sketchUcation

One of SketchUp's favourite rendering solutions is now officially available for OSX! Having looked enviously over the shoulders of PC users for the last few years Mac users can now enjoy the power of unbiased rendering directly within SketchUp.

Based off the Kerkythea engine, Twilight is a photo-realistic rendering plugin that puts the power directly into your SketchUp scenes.

Free high quality HDR panorama environment maps, from HDRI-Hub.com, that are licensed as Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported are hard to ignore.

These are incredibly detailed and a must for anyone who is serious about photorealistic rendering. Creative Commons license means you a free to use these for your commercial work.

Ultra-low cost 3D Scanning is now possible using Skanect by ManCTL. Skanect is developed by the ManCTL company, a french-american entity founded in late 2011 and its aim is to take either a Microsoft Kinect or Asus Xtion camera and turn into a 3D scanning device.

So far the results are really impressive and so is the price! Read on to get the full lowdown and some examples of what the Skanect can do.

Adobe's trending towards integrating more 3D features continues in their latest update to Photoshop CS 6.

In the latest CS6.1 update there are tons of new options that further improve the 3D pipeline. From clever soft shadows, normal map generation and a new image based light system this latest release is showing Adobe's intent in the 3D industry.

SimFonIA just released an update to their innovative animation plugin for SketchUp which allows users to perform a myriad of animations options in SketchUp.

Whether you are an engineer, designer or architect the SAT plugin offers a robust and unique approach to animation in SketchUp.

There is also a surprise in store for Mac users who have missed out on the party so far.....

BuildEdge Plan has recently announced that they are opening a public beta version of their latest SketchUp plugin. BuildEdge PLAN allows users to model three dimensional buildings that are parametrically connected right inside of SketchUp. One can define wall width and height, then draw walls just as easy as drawing SketchUp lines. Every wall is parametrically connected to its neighbor, if one wall moves, the others follow. Users can also define a simple roof outline and let BuildEdge PLAN generate the correct 3D roof geometry.

SU Podium developers Cadalog Inc have been working on v3 for the past few months and lately gave us a sneak peek at what is in store in 2013. Current SU Podium V2 users will be able to try out the beta version in the coming month to get a feel for all the new features that are integrated into SU Podium.

 Podium is known for making rendering easier in SketchUp and this latest version will allow users to perform a host of post processing edits directly within Podium. To find out more about what new features are in SU Podium v3 click the read more below.

Xfrog Inc has over 130 models from the XfrogPlants Volume Bundle available for free. Xfrog trees and plants are renowned for the exceptional quality and high polygon count which can breathe extra realism into your ArchViz scenes.

Read on to get the full scoop.

Those who took part in the last 3D BaseCamp in Boulder, CO, had the opportunity to get a sneak peak into the new development of Thea for SketchUp. Plugin developer Tomasz Marek created a version of the plugin that allows SketchUp users to set up and test (eventually fully render) their models without having to leave SketchUp at all. Considering that GPU based rendering is also coming soon, these new features make Thea an outstanging application that is a must for every 3D artist.

Podium Browser Paid content keeps growing now with close to 4,000 SketchUp components ranging from furniture, furnishings, materials, advanced light fixtures, backgrounds, cars, bathroom, living room and kitchen components. All items are ready to render using SU Podium V2.

Cadalog, Inc. released a Christmas category including 3D Christmas trees and dozens of ornaments.