CatchUp: Will you continue to write free scripts in the future or do you also see yourself commercially releasing scripts?

Fredo: I don’t know. But I would probably not do anything commercial. I have another job, actually taking most of my time. The same way I got engaged in scripting, for pleasure, I may have to stop at some point (and maybe resume when I am retired!!). I know that there are anyway very good programmers on the forum, who I am quite admirative of and still far from reaching the same mastership in Ruby. So the ball will continue rolling.

CatchUp: Looking at the future, do you see yourself creating more innovating tools like Offset On Surface or do you think you will focus on smaller projects which complement the SketchUp tools rather than making the existing ones better?

Fredo: Probably both. Clearly, the Sketchup community is demanding evolutions that make design easier, but without changing the whole spirit of the application. I noticed they are many professional users in the forum, and I understand they need both small evolutions and sometimes more innovative tools (in most cases, existing in other modeling software). I promised to do the DrapeOnSurface, but I have in mind several other ideas, to improve the FollowMe tool (avoiding orthogonal projection), to improve BezierPatch with Cubic Bezier (to stick the surface to defined points), to make TubeAlongPath use tapering profiles and user-defined shapes, and, actually, a Bend script to bend a whole model along a curve. Anyway, the members of the forum

are so imaginative that ideas are not the real issue. It’s rather time!

CatchUp: Last question for this interview: Where do you see Sketchup going?

Fredo: It is true that I don’t really perceive the direct involvement of Google in the Sketchup Ruby community. When I see SketchyPhysics, Subdivide & Smooth, Free Form Deformation, Soap Skin & Bubble, Skin, LightUp and many other great scripts, I would have expected that the Sketchup designers at Google give feedback and also more insight on what would come next in the official version (including the API itself, whose documentation can largely be improved). I can however see the dilemma: Keep Sketchup simple to learn and to use, or make it a giant design factory as complex as Blender or 3D Max. Maybe the plugin approach is the right compromise, but then, I think Google should still put a little bit of effort in helping the community of script developers and users.

Be sure to check out our SketchUp 6.9 article where we show Fredo's Offset On Surface and Joint Push/Pull in action!

Fredo's plug-ins are distributed by Fredo in the Ruby forum in the SCF. Joint Push/Pull is located here and Offset On Surface is located here.