two views

These two images of the house we live in were made recently using tools which are quite widely spaced on the imaging technology spectrum. The photograph is from my Argus AF, one of the first American-made 35mm cameras which dates from 1937.



The drawing is a screen capture from Google's SketchUp 3D rendering program. I don't know if I'll achieve the skill level needed to produce something as complex as an aircraft design, but I'm pretty happy to have gotten this far with the program.



The SketchUp program is free for downloading, and Google also maintains an on line warehouse of images produced by users with impressive talent and skills.



The program has become the tool of choice for all kinds of model design. 3D building representations are being used to construct on line cities in Google Earth. Card modeling designers build aircraft in computer space and then use another program to unfold the surfaces for assembly. The computer generated designs can also be directly translated to real-world objects using 3D printers or computer-directed milling machines such as the one illustrated in this Daishin YouTube video.