already having a bit of a hunch on how to approach things)
the node/shader editor is something you need to really get a feel for by just experimenting though,
i've seen quite some people having the biggest troubles with that one (i was an exception since i already coded a bit, and had used puredata, which is a node-based coding language) but it becomes 2nd nature quick enough.
none off them is good. watch tutor4u. he is the easiest to follow along.
An excellent overview of the reasons why Blender is the way to go. I started with 3DStudio for DOS way back in 96, then onto 3dsMax, Softimage and then taught myself Maya. I started to seriously use Blender in 2008 and have never looked back since. Blender is beginning to be taken seriously in the industry and that points well for its future. So for you new guys out there, learn Blender and get a head start! Learn and use Blender today!
Ever since the free version of Sketchup became exclusively online, I ditched it completely.
I don't have the time to learn how to work with blender but damn this video really makes me fall in love with it
Sketchup: Let's make the first line with 2.75 meters on y axe. Done.
Blender: How to make a line? ( Google it, tutorial, "make a retangle, delete 3 lines...").
How to resize this line ( Tutorial, change the metrics to meter, precision to .001).
How to put this line on origin... How to make the second line?
This is the big problem of Blender: He makes amazing things, but fail on make the more simple things with direct and intuitive way. Please community... a simple line, a simples line !!!!
PTC man this.. should get more attention
Set scaling to 1, now you can size anytning in blender by typing in the actual dimension. Blender is unitless. Want 2.34 meters just type in 2.34..as long as you use the same scale for everything and make sure not to scale things in edit mode. Blender 2.8 also now has a measure tool
ua-cam.com/video/OodPg5ZK0t8/v-deo.html
Blender is really intuitive, i dont even know what are you talking about
I don't know. I'm looking for something for designing 3d prints other than OpenSCAD. And I'm used to model things not by modifying vertices and faces directly, but by precise design which works in a steps like: create rectangle of size 20x30. Make it 1cm high. Make hole of diameter R1 at position X,Y. Round the upper edge of the hole with radius R2 milimeters.
Problem with OpenSCAD is that it's nearly impossible (or very incovenient) to make rounded edges and corners when two shapes are blended together.
Great video! I just started working with Blender recently and I am astounded at the capabilities of this free program. (talk about a steep learning curve though!)
What would seal the deal would be a plugin for Blender that makes the UI tools like Sketchup. I am ready to move
that would be game over overnight yes
I'm contemplating downloading Blender right now. This would tip the scale in an instant.
I've seen a couple plugins to make it more Sketchup like though not the complete package yet, still enough to draw me in however, Sketchup really is just getting to be too much of a pain in it's limitations
Y'all do realize that blender has archipack plugin now. It has a free version and the pro version is just $50.
they will have that eventually too. its thousands of open end developers (blender) vs a few dozens (sketchup). If they feel this is a must have feature they will roll it out eventually
I just want to learn 3D design for product modelling and packaging and found your video for SketchUp to keyshot. After watching this video I'm sold, thanks for helping me decide what to invest my time in
Well I'm interested, now I just need to be able to pay for Blender. Oh wait, it's free! :)
#1 is soooooooooooo true. Sketchup free is only possible in the cloud, and VERY limited compared to earlier versions. And when your projects/drawings is under complete control of the company via cloud, we all know what is about to happen. I've used SketchUp this year for modeling a staircase, 3 years ago to try out some different bathroom layouts, 5 years ago to model a complete bathroom with sewer, watersupply and electrics. And some other small stuff earlier. I ofc made the models I created useable for others. Mainly the sewer components. I'm certain, that next time I need it for something, it will either not be usefull or not free. I earlier recommended Sketchup to my professional users, those days are over. I will look into Blender as a 1st choice.
