Google Sketch-Up 6

I don't have to tell most of you how cool Google Sketch-Up is, since you already use it. If you don't know, it's a great, free, and easy to learn 3D modeling tool. Detailed tutorials and extremely simple tools make sketch-up one of the best 3D tools, especially for amateurs. Version 6 is now available for download, so get it while it's hot. There is a quick reference card to see all the tools and what they do in one place, if you would find it helpful. Sketch-Up is a fun tool that is a great thing to play with if you haven't ever tried doing 3D modeling before, or after a long hard day of work. It is easy enough to learn in a matter of a few hours. Once you sketch something, you can add it to its real world location on Google Earth and store it in the Google 3D Warehouse, a place to catalog the world's 3D models.

Here are some of the improvements made in SketchUp 6:

• Text and Dimension tool improvements
• Speed
• Force Inference directions
• Better modifier keys
• Intersect
• Paste in Place
• Two point perspective

Also, in this release are several neat features that make 3D sketching even better. Watermarks let you put your logo on a model, or a stamp, such as "confidential" or "for-review." Styles allow you to create, use, and share custom display settings, so your models become uniquely yours. Watermarks and the new Sketchy Effects are part of Styles. Google SketchUp offers a free version of its serious 3D software that you don't need a serious degree in engineering to use.

[Via Lifehacker]