SU Podium Training Books
There are four SU Podium books available on this page, including the free SU Podium user guide by Nick Harvey, and three additional titles from Jim Kenney available from the Cadalog store:
- SU Podium V2 Reference Guide by Nicolas Harvey
- Essentials: Rendering with V2Plus - Jim Kenney
- The Essentials: Rendering with Podium V2 by Jim Kenney
- Podium Quick start V2 by Jim Kenney
SU Podium V2 Plus User Guide by Nicolas Harvey
SU Podium V2 Reference Guide by Nicolas Harvey. Nicolas Harvey has been providing technical support for SU Podium V2 at Cadalog, Inc. for over a year. He is also an architectural student at Laval University in Quebec and a SketchUp Pro/ SU Podium trainer. This reference guide is based on his experience as an expert Podium user, trainer and many hours in Podium support.
The reference guide is 48 pages that starts with a quick look at all the basic features of SU Podium V2. Then it moves on to extremely useful tips on how to use natural and artificial lighting and material properties to create high quality, photo-realistic images. It also includes tutorials on how to effectively use post processing (Photoshop and any image editor) to enhance Podium created images. There is also a chapter on Problems and Solutions and some sample Podium property settings.
Excerpt: Generally, the brightness/ contrast feature of image editors will not give good results, as it will whiten or darken an entire image. Instead, we want to amplify the light produced in the Podium created image. The ?Levels? tool (CTRL+L in Photoshop) in Photoshop is very useful for properly adjusting the lighting in your image. (Other PP software like Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro have similar level features.) You can move the right button to the left to increase lighting, or drag the left button to the right to add depth to your image...
Download the user guide here:
English: SU Podium V2+ User Guide (En) || French: SU Podium V2+ User Guide (Fr)
Essentials: Rendering With SU Podium V2 Plus by Jim Kenney
Jim Kenney's new book, Essentials: Rendering With SU Podium V2 PLUS, is available in the Cadalog Web Store
Essentials includes 187 pages of beautifully illustrated tutorials, walk-throughs, tips, and best practices for setting up lighting, materials, and render settings in SU Podium V2 Plus. Read a short introduction from the publisher:
Essentials: Rendering with Podium V2 PLUS, an independent book written by Jim Kenney, is a must read. Jim is an Architect and Professor with CSