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modeling posts

Filed under: Design, Fun, Games, Macintosh, Apple

She's a Brick.....Smith - Lego Modeling for your Mac

BricksmithWho doesn't like Legos?

Bricksmith brings Lego building to your Mac. And in a big way. Sorry PC folks, Mac only.

When we say a big way, we mean this isn't just a drag and drop of lego parts, this is full modeling. You don't have to have a degree to do it, but you definitely have to have some time on your hands....but the payoff could be awesomesauce.

This sucker is like Photoshop for lego designs.

You have thousands of parts to choose from, some of which we've never seen in our lego pails.

There's a full color palette, copy/paste/undo, drag and drop modeling and more.

Best part is, you don't have to step on them in your bare feet in the middle of the night!

We used it for 5 minutes and it hurt our heads, but we bet you can come up with something great. Take a screenshot and put the link to it in the comments.

[via chris pirillo]

Filed under: Design, Microsoft

Microsoft launches 3D building maker for Virtual Earth

Virtual Earth 3DVIAMicrosoft has partnered with Dassault Systems to launch a 3D building application for Virtual Earth. In other words, the new application called Virtual Earth 3DVIA is a direct competitor to Google's 3D Warehouse for Google Earth.

The application lets you create 3D structures that can be placed on Virtual Earth maps or shared with other users. Virtual Earth 3DVIA is free to use, which makes sense, because users are essentially adding value to Microsoft's mapping services.

We highly recommend creating completely unrealistic models of your home and nearby buildings and uploading them so that Virtual Earth users will get the sense that you live in Rivendell and not Poughkeepsie. We're equal opportunity here at Download Squad, so we recommend the same activities for Google Sketchup users.

Filed under: Design, Fun, Internet, Utilities, News, Windows, Macintosh, Google, Freeware

Google Sketch-Up 6

Google SketchupI 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]

Filed under: Design, Google, Commercial

Google acquires SketchUp 3D drawing app

SketchUp
modelAnother day, another Google acquisition. Just in time for Pi Day, Google has scooped up @Last Software, makers of SketchUp, a 3D drawing app for Windows and Mac OS X. The @Last web site describes SketchUp as a "deceptively simple, amazingly powerful tool for creating, viewing, and modifying 3D ideas quickly and easily." In the announcement on the Official Google Blog, @Last's Jeff Martin describes how SketchUp can be used to create 3D models that can be imported into Google Earth, which I suspect has more than a little do to with this acquisition. For more insight, read the official announcement and FAQ at the SketchUp web site. SketchUp has a price tag of $495, but will Google start giving it away for free as it has so many of its other acquisitions?

[Via the Unofficial Google Weblog]

Filed under: Design, Fun, Photo, Windows, Macintosh, Freeware

Terragen: free Bryce knock-off lets you make your own world

terragenWhile I was blogging about making your own ILM yesterday one of my students tipped me off to Terragen (thanks Aaron). The more I saw of it the more it reminded me of Bryce. Terragen, like Bryce, is a special-purpose 3d app for creating amazingly realistic landscapes. It's terribly easy to use, even for 3d newbies. If you've ever banged your head on Maya, give it a try. Very refreshing. Not only that, it is free for now. No guarantees about the future, but I haven't seen any real problems with it so far. Terragen is chock full of features, some of which I don't see in Bryce (like a scripting engine). And you can't argue with the results... Oh, and it's available for OS X and Windows.

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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