Module One New Techniques

I have been a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that this semester will call for so when contemplating what techniques to try, I didn't really have a clue about what would most benefit 

me in the least amount of time. However, I thought I would check out Sketchup...

http://www.sketchup.com/download

Some background: One of the technologies I have experimented with is Zbrush. These are some jpgs I created from screen shots taken of  busts sculpted several years ago:

In case anyone viewing this post finds it strange that these sculpts include geometric forms, they are intentional so if you don't like them, I guess you should make your own.

After looking over the uses for Sketchup, I was pleased to find that the applications include 3-D printing, game design as well as kitchen and bath design and architecture.

In trying to gain an understanding about its uses in game design, the video about the game design studio Massive Black was really interesting: http://www.sketchup.com/case-study/massive-black

The way it converts 2-D drawings to 3-D is very exciting and the fact that the parts can actually move is also awesome.

I am thinking I want to try both the application for game design as well as the application for 3-D printing. Having worked in Rhino as well as AutoCAD, making things so that I can actually print them in 3-D would be really valuable.

I watched a few tutorials for architectural rendering on Lynda.com about drawing and creating designs in Sketchup. It seems similar to creating in Kitely. The control tools are a little different

and it is more intuitive than creating in Kitely, but the shapes are similar to what I created in Kitely.

I did a little more research and found a different software program called Geomagic Freeform 

http://software.3dsystems.com/freeformfreetrial/ which a design firm in Seattle cited as a program that they were looking for experience in so I thought I would check it out. I was actually wondering about things like wall thickness and other aspects of print ability and this video cleared up some questions I had: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9L0dLVr-l8&feature=youtu.be

I like the fact that the software checks the design for wall thickness and other areas. Creating something in 3-D is not the same as model making in reality which is very obvious but if the printed piece is actually supposed to function as opposed to be a plastic tech experiment, details like tolerances, wall thickness are really important.

I think this would be good software to learn so I will have to download the free trial and check it out.