Actually it really depends on what you want to do. Sketchup is very very easy to learn and u can draw objects mainly having flat surfaces (thats why it is preferred by architectures. But Sketchup as it is very empty. You need plugins and dont know why Sketchup developers not aiming on this. Without plugins u can get brain cancer). And it is really effective when you want to give a presentation. Because organizing your (almost static) scenes are very much easier in comparison to many other programs. You can easily tell your ideas to others. Blender is a different world actually. It has many abilities. But mainly made for animation and visuals, but lacks "easy to use and lots of drawing thingys". But very very very very much better in object creation than sketchup. Actually comparing "creation ability" is ridiculous between 2 programs . It is not suitable for precise designs. What does a precise desing mean? Ok, drill a 10mm hole and drive a 9.98mm shaft through it, and send it to manufacturing process. Well, u cant do it in blender neither on sketchup. But you can make a marvellous animation of that drone and show everyone how it flies and demonstrate its abilities fantastically in Blender. You can organize the scene where that drone will fly very easily with sketchup. And make it manufacturable with all the parts in solidworks/inventor/fusion 360, design complex but "precise" surfaces of that drone with Rhino for manufacturing (Rhino's drawing tools are barely matched by other drawing programs. Actually i can call Rhino the king of all in drawing, but it also has an unfriendly user interface :p:p). Blender has sufficient (but not all the necessary) tools sufficiently on every category. If you want to get to a certain point, definitely go to Blender. But for a particular aim other than that (i mean manufacturing, mechanics, mecatronics) go to another software. You wont be able to find a complete complete complete all-in-one software. You need to learn atleast 3 programs together to be a proffessional. i mean to say is none of the programs will give you every-everything. i hope it helps.
I have continued to *DOWNLOAD SKETCHUP* on all of my computers. I have time in my life to wait 20-40 seconds for SKETCHUP to launch.
But you're definitely right, Blender loads super fast. 👍
Never liked sketchup most especially when other design software like Blender Fusion 360 Unreal Engine are more advanced and free to use
Very nice comparisons! Thank you!!
My profile pic was done in Blender. I am working with it for 4 years now.
sweeeeet
@@beegestyoshi3271 you could have easy done that design "for fee" in inkscape! and it would have been vector graphics!
I don't want much. I don't buy much. Yet this is probably the most effective comparison and unintended "pitch" I've ever seen. SUPERB. I'm a Sketcher (using an older version; mostly doing "industrial design" prototype studies or blocking out construction ideas) and I think I've seen enough to make the move. (Instructional animation's a growing interest.) THANKS so much!
If you're an industrial designer, you should check out my NITROX3D videos. It will completely change how you design
I teach college level industrial and interior design and SketchUp is one of the worst 3D apps every, snapping often does not work well, push n pull to cut through works only on very simple geometry, follow me only works well on simple geometry - to extend the apps ability you need to install extensions and deal with terrible interfaces.
Actually blender has a similar if not even better render style engine named freestyle besides being able to make realistic images with cycles and eeVee.
Also Boolean in blender are interactive while in sketchup it is part of the pro package.
Sketchup models can be loaded into blender too.
People only use sketchup because it is tauchst often as the standard architecture modeling tool without considering if it is even the best use.
My students are always mad when they so how I can build in blender vs sketchup.
What’s the point of an easy app if later the workflow requires workarounds.
Perhaps the point of an easy app is, some of us aren't pros and only want to use a sketch tool for fairly simple projects a couple times a year.
The required learning investment for SketchUp is apparently smaller than for Blender, and I've already done it. Even IF Blender was AS EASY to pick up (and I keep hearing it's not), it might not be worth it for me to switch...until I HAVE to. 😐
This was a very well reasoned pros/cons list. Now I'm sold on Blender. Thanks a lot.
Main reason: Sketchup is nice and friendly but way too limited.
Bullshit.
Read this crap all the time, there ain't nothing I can't make, and have, for the real world with SU.
@@markmark5269 the problem that i have with sketchup is how it handles organic shapes , without extentions i can't do much , and even with the extentions not always it turns out right .
Deffinately sticking with Sketchup, and for one of the biggest reasons you neglected to mention. It has the ability to create 'dynamic components' that automaticly change in accordance with their programing. It is an EXTREAMLY powerful tool (if you understand how to use it) and can automate certain tasks that would take MUCH longer in other CAD software. It does this by allowing the user to define certain 'rules' that a component needs to obey, setting user-defined variables, and automaticly determining certain parameters by following simple equasions.
