Google SketchUp (free)

[tinyvillager]

Source:http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=368

What's the difference between Google SketchUp (Free) and SketchUp Pro 5?
Pro users are able to print and export raster images at higher-than-screen resolution.
Pro users have access to the following 3D export formats: DWG, DXF, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, VRML and FBX.
Pro users are able to export animations and walkthroughs as MOV (Mac) or AVI (Windows) files.
Pro users get the Sandbox Tools (for organic modeling of terrain, etc) and the Film & Stage Tools (for pre-viz work).

Pro users have access to the Pro Users' Forum
Pro users have access to free email tech support for two years after they buy SketchUp Pro.
Finally, only SketchUp Pro is approved for commercial use; the Free version is licensed for personal use only.

On a side note,if you can find out where you download the damn thing,let us know.

Here ya go
http://sketchup.google.com/

20 mb download 
http://dl.google.com...ogleSketchUpW-EN.exe

[Carol Haynes]

Hey this looks really neat ...

[Ampa]

SketchUp is a SUPERB piece of software.

I strongly reccomend anyone with even a passing interest in 3D / Modelling / Graphic design to give it a go.

Ampa

[Carol Haynes]

Really impressed now I have had a little time to play. This is the first bit of 3-D software that I have tried that has you drawing  in a matter of seconds. The built in tutorials and the online tutorials are great too and pitched well for people new to the software. Just a shame the Pro version is so expensive.

They do an academic/student pricing but it is only available as an annual subscription basis and when you cease to be a student you can apply those payments 100% as a discount off the full price.

I really think they need a halfway house - Free / Non-commercial Pro / Commercial Pro.

[brotherS]

http://sketchup.google.com/products.html allows you to just roll over a few features to see them in action! Wow!!

[masu]

really impressive
thanks for the hint 

[Carol Haynes]

Just looking at their pricing again - in Europe they charge 315 Euros on the buy now page (where you select the language version you require) but when you go to check out (not that I am going to) they convert to your national currency and guess what in the UK it changes to £315 - that's a hike of 50% and on top of that you have to pay 17.5% VAT !!!

Strikes me it is like most of these 3D rendering packages (cf. Maya that was recently mentioned) if you want to play with a piece of limited software for free it is fine but if you want to use it for anything practical at all then they are just ridiculously expensive.

I really can't work out this sort of pricing strategy - if they charge $40 they would sell 10 times (probably a lot more) of the product and make just as much money and everyone would feel they got a good deal - as it is it just leaves a sour taste.

The irony is if you know a teacher and can persuade them to fill in the form you can get the Pro version for free - you just need to get your friendly teacher to renew the licence at the end of June every year!