In this video I am having a bit of fun with the new SketchUp Diffusion tool…
Give this a try: Add only a single cube to your modeling space and then try to create an interesting visualization from that using only the prompts and the styles in SketchUp Diffusion. This is actually a great way to explore prompt engineering. It is interesting how the AI is able to capture the general orientation of the scene from just the cube and the horizon line behind it.
You can find my original forum post about this on the SketchUp forums here. And admittedly I based this on a competition that the Blender community has been doing for a while. Check those out, too.
For more on what you can do with SketchUp and Diffusion, take a look at my initial post about this topic.
Video
https://youtu.be/dQmV58Jlq4c
Examples
Here are some of my own examples:
Prompt: "A treasure in a luxurious space."
Prompt: “A floating, death star spacecraft over a...
In this video tutorial I illustrate a useful technique for cases where you need to combine several texture images into one material in SketchUp. I am using the example of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) here but you can employ this for many other applications. The beauty of using SketchUp for this (instead of Photoshop) is that you can apply textures to correctly-scaled objects (which you first create using SketchUp's modeling tools).
Sidebar: What is a CLT? It is a large 8-foot wide structural wooden plate that can span in buildings approximately 25 feet. It is made from lumber strips that are glued in parallel layers, which alternate directions by 90 degrees. Several buildings have been constructed with these, including our Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst.
How can you use this technique? Give rendering in SketchUp a try. I cover it in Chapter 5 of my book.
Tutorial Video
https://youtu.be/CEQU5DhdpZ4
Tutorial Steps
This list shows the key steps for this technique. Watch the video for further...
This post's video tutorial features a list of my standard SketchUp beginner tips and tricks. SketchUp has much more functionality (see my book to learn about the rest!) but these ten tips will get you started with SketchUp for desktop, web, or iPad and clear up some typical confusions.
TIP:New to SketchUp? Give the free web app at app.sketchup.com a try. Happy SketchUpping!
What are good "next steps" after these first steps? I would recommend working through Chapter 2 in my book, which features a great refresher exercise.
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD4NODwJDjQ
My Top 10 SketchUp Tips
This list shows my key tips. Watch the video for further detail.
Tip 1: Toolbars and the Large Tool Set
The first thing I do in SketchUp is set up my workspace to my liking. This includes turning toolbars on and off and arranging them on your screen.
Tip 2: Understanding units in SketchUp
It is important to understand the unit system ("inch is default") and the various ways to enter precise values and...
In this (beginner!) video tutorial I give a very basic overview of the process needed to create a SketchUp extension from scratch and then distributing it as an RBZ file. Admittedly, this isn't completely from scratch since I am starting with a template file that you can simply download from this site, but the result is a very basic yet fully-functional SketchUp extension.
Want to learn more about Ruby scripting? This video does not cover much of Ruby scripting, but you can read up on that topic in Chapter 7 of my book.
Tutorial Video
https://youtu.be/fDV92tkzTh0
Links
Extension template files - You can download those from my website here.
SketchUp Ruby API - SketchUp's official API reference.
...
In this video tutorial I give a first glance overview of the new SketchUp Diffusion tool. Throughout, I am combining a basic how-to tutorial for SketchUp Diffusion with my various thoughts on the tool (given several different use case scenarios) and the general usability of AI for visualization and ideation.
While it is indeed still early days for this technology, it is already quite impressive what it can do. Good looking first renderings can be done quickly, even from minimal geometry. However, there are some caveats and I am very curious how the next iterations of this and similar tools will impact the AEC industry.
Tutorial Video
https://youtu.be/CIzSw98WBaw
Examples
You can see some of my example images below. Original model views (as submitted) are on the left and the SketchUp Diffusion AI results are on the right. The respective prompt is in the image caption.
Prompt: "A rendering of campus buildings at sunset"
Prompt: "An exterior entrance to a campus dining hall"
Prompt: "A bench sculpture in a...