I don't think it is a simple "just switch" situation.
From a blueprint, creating a house in Sketch Up can be way faster than in Blender.
When the situation is more complex I don't think twice and go to Blender.
While I can choose my tools, I am fine using both.
If you had watched the video, you would've seen where I give good reasons NOT to switch, including if you're an architect.
but there are a plenty of amazing architecture addons for blender.
@@ChippWalters, but you are still couching it as switching or not switching. If you read the comment you're replying to, they are suggesting that's a false dichotomy.
@@CarnaghSidhe I'm sure you can find a use case for using both. The thesis here is the use case for switching.
@@ChippWalters bugger - I was looking forward to shift from Sketchup to Blender, but I'm a architect, so I think I need to stay with Sketchup, until Blender get's the right tools for architect, and just fiddle with Blender in the sparetime.
This video was super helpful. I just got into 3d modeling and rendering, I'm glad I've made the EARLY decision to use blender because of your 20 reasons to use and not use!! although, sketchup is sooooooo easy to use at first. but thanks for the help!!!
I use both, but man everytime I open Blender, I feel like I have to reverse my brain to get UI and mouse logic.
Just switch the right and left mouse buttons, and the navigation is exactly the same.
As an old but casual user of Sketchup, I've always appreciated it for its simplicity and intuitiveness. Blender's interface gives me anxiety. But lately I am more seriously considering diving into Blender for all my needs. Especially with the recent announcement of Adobe's "new" Substance tools, I may move to Blender for modeling, material editing and staging.
I have been using Sketchup to design a tiny house for my wife & I to build and live in. I also use it whenever I need to design & build something out of wood or steel. I really hope that Trimble doesn't ruin the world's access to Sketchup in the typical way that software companies usually do when they get hungry for cashflow. Making powerful open source software tools for humanity is far more useful to the evolution of the human race than putting up pay walls to squeeze every user possible. The cloud-based model is also doing a dis-service, and it will fail miserably in the end too. Just stop adding a zillion features that most users will not need, and give students, tinkerers, amateur architects, small builders and homesteaders a stable, reliable free tool for designing things that they need to build. Then go ahead and sell a souped up Pro version to professional architects, builder/contractors, fabricators, and other engineering professionals. Use the rest of your time to make money doing something else...
I have been long thinking of ditching Sketchup after the insane price tag. Your video makes me desperately want to jump to Blender. I believe it is worth it to take the steep learning curve for the long run
Sketchup fan but I can't stand the push towards cloud software, the free 2017 make version is still available but I'm doubtful there'll be another version other than their rubbish cloud offering that locks you into being fully reliant on their servers and privacy etc.
This video is exactly what I needed. I’ve mastered SketchUp but am constantly hitting it’s limitations. Thanks for making this.
it just take me like 2 weeks to find that sketchup is a garbaje.... one thar is not soo complicated and also free is design prak mechanical .... grat software
Blender is a great 3d modelling and animation tool, but it's not built for CAD, at least without lots of plugins.
Thing with blender is that you can take your cad drawing and import it into blender to be able to do more expansive and creative things plus you can you use render farms thanks to a plugin like Sheepit
Yes Thats true Paul but the scale is so far off and frustrating after you get it to work , but you can fake it ! some times I draw something and raster it in to Autocad And they want the file ,I tell them its autocad and blender Hybrid ,.!LOL
CAD apps typically are solid modelers and have smooth curve representations. Blender is neither. Blender is a polygon based surface modeler, just like SketchUp.
then how about rhino?
Rhino is a solids modeler also. Just like other CAD apps, it exports meshes that are difficult to optimize in polygon modelers.
Thank you for the video. For me the first 5 outweigh the 20 reasons why to switch. Blender looks great for animation etc.
Here is a funny story. A papa Stomato tells his son as he lags behind: *hey, Sketchup!*
ua-cam.com/video/A4TYQGeMhBw/v-deo.html
Nice video. Thank you for sharing. You saved my time. It takes many hours in Sketchup modeling, creating primitives and extrude. So many problems in Sketchup modeling and searching plugins.
