How to make money with Sketchup and Google Earth?

[Michael Mihalyfi]

Hi, I've noticed that many people on here seem to treat sketchup as a job, im just wondering how people do this, do you freelance or employed via a company, sorry but im a computer geek so i've just always done this sort of thing for free when asked so just wondering.

Thanks.

[SnowTiger]

I think you will find the vast majority do Google Earth Geo-Modeling as a Hobby.
However, there is a good number of us that choose to do it professionally (or at least try to !!).

[Doc]

...or come at it from a background that assumes a model will be used
in a professional context. That's why the abysmally poor quality of
"work" submitted by bots or by "absentee" model makers using Building
Maker has become almost offensive to many of us.

[SnowTiger]

Agreed !

[SnowTiger]

I will say however, that my feelings are not the same about automated models that result in the same quality as Tokyo, Japan has.
The quality of those models makes for huge competition for all of us as they are very good quality models considering their automated origins.

But I still prefer to do them by hand  .. although I'd love to have to automated abilities. I'm sure that industry pays well !!

[david...@hawaii.gov]

I'm thinking that the people (bots) doing some of these models must have access to aerial photo data (photogrammetric or lidar point cloud) in order to do these.  I'd love to get my hands on some of it.  How else would they be able to capture the detail.

I ran across a model done of the Fukushima I nuclear plant yesterday that was done by a guy in the Netherlands who could have never seen the actual site.  There's no way he could have obtained the detail any other way.  This area isn't covered by Building Maker photos.  

Any ideas where they're getting the info?  Much of Japan has models of entire cities that are nothing more than mass shapes.

Dave.

Dave Hein, P.E.
Hawaii District Engineer
Kona International Airport
73-200 Kupipi Street
Kailua-Kona, HI  96740
ph   (808) 327-9520  fax (808) 329-7414
cell (808) 987-3191

SnowTiger <insp...@hometech.on.ca> 03/28/2011 02:40 AM Please respond to 3d...@googlegroups.com

To 3d...@googlegroups.com cc Doc <david...@hawaii.gov> Subject Re: How to make money with Sketchup and Google Earth?

[Jonathan Green]

While a few people and companies have had their own buildings modeled for money, I'm interested to know why no models are sponsored. I haven't yet gone back through the terms and conditions, but if it is acceptable it seems the most obvious way to make money through advertising. The best or most famous or prominently placed models would I'm sure, make useful cash for anyone good enough to produce a good model. Perhaps I'll take another look at the Google small print!