Just saw your comment and let me thank you for the compliment!
I started playing with Wings 3D to have subdivisions, and despite the fact that it has a totally different UI from SketchUp, but is still intuitive to work. Later on, when the Wings 3D slowed down in progress I shifted to Blender and comparing to the most recent version the UI was not easy to understand. The recent versions of the Blender have lots to play with and have a neat UI.
The concept of Blender to solve the modeling and texturing is different from Sketchup. It includes lots of tools and to simplify it, has dedicated different "workspaces" to each.
Capture.JPG
In each workspace, certain "modes" are available by default. Also, its modeling approach is maybe similar to 3DS Max: One may edit the basic "mesh" or model directly or uses the "modifiers", stacked on top of the basic mesh. After getting used to these basic concepts, one needs to know how to edit the models.
In "Object mode": You can add/delete/transform basic meshes, lights etc.
In "Edit mode": You can edit objects,
In "Sculpt mode": You can sculpt, or let me say add more details to the object.
...
In brief, my process is fairly simple:
I start from a box or other basic meshes, (so the mapping and UV issues are already solved) then I start editing it in "Edit mode" and add extra details such as wrinkles, in sculpt mode. some times subdivide the model using "modifier" and export the final mesh in the "collada" format to import in Sketchup.
