In interior design, there are numerous ways to present your design to the client. It can either be free hand, 3D renders, or a combination of both. That would require knowledge in numerous programs not taught in college. (I’m not sure if its taught now, but back then we didn’t have this). One of the programs is SketchUp. It is a 3D modeling computer program that is useful for interior design. It has a free version called – SketchUp MAKE, and a paid version called – SketchUp Pro.

SketchUp is my favorite program in 3D modelling. Here are the reasons why:

1. It’s free to use. For beginners, the SketchUp MAKE will suffice. The 3D Warehouse 3d models are also free.
2. I could import my plans from Autocad (in .dwg file) to SketchUp, scale it, and then build up the walls from there. (This is for Pro version)
3. Getting models is easy. It has its own 3D Warehouse accessible from the program itself. There are also numerous websites that provides free/paid models in .3ds & .skp files.
4. Customizable. I could use any photo I want and use it as a material in SketchUp. For example, if I don’t want to use the default wood textures in SketchUp, I could import a wood texture that I got online and use that.

With SketchUp, I feel like I’m just playing a game of Sims on my laptop. Here is a sample 3D model that I did:

To make it look realistic with all the lights, shadows, etc. You need to use a Rendering plug-in for that. I use V-ray for SketchUp for this. This is not free, but there’s a trial version so you could try it out & decide if this works for you. There are other rendering plug-ins for SketchUp, but I’m used to V-ray. Here is the sample 3D render in V-ray:

Post-processing in Photoshop.

It’s been a while since I’ve last used SketchUp. The time where I used it extensively was way back in 2012, I started relearning again last December 2016. Added that I’ve bought a new laptop the same time, I finally got the chance to render in V-ray since my laptop can finally render quickly. Back then, a simple render would take 8 hours, now it would take around 1-2 hours.

To learn more about SketchUp, here are some useful links:

• SketchUp website skill builder.
• Google SketchUp 8 for Dummies by Aidan Chopbra. This is where I learned SketchUp in a week. Informative videos teaching the basics of SketchUp that can still be applied to the latest SketchUp. (Currently 2017)

To learn more about V-ray for SketchUp, here are some useful links:

• Tutorials by Sketchup Texture.
• Tutorials by Sketchup Vray Resources.
• Basic Illumination Tutorial by Ar. Maricar De Dios.

I hope I’d improve my SketchUp & Vray skills this year! So I could make tutorials and teach others as well. ♥