I wouldn't compare sketchup to blender. Sketchup is more like the first gateway to 3d modelling, like an elementary school. I used sketchup almost 9 - 10 years & still using in my construction field, still an advanced skill in my field in my country. I teached others & only take them 2 weeks to know almost all the sketchup function. Blender for amateur 3d modeller that way passed sketchup. Heck, now i still not good in Blender even im now good in Revit. To me, your vid should be next level software after sketchup instead of comparing both at the same level where they are not.
I disagree with what you say. There are very large projects (and non-architectural projects) which have been completed in SketchUp. I know of no SketchUp masters who learned in only 2 weeks. To discount SketchUp as an 'elementary school' product shows you have little understanding of how SketchUp is actually used. Please visit this page and then let me know if you think SketchUp is for children. sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=33509
Your #1 is right on. Blender is growing really fast. We already see people making strong arguments for going with it for major usage - replacing things like Maya, Fusion, 3DS, and even Autocad. The architecture is already robust, and with just a little more we can see Blender having the CAD design elements needed for real drafting, and even the physics to tackle the Solidworks market. I don't see Blender slowing down, and I kind of wonder what the other teams out there are going to do when they can't compete. The only thing that will keep them afloat will be the brand-stamping ~ e.g. the Autodesk name itself. Some contractors may flat out refuse drafts not 'certified' as an Autodesk out file.
I stopped using sketch up for this few reasons:
1- No camera controls (target, camera path, etc)
2- No zoom to selection (edited. is a hidden tool, why hidden? who knows? it has to be unlocked trhough shortcuts while selecting an object then going to preferences and bla bla bla... failed design decision)
3- No compatibilities (obj, etc)
4- No "more" terrain grab, and the one on the paid version doesn't match the mesh from Google earth
...sketch up is an expensive 3D software that lacks on basic tools.
There is zoom to selection in Sketchup. You just need to setup a shortcut in preferences. It's called - Edit/Item/Zoom Selection
Utmahr might be on pro, I didnt find any on my 2017...anyways by this days I dont use sketchup anymore
Because of the way prefs in SU works, you must FIRST SELECT SOMETHING, then go into the prefs panel and there you'll find the Zoom Selection shortcut available to you.
That sounds clunky. I like the option in Blender to zoom-to-mouse, without even having to click. This makes it very quick to navigate around your scene.
Hi Lawrence (again!) You can zoom-to-mouse also in SketchUp. In fact the navigation in Blender is almost EXACTLY the same as SketchUp!
As an architect, Blender's not an option for me. But as a 3D printing enthusiast, I'm interested to switch from Fusion360 to Blender for solid modeling... and all your points still apply in that case. Thanks Chipp. ;)
You dont SWITCH! Choosing a program depends on what you 're working on. If you like both you just use both. Sketchup is meant to be used for other stuff than blender and so does blender. Using both as a combination is the way to go!
I never used sketchup, but i used Maya and 3ds max for awhile while i was making maps for ut2k4. When i switched to linux Blender was the only option . . . at first i hated it . . . but i knew there had to be a reason my fellow mappers raved about it, so i stayed the course and learned everything i could. Honestly, when it comes to uv's, blender is superior to the others. I have been away for a few years, and i have forgotten all the basic commands of Blender but one tutorial clicked everything back into place, i'm going to have fun learning about the new features, and with a shiny new drawing tablet, its going to be fun.
Simple: Sketchup blows and Blender is super awesome!!!
New to Blender with bursts of amazement on a daily basis I was using SU since the early days (remember @last software company?) and having this wonderful piece of software made the hub of my workflow for over a decade. I will never give up installing my old licenced versions since Sketchup is unique in doing what it was originally made for - laying out concepts with a fingersnap. More for the 'less organic geometry' I never found another 3D tool so easy and fast - a bit sad that things have changed so much. While on the other hand with all the new possibillities software tools give us today the world of making and designing has reached a totally new level already. A step for which SketchUp was probably not meant to be still sitting in the front row (in real life, if I would be going to the cinemas with my now old long term love relationship, no doubt my choice would be the seats in the back anyway). Unchanged today remains my opinion towards presentation of design in general, meaning that the visual style of concept drawings has an enormous effect on the development of a project. This I think is still vastly underestimated and if asked, I would always refer people to the sketch style rendering of good old SketchUp. In combination with some artistic filters in photoshop the results are unmatched - unless you happen to be really good with an analogue pencil.
thanks for your video Chipp, many greetings!
