About ten years ago, I played around with Google's SketchUp. When the trial period was up, however, I chose not to purchase the software. A couple of years later, I discovered that the software was (then) free from Google and so I downloaded a copy and have been using it ever since. Having spent much of my former life doing 3D modeling, it was a joy to use it to make things. However, the way it displayed things wasn't terribly realistic, and so I began to play around with rendering software as well--most of which, after the trial period elapses, is quite expensive. Except, that is, for Kerkythea, which is an open-source product that provides a plugin for SketchUp ... how perfect is that?
After modeling a number of items in SketchUp, I was able to arrange them into a rendering which is almost perfectly photo-realistic. While I spent quite a few hours putting it together, my out-of-pocket cost was zero (which aligns nicely with my budget). In the rendering below, there is a clock which contains all the gears and levers accurately modeled (even if you can't see all of it), a set of digital calipers and other implements of deconstruction, all lit by a halogen desk lamp on a teak desk (using my dining room table as a texture). The drawing was done by hand and scanned in as an image.
The calculator is of interest because I also had it 3D printed at half-size:
You can even make 3D renderings:
SketchUp Make 2017 is the last "free" version that is now offered by Trimble, Inc. Moving forward, you can either buy SketchUp Pro 2018 or use the "free" version on the web (search for SketchUp Free). Note that both "free" versions may not be used in any shape, form, or fashion to make money, either directly or indirectly. However, it's perfectly priced for hobbyists and easy enough to learn if you put your mind to it. Combine it with 3D printing or rendering products and you can achieve some amazing results. And it's FUN!
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