The SketchUp Hub is excited to announce its first ever 5 DAY CHALLENGE!  We are challenging YOU to create an awesome kitchen design using our FREE SketchUp download.  Register with the SketchUp Hub to download your SketchUp kitchen elevation, NOW!  

REGISTER FOR FREE

Once you register with the SketchUp Hub, you’ll receive a welcome email, which will include a download link of your new SketchUp file.  If you’re already registered, you should have received the download link in our newsletter!

HERE’S A PIC OF YOUR READY-MADE, SKETCHUP KITCHEN ELEVATION!

AND HERE’S OUR DESIGN FOR THIS KITCHEN.  ISN’T IT AMAZING HOW YOU CAN COMPLETELY TRANSFORM A SIMPLE TECHNICAL DRAWING INTO AN ENGAGING, WHIMSICAL AND HIGHLY CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION?!

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

In 5 Days we want you to do the necessary research on kitchen design, including colour palettes, worktop choices, handle designs, fabric choices for the blind and decorative accessories.  You can change the design of the handles and taps but you CANNOT change anything else!  Use the 3D Warehouse to search for cool decorative accessories to place on the wall shelves or worktop.

SHARE YOUR PROGRESS AND ANY COOL FINDS OR INSPIRATION IN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP!  TRY TO DO THIS EVERYDAY.

***YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR FINAL KITCHEN ELEVATION IN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP BY 8PM GMT ON FRIDAY, 12th JANUARY 2018***

THE KITCHEN ELEVATION WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE MOST SKILL IRO INTERIOR DESIGN SKILL & ILLUSTRATION TECHNIQUES WILL BE SHOWCASED IN THE HUB’S GALLERY.

Need some direction?  Check out our planner to keep you on track.

SOME TOP TIPS WHEN CREATING AND PRESENTING A KITCHEN ELEVATION

• Combine 2D and 3D components to save time, to add detail and to enhance the overall appearance of your elevation;
• If your elevation includes a window, dress it up with a window treatment and include a background image to add a professional and cohesive presentation;
• Include plants and decorative accessories to increase visual interest;
• Add a creative touch to your elevation by transforming it into a watercolour illustration using either Photoshop, GIMP or Fotosketcher;

Learn how to create a SketchUp elevation here, and read more about how to render a SketchUp drawing so that it looks like a watercolour illustration here.

CHECK OUT THE FINAL SUBMISSIONS BELOW!  

Our favourite kitchen design, from the entries above was Rhonda’s beautiful dark grey and walnut design, with the feature wallpaper and blush pink mixer.  Admittedly, we gave Rhonda’s final illustration a helping hand, by applying the watercolour effect and background image for her, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that she put together a visually stimulating, rich and cohesive design scheme.  Well done Rhonda!

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT  

 We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t provide constructive feedback in addition to praising and encouraging you for your efforts and awesome work.  So here’s a list of things we noted that could have been improved

1. Keep an eye on the size of the image that you are exporting from SketchUp, it should be around 2300 pixels on the horizontal.
2. Be careful when using Blur – you don’t want to affect comfortable viewing of your final illustration.
3. Include sketchy edges in your illustration, and not the default edges as this helps to achieve that ‘hand drawn’ look.
4. Include a background image to enhance the overall visual aesthetics of your illustration.
5. Illuminate the background image in your illustration, this will add vibrancy to your image and stop the background image from looking flat.
6. Make sure you crop your final illustration to remove unnecessary white space.
7. Use good quality textures and avoid obvious tiling.

Interested in learning how to transform your floor plans and elevations into watercolour illustrations?

LEARN MORE