I agree with your point about the presentation style. Blender has a freestyle render mode that can be setup to virtually mimic SU's line drawing look. Thanks for the kind words.
this video should have been titled "here's something good about blender"
Man, you have the best voice and speaking. I was tired of tutorials of people from India with crazy accent.
the most biggest raeson to stay in blender, have render engine, and is low cost, and this kill sketchup
I taught Sketchup for years, and everything you said about it is true. I can't comment so much on Blender, but since your video, I am going to give it a try (although I don't teach anymore) just for my own pleasure. I think what turned me off to Sketchup the most was when they went to the web-based free version. Used to be that I could install it on a student's computer and as long as I didn't upgrade I could count on the features staying the same as I taught. But with the web-based free version, no telling what might change online, and then I had to change my lessons to match. Plus, the web-based version is REALLY dumbed down in features from what the free version used to offer.
The only thing holding me back from Blender is the steep learning curve, and I'm not sure I have patience for it anymore. But thanks for the video.
Blender is 3D modelling tool, Sketchup is used by architects. Enough. Both are not comparable. Do blender vs 3ds max, zbrush etc.
You are right, mate.
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I am an architect trying to migrate to Blender as I migrate to Linux. I used to work in Windows environment, but Windows update is starting to be annoying and interrupt me during important session.
So far it is great. I just need to get used to the interface and memorizing some keystrokes, but overall modelling is fine. Creating simple furniture and extruding floor plan is easy. Combined with Draftsight (which is free for Linux users), Blender makes a great 3D modelling tool. Its built in render engine is a plus too. It has pretty much similar features to V-Ray with less resources to create stunning render.
HUH? No Architect is going to work with a joke like Sketchup, they use real professional tools made for architecture ;-) Sorry, just found point 5 ridiculous. Architecture might not be your main skill, but then don't claim you know what people are using. Ever heard of Autocad and the company called Autodesk? ;-) And by the way, you do know that there are TONS AND TONS of addons for Blender, exactly for the very same reason: to replace missing functionality, and, interesting enough, there is a an addon called archimesh, which... caters to people doing architecture with Blender, like me. Blender is definitely not the perfect too for architecture, I'm not claiming it, but it can do a lot more than sketchup, which is fairly limited, because it is simpler. Otherwise, you make very good points and comparison, good video, thanks for doing it!
Had the same thought: real architects would never consider using Sketchup. It's only for 3d sketches of whatever is in your head. You can create a sketch of a building, however;) Blender is Graphics, not a CAD tool and can't be efficiently used for architectural tasks either.
errr maybe in the office you’ve worked for. having worked in arch vis for almost 10 years Id say maybe half of the models ive imported have been sketchup. used to be a more rhino, and now we re starting to receive more revit but still lots of sketchup. the reality is that there are loads of sketchup models that have been translated into drawing and built - you’ve seen them, boxy plaster extrusions. i don’t put it past ‘real’ architects to do whatever possible to sell a project.
@@michaos1 I consider myself as "a real architect" and have been using Sketchup for a long time (since the days of @Last Software - pyh). I use Sketchup every day, for fast sketches (and it is extremely fast), then I move to Revit for more exact plans area analyses, and might end up drawing the whole project in Revit. But I would say I use Sketchup 75% of the time, and most of my colleagues uses it 95% (some 100%) of the time. I think Sketchup is a widely used program here in DK, but I know that I a lot of new students uses Rhino. But I'm trying to get a hang of Blender - but it's really a steep learning curve.
@@oybrj thanks for answering! Good to know that this program is not a toy but a tool for real architects. But when it comes to calculating tensions and loads, I know that Archicad comes in handy. It's designed around architecture with all construction peculiarities and necessary tools (works without millions of plugins). Haven't heard of Revit, never used Rhino. I meant not sketches or looks, but real blueprints of multi-floor buildings that'll be used for construction. Good luck learning Blender! it's a great program for creating anything you can imagine, including interior design and building visualization (it's the least convenient tool for architecture, though).
michaos1 you are probably right. But here in DK the professions are sharp separated, architects concentrates on the architecture, and engineers does the constructions. So as an architect you come a long way using just sketchup - (e.g. in combination with enscape or vray) but that’s an other discussion :-) but the missing development of Sketchup - for many years - is so disappointing.
Actually, as an amateur game developer, I highly prefer the fast learning curve, ease of use and modularity of SketchUp. It's really good for level-design and props modeling. For more organic stuff however I tend to switch over to Sculptris or things like that.
Cant argue with that, but if you can figure out blender you will stop using other as you can commercially release assets and props made in blender. So a little hardwork which can gaurantee income is good i guess
I definitely think blender is a lot better, but I don't think you stressed enough how difficult it is to learn
Now all I need is an interface that will jack all of this training & experience straight into my brain, Matrix-style.
Please stand by, Elon musks neuralink will make many things possible.
This is kinda stupid. Two different softwares for different needs... It's like making a video on why you should switch from Catia to Maya
Sorry you feel this way. There are a lot of SketchUp users who want a more powerful modeling workflow and pipeline, and this is for them. Probably NOT for you.
Its not stupid. Sketchup is paid and its weak in a lot of things that is supossed to do
Not stupid at all - blender for architecture to furniture modeling is far superior than sketchup, people only think sketchup is good because it is easy to learn - but the moment you want to make more advanced work the downside becomes evident fast that sketchup is a poor application.
The power of competition and multi faceted programs is what moves us forward. I'm not a 3D modeler... I just started with Sketchup to make my house in 3D to import in another piece of software (xLights sequencer). I found it fun and challenging to work with and SKP got the job done for the house I wanted. I have heard of Blender, but after watching this video I have an understanding of the differences and a reason to try to make non-architectural models with it. Chipp's video has valid points. He doesn't bash SKP, he points out positives and flaws of both programs, who they are targeted for, what their support is in the community, and a good peek into B3D's capabilities all within 12 minutes.
Stupid?
When you call somebody or something stupid, think again to see if it is you that is really stupid. ALL in this world are different, your logic leads to the conclusion "Never compare any things or you are stupid." Stupid.
I've been working with SUp for the past 6 years now. One of the reasons its because it's very intuitive, but that's not the main. The main one is due to file sharing (import and export in various file formats). Once Trimble took over that is something that has been gradually getting lost, but still most of the clients want the files in skp or 3ds or RVT...I've thought about changing to Blender for sometime now, the main reason that i didn't is that one. I'm sure that if Blender could solve the compatibility issue, then Blender would be the top modeling/rendering software all around...
Sketchup Make 2017 is still available, is free, offline and it supports most of the plugins.
i use this but does not make sense to spend time on it for then find two weeks later that is a garbaje and look fir a better one like blender
i'v been a blender user for over 2 years i'm glad i made the right choice
I use both programs. Sketchup for technical drawings, blender for artistic view of stuff. You can import and export 3d models both way from sketchup to blender etc..
While true, I cannot figure out how to get Blender UVs (or anyone else's) transferred into SketchUp. So, it appears to me the best direction is to go from SketchUp to Blender and not back the other way...
i switched couple years ago and did not regret. so much more powerful is blender
A very good comparison between the two. Thank you for posting this.
Im now looking to switching from sketchup to blender...still learning as i want to learn bout animation as well
Thanks you convinced me, I'm going to try it out for sure. Seems hard, but just need to learn it.
I'm a sketchup user , I use it for arquitectural means , my son mentioned blender to me , he even downloaded it to my computer , but the interface was very different to what I was accustomed to
Yes, for longtime SketchUp users, it is a big paradigm shift. For most other surface modelers, like Maya, 3DMax, Modo, Lightwave and others, it's fairly normal. You do have to rethink how you model, and that can be hard for many.