Use landscaping to reduce energy consumption in the home...

This is a great little video narrated by Aidan Chopra with animation done by Daniel Tal using SketchUp and Shaderlight for the ASLA's  online exhibition 'Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscape'. Planting trees in the right place can considerably improve the energy used by a typical suburban home, in both the summer and winter. Watch the vid...

Energy Efficient Home Landscapes from ASLA on Vimeo.

8th Annual Architectural 3D Awards

CGarchitect.com is again hosting the 8th annual Architectural 3D Awards. There are some serious prizes to the value of $54,000. There are three categories:

• Still Imagery
• Animation/Film
• Real-Time

Closing date 20th May 2011....

Latest Tutorial - 'The Making of Down the Lane' by John Higgins

John Higgins shows us how he puts together an image he had in his head of an old street scene ( in Yorkshire) to complement a project he had been working on. John says that its not his usual method of modeling, but just another take on how versatile Google SketchUp can be. He also uses Photoshop and V-Ray for SketchUp in this fascinating little project. Check it out!

New Professional Render System for SketchUp

The people behind IDX Renditioner have released a new competitive priced renderer called Renditioner Pro. They state  'Quality SketchUp photorealistic rendering: simple for novices and powerful for professionals. Some of its features include:

• Easy User Interface with Tutorials Included
• Sub-Image Rendering
• High Performance Cameras and Lighting using HDR
• Extensive Libraries of Content
• Flexible Image Control and Rendering

Check out what they have to say by clicking on the image below....

Daytime Rendering – SketchUp to Photoshop by Alex Hogrefe

Another superb quick and easy tutorial by Alex. This tutorial will create a daytime rendering by exporting images from Google SketchUp to Photoshop. This means no external rendering programs are needed. This rendering is not meant to be realistic, but instead, provide an option for quick artistic renderings without the ‘SketchUp’ look. Quick and simple!

Advanced Camera Tools for SketchUp 8

Its been revived!! Check it out...on the official Google SketchUp Blog!

Latest book review on Google SketchUp Workshop - modeling, visualizing and illustrating

Google SketchUp Workshop – modeling, visualizing and illustrating  is Laurent Brixius’s latest release into the publishing world, and the much anticipated English translation of his first book ‘Créer avec SketchUp – 16 projets, de l’architecture au théâtre’. My French is somewhat limited, and to be honest pretty abysmal (not one of my favorite subjects at school I’m afraid…sorry), so it was with great pleasure that I got the opportunity to read through and examine personally what this latest edition of the English version has to offer.

Stopped Curved Chamfers - by Dave Richards at Fine WoodWorking

Nice tutorial by Dave Richards on drawing the chamfers on curved end caps. Thanks Dave!
Stopped Curved Chamfers - Fine Woodworking

The Bottom Line - making money with Google SketchUp

The global economic downturn forced Rober Pineo, an Architect from Charlottesville, VA to move out of the office in search for work and there he surprisingly discovered new and alternative ways to sell SketchUp. He talks to Mateo Soletic about pre-development design and his other experiences: “The lessons I learned opened my eyes to a business opportunity most architects have not tapped: the need to tell a compelling story.“

Spotlight on Lewis Wadsworth - Google SketchUp & Experimental Architecture

Lewis Wadsworth, is a designer and artist located in Boston, Massachusetts. He works principally in the field of architecture. Lewis's architectural projects have appeared in AIArchitect, journal of the American Institute of Architects, and has been honored by the Boston Society of Architects. Being great fans of his “Experimental Architecture”, his unique presentation style and narrative, we decided to present his three chosen works in their original form. We think that the images and the accompanying text are truly inspirational.

Q&A with V-Ray for SketchUp artist and blogger Nomer Adona

This month's 'Artist of the Month' over at Chaos Software (owners of V-Ray for SketchUp) is our good friend and tutorial contributor Nomer Adona. You can get some insight into Nomer's background and his work. Check it out!