SketchUp Alternative

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,316
Location
Bristol
I don't care what they say, I just don't seem to get on with SketchUp! I've just spent 20 minutes trying to create an oblong and everything seems so un-intuitive; even not being able to zoom out using scroll/ctrl+minus etc, change dimensions on an existing object etc.

Can anyone recommend any alternatives?
 
Sketch up is by far the most intuitive cad program to use. Maybe just watch a few videos on the basics you need it for. What are you using it for?
 
Russinating said:
To draw an office layout.
Click to expand...

I’ve used a few different CAD programs now and primarily use solidworks, which is relatively straight forward for myself but I know some people can struggle. Autocad is another one, not sure if they have a free version or FreeCAD.

Blender is one of the better for your use but it is probably one of the least intuitive programs to use.

Sketch up is by fair the easiest to get to grips with IMO and is pretty much designed for what you want to use it for. Just follow a few YouTube videos to get to grips with the basics as learning the basics in any other can take a lot of time.
 
I know you want an alternative but SketchUp is the easiest. Once you figured out making shapes and measurements you can just download premade sprites people have made which is invaluable. Every piece IKEA stock for example.

The SketchUp website has 3 ten minute videos that get you started.

I suck at CAD. Really suck. And I'd drawn my office in an hour.
 
Try Fusion360, entry level professional CAD that's free to hobbyists, still has a learning curve but it has every feature you're likely to need.
 
Russinating said:
I don't care what they say, I just don't seem to get on with SketchUp! I've just spent 20 minutes trying to create an oblong and everything seems so un-intuitive; even not being able to zoom out using scroll/ctrl+minus etc, change dimensions on an existing object etc.

Can anyone recommend any alternatives?
Click to expand...

You must have something set up wrong if you can't zoom by scrolling.

Controls should be:
- wheel mouse to zoom in and out
- wheel mouse button to select what you are rotating the camera round and then move the mouse to rotate around it

Sketchup is by far the most intuitive software I have used for CAD or similar.
 
ratface said:
A couple simple tools I've used for quick SWMBO demo's, both aimed at the home but no reason why you couldn't use for the office

planner.roomsketcher.com
www.homestyler.com
Click to expand...

I've used both of these and they're great and much better than Sketchup for room layouts in my opinion. Being able to output a raytraced render is great.

I do really like Sketchup but I find it a pain to work with for some things. It's my go to tool for a quick drawing of something I want to design/build though.
 
You know what, I'm getting to grips with SketchUp now, the main issue before was trying to use it on my laptop. Scroll to zoom didn't work, and general usability was poor (not performance related, just missing functionality). On my desktop at work, it's much, much better!
 
Russinating said:
You know what, I'm getting to grips with SketchUp now, the main issue before was trying to use it on my laptop. Scroll to zoom didn't work, and general usability was poor (not performance related, just missing functionality). On my desktop at work, it's much, much better!
Click to expand...
yeah, it really does need a mouse for navigating around it, when you are building stuff, use "make component" a lot, that way things don't move with random bits of the model (so have a component which is your floor, one that is your external wall, one for partitions etc) saves a lot of time if you have to change the proposals!
 
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