Alex Schreyer

New Version Alert: AI Explorer SketchUp Extension v.3.0 I just released version 3.0 of my AI Explorer (Experimental) SketchUp extension. The main change in this version is that I broke out the API endpoint URL as an editable field in the settings. Since several AI services now offer OpenAI-compatible API endpoints, this opens up the extension to other services like Google's Gemini. All a user has to do is sign up with the different service, get an API key, and then enter the API key, an applicable model name, and the correct URL of the service's API endpoint in this extension's settings.

New Version Alert: AI Explorer SketchUp Extension v.3.0

I just released version 3.0 of my AI Explorer (Experimental) SketchUp extension. The main change in this version is that I broke out the API endpoint URL as an editable field in the settings. Since several AI services now offer…

Want to Keep Some SketchUp Pre-2025 Materials Around? Now that SketchUp 2025 has been released, SketchUp's materials have experienced a significant upgrade. All materials that ship with SketchUp are now PBR (physically-based rendering) materials that look much better than the older materials, which at the time were designed with efficiency in mind. However, that efficiency often came with graininess, unpleasant repeating patterns, and some other artifacts. The new materials are in many cases of render-quality while still being quite efficient.

New post: "Want to Keep Your SketchUp Pre-2025 Materials Around?"

#sketchup #archviz #rendering

PBR Materials Cheat Sheet (for SketchUp 2025) This image of a wood-veneer tray with a decorative brushed metal ball was exported right from SketchUp - no rendering software needed SketchUp 2025 introduced a new graphics system for materials: PBR (physically-based rendering) photoreal materials. As you can see in the image above, you can now have shiny, glossy, dimpled, and otherwise textured materials right in SketchUp's model area.

New post: "PBR Materials Cheat Sheet (for SketchUp 2025)"

#pbr #archviz #rendering #materials #SketchUp

Realistic Material Reflections for Interiors with SketchUp 2025 (it’s possible with a TRICK!) Interior reflections like these (on the floor) can easily be done right inside SketchUp with this little trick SketchUp 2025 introduced some very nice visualization capabilities: PBR (physically-based rendering) materials and environments. While those are great (especially for exteriors), indoor material reflections are a bit trickier since objects cannot be reflected even with the new PBR materials. In this tutorial I show you how you can create some good-looking reflections (in e.g.

New tutorial: "Realistic Material Reflections for Interiors with SketchUp 2025 (it's possible with a TRICK!)"

#SketchUp #archviz #visualization #rendering #3dmodeling

SketchUp 2025 is Here! To properly introduce ThomThom - this version's scale figure - I decided to go with a Nordic look for this post's title image As of this week (February 25, actually), the latest iteration of SketchUp - version 2025.0 - is now available. Desktop users can click on the Help > Check for Update menu item and download it (or get it…

New post: "SketchUp 2025 is Here!"

#SketchUp #PBR #visualization #archviz #rendering #2025 #TrimbleConnect #Trimble #NewVersion

Dark Mode is Here! And so is Bluesky. Well... at least on this web site it is. A few days ago, I went through the visual styles of this sketchupfordesign.com website and edited them so that dark mode is now available. You can see an example of this in the image below. One of my articles, now much easier on the eyes. As is good practice, I implemented this in a way that lets you - as the site reader - choose what you want to see.

New post: "Dark Mode is Here! And so is Bluesky."

#SketchUp #Bluesky #extension

Year in Review: My Favorite 2024 Photos The images on this page are some of my favorite images from this year. They don’t include everything I have seen and done this year, but each one tells a little story. I hope you like them. If you want to see more, check out my albums on Flickr. I also have a selection of my photographs under the…

New post: "Year in Review: My Favorite 2024 Photos"

#2024 #2024inreview #photography #HappyNewYear

Joyful Holidays and a Happy New Year 2025! To my readers, viewers, friends and colleagues: I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday season, Merry Christmas (to those that celebrate it), and a healthy, happy, and successful New Year 2025! "An image of a wintry, busy German Christmas market in a small alpine town, centered on a brightly-decorated Christmas tree. Snowy and airy yet cozy atmosphere with many warm, glowing lights."

Joyful Holidays and a Happy New Year 2025!

SketchUp 3D Basecamp (and Trimble Dimensions) 2024 Recap Discover the highlights from SketchUp’s latest 2024 3D Basecamp conference - co-located with Trimble Dimensions - which featured new tools, exciting visualization features, and a vibrant venue in Las Vegas.

New Post: "SketchUp 3D Basecamp (and Trimble Dimensions) 2024 Recap"
#SketchUp #Trimble #3D #architecture #design #archviz

Point Cloud Modeling in SketchUp with Scan Essentials – a Thorough Introduction Although I had some introductory videos about point cloud modeling with Scan Essentials in SketchUp in this playlist, those didn't go into sufficient detail on a bunch of the features. Based on my presentation "From Points to Polygons" at the recent 2024 3D Basecamp, I decided to rectify that shortcoming and produce a set of videos that introduce Trimble's Scan Essentials extension and present various workflows that can be used with this tool.

Point Cloud Modeling in SketchUp with Scan Essentials – a Thorough Introduction

Although I had some introductory videos about point cloud modeling with Scan Essentials in SketchUp in this playlist, those didn't go into sufficient detail on a bunch of the features. Based on my presentation "From…

Hello (blue) world!!!