New Sketchup plugin coming soon!

[damian]

this is a hobby only for me and thus the value for the tool/plugin would need to be a one time charge of $30-50. if this tool solved a problem for me at work its value could easily be 10x that.

if i was writing a commercial plugin/app it would be a hard decision - sell 20 copies for $350 or sell 200 for $35... its probably a lot easier to charge more and sell less copies...

i do things for people for free plenty of times, but if i always did it my family and i would be begging on the streets. i work my butt off and i charge people what i think my work is worth. if im too expensive people are free to go elsewhere, do it themselves or go without.

i thought the designers response was perfectly acceptable and was disappointed with the response it received here.

[rbeach84]

Originally Posted by bagpiper

I love the idea Robert of having some recommendations. We get glimpses of what people are using but only in the odd thread or two and generally just people telling us what they are using. I would love a head to head thread and see what's good and bad about all the applications that are out there. Free and PayWare.

Cheers.

Jim

I've personally tried using GIMP & Inkscape in my search for a tool to convert old hardcopy plans into digital format for manipulation in AutoCAD, but even vector formats just aren't all that compatible across the board. Now my attention is drawn to 3D Blender and after seeing the results that are possible (including 3D animation) via the Blender forums, I think it may do the work. However, the Blender, and 3D modeling terminology in general is foriegn to me so it will be a long haul learning the ropes. The scenario I want to avoid is investing a huge amount of effort and time in a product only to find it doesn't do what I need it to do, or there is a better tool for the job that fits my situation (i.e., 'hobbyist'.)

In short, I'd prefer NOT to be flailing about like a headless chicken! Rather, I would want to be productive as soon as possible.

[rbeach84]

from PixelOZ's ebook on 3D Paper Model design basics:
New Free E-Book About Paper Model Design With Blender 3D

He covers a lot of the different softwares that are used (or could be used) to do the paper model design. All we need now is a survey of our designers re: the tools they *actually* are using...:D