PARAMETRIC MODELING IN SKETCHUP with Viz Pro – Extension of the Week #50!
In this video, we check out the first real parametric modeling extension for SketchUp – Viz Pro! This extension does Grasshopper style parametric modeling, allowing for amazing new complex shapes in SketchUp!
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Viz is a parametric modeling extension – it basically generates the geometry based on a series of parameters.
This ability allows you to generate a lot of exciting new and complex shapes.
Here’s an example – in its simplest form, Viz generates a cylinder by creating a circle, filling the circle in, extruding the circle into a shape, then exporting the shape back into SketchUp. While this is very similar to the act of modeling in SketchUp, if you apply a slider to the circle radius at the beginning, you can adjust the size of the cylinder without having to adjust the rest of your model.
The power of this kind of modeling is being able to A – create shapes that you wouldn’t normally be able to create with regular modeling techniques, and B – being able to set them up so that you can quickly and easily adjust them.
If any of you are familiar with the Rhino extension Grasshopper, this is a very similar extension.
In addition to being able to generate shapes within Viz, you can also import models from your SketchUp models and apply changes to those.
Once you’ve created geometry, you can live export it back to SketchUp.
Viz comes both with an online manual and a series of example models to get you started. However, I will say that this is a completely different format for creating models, so the learning curve is fairly high.
It has the ability to both import models from and export models back to SketchUp.
I’m struggling a bit to get the hang of it – it would be nice to get a step by step on the creation of some more complex shapes.
That said, I’m excited about this because it represents a substantial addition to the way you can create models in SketchUp.
I’d recommend you download the free trial, play around with some of the sample models, and see what you can make!
Disclaimers: all opinions are my own, sponsors are acknowledged. Product Links in the description are typically affiliate links that let you help support the channel at no extra cost.
About Justin Geis
Hi, I'm Justin Geis, and I'm the founder of The SketchUp Essentials. I started using SketchUp as part of my work as a general contractor in 2008. I quickly realized the power of the software and started using it for personal projects. I started The SketchUp Essentials as a place to share easy to follow SketchUp tutorials and tips to help everyone harness the power of 3D Modeling in their lives. When not working with SketchUp, I enjoy playing soccer and spending time with my wife and our two dogs.
