In case you are in need of an opinionated architectural critique, look no further. You can now employ AI for that! With the recently introduced vision capabilities in OpenAI's services and therefore my OpenAI Explorer SketchUp extension, you can now ask questions about what is in your SketchUp model. But that's not all: For a little bit more bite in that critique, you can even give the AI response a specific personality, e.g. the snarky critic in my video below.
You can do that via the System Message option in its settings. Just add a line like the one shown in the image below and then that instruction will apply to the entire conversation between you and the AI.
As you likely know by now, you can download the OpenAI Explorer SketchUp extension and learn more about how it works here.
Got any other fun and/or useful ways to employ this new tool in SketchUp? Let me know in the comments below.
Video
https://youtu.be/Nv4jzMoY7y4
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In this tutorial I cover one specific use case for my OpenAI Explorer SketchUp extension: A coding 'copilot' (assistant) for Ruby code. This is one of several use cases for this extension and it has the potential to at least save you from a ton of web browsing.
When I write SketchUp Ruby code, I frequently need to look up code snippets. With the approach presented here, I can use AI to provide such snippets for me instead. This works well with my Ruby Code Editor extension where you can then past, edit, and run that code. But it will also work with the built-in Ruby Console.
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwhD5reOkoo
Links
OpenAI Explorer SketchUp extension
Ruby Code Editor extension
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Response to the prompt: "Is there anything wrong with this building?"
Earlier this week, OpenAI released its new gpt-4o model. This model not only improves and updates its current AI models, but it also adds vision ability. As a result, a user can upload images and then the AI can identify things in the image based on a user prompt. There are some great examples of the new capability on OpenAI's website.
Since I previously implemented the OpenAI connection with SketchUp using both plain Ruby code and a handy extension, I had to try out whether we can connect the two using these new capabilities, too. One use case for this could then be the ability to ask questions like "What may be missing in my model?" or "Is there a cat in the model?" (Not sure why you would ask the latter but it leads to a correct answer!)
As it turns out, giving SketchUp this AI capability is not too hard...
We don't always need to work in 3D. Space layout planning for interior design, event planning, facilities management, etc. is often easier and faster in 2D. As it turns out, we can do this quite effectively in SketchUp's 3D modeling environment or on LayOut's 2D sheets, without even creating a full 3D model.
Here's an example: An annotated furniture layout, based on a DWG plan
In this tutorial I show how you can easily import a plan (either an image or a CAD file), scale it, and then start laying out perfectly-sized furniture. There are different workflows in SketchUp (this works in Free or Desktop) and in LayOut (SketchUp's drawing preparation software that comes with your subscription). In this tutorial, I cover both of those workflows.
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7D8VaoVj8A
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In this tutorial video I describe various ways how you can print scaled, parallel-projection views from SketchUp for Web as well as SketchUp Pro/Desktop (where I will be using the LayOut software).
I cover all the relevant aspects and then show how you can use the PDF file format as an intermediate print file format. This video is an update to my older one on this topic. Since that video was posted, SketchUp for Web has been introduced and printing in SketchUp Pro/Desktop has changed. Hence the need for an update.
As I describe in Chapter 6 of my book, printing to scale is very useful for a variety of fabrication tasks, including paper-folding or sheet metal fabrication. You can even combine this very well with my Unwrap and Flatten Faces extension.
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPzmSw_tlg
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