Joined: Nov 3, 2010
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SH3d or sketchup
Hi All Im a complete newbie here - in fact I only just downloaded SH3d today! I would like to ask a question if I may and hope its ok? I am a photographer who shoots real estate interiors. I have been asked by a client if I can do a before and after room in a house that needs renovation. By this they mean take a photo and measurements of a room now, and then create a picture of what it may look like after renovation eg new kitchen, wall colours, units, tiles, light etc. Is Sweet home 3d able to do this and if so does anyone know how long a learning curve it would be to produce my first picture from scratch? I also looked at Google sketchup and wondered how this compares to SH3d? If anyone has already done this I would be delighted to see the results. All opinions greatfully received!
Netherlands
Joined: Sep 26, 2009
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Re: SH3d or sketchup
Crafty360,
1 - Yes, it's OK to ask questions here, especially if you have familiarized yourself with all the information available on this website and forum, which you obviously didn't, because then you wouldn't have asked most of your questions. 2 - Yes, SH3D can make a 3D visualization (photo) of the kind your customer requires. 3 - Yes, you can very precisely follow current or new measurements of rooms. 4 - Yes, you can change or adapt colours, textures, etc, because you can define colurs on an RGB basis and you can import and apply your own textures for wood, tiles, etc. 5 - The learning curve is definitely shorter in SH3D than in Sketchup. Your first picture would take you anywhere between 5 minutes and 5 days, depending on the level of photorealism that's required.
Now, I suggest you first do the following things: - watch the video tutorial - view the examples on this page - view more examples in the gallery - view these examples and download and study their files to see how it's done - read the manual - read the plug-in manual - download and install version 2.6 - download and install the Advanced Render plug-in v1.6
Good luck!
Hans
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Hans
Joined: Nov 3, 2010
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Re: SH3d or sketchup
Thank you Hans - I did look at most of your suggestions but it wasnt clear if people had used just SH3D or another rendering program because some samples look so good!! I am starting on your suggestions right now Thanks
Joined: Jul 31, 2010
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Re: SH3d or sketchup
Hello Crafty,
To answer a different part of your question... Sketch up is not a renderer. Sketch is good at creating models to use with more full featured programs like SH3D.
SH3D is very good at making renders, and depending on what you like in details, there is a built in renderer and there is also a renderer that you can download called Advacned Rendering..
Sketch Up can be a total pain in the rear end if you are going to make a whole room. It's because Sketch is made for unreferenced 3d viewing which can cause the lines to snap to weird angles. But if you have a particular piece of furniture you want to custom make, Sketch is easier to learn than other modeling programs, and you can export your model to DAE and import them in SH3D.
I hope that helps with deciding between Sketch and SH3D.. I think it would be well worth it to learn both, but SH3D is much better at the whole room.
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last edit by whippetsleek at Nov 3, 2010, 4:16:51 PM]
Joined: Jul 31, 2010
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Re: SH3d or sketchup
I just realized also that you might not know the terms that is used with SH3D... I hope I am not telling you something you have already found out...
A render is the "photo" that SH3D takes when you click on the Take Photo option. And a renderer is the render engine that a program uses to make those "photos". SH3D has a built in renderer from Sunflow. And depending on what resolution you want your "photo" or render at, you can get very realistic results.
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Netherlands
Joined: Sep 26, 2009
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Re: SH3d or sketchup
Debarati,
In software, the word "engine" is used to refer to the core program that delivers a certain function. Think of a car: if you only have the engine, you can't drive; you also need the body, steering wheel, brakes, etc.
In software you need a user interface that makes the engine accessible. SH3D uses Sunflow as the render engine. As a user you can't see it, and you don't have direct access to it.
If you are not satisfied with the render engine that SH3D uses, you can use 3D view --> Export to OBJ format and an obj-file will be created. This allows you to use a different program, such as Blender, to make your render.
Hans
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Hans
Sketch is good at creating models to use with more full featured programs like SH3D. 
