penk

I've been having fun playing with Sketchup, Google's 3d modelling system. At first I avoided it because there was no native Linux version, even going as far as to get it to run under Wine (a process that... well, didn't fail completely, but did result in a tool that's unuseable - invisible menus, etc).

After biting the bullet and installing it on clipper, I set about learning what it could do. The project I had in mind was to model Mosaic's building site in Berlin, MA, so folks could have a feeling for what it would be like walking

There was certainly a period of mental adjustment. After all, it's not easy trying to model a 3d object using a 2 dimensional input and display method. But after a while, the keyboard shortcuts began to come naturally, and I found myself enjoying manipulating objects in this non-existent space.

I'm probably halfway through things so far. I'm regularly updating the drawing in 3dWarehouse, Google's sharing service for Sketchup. If you have the tool, feel free to download the drawing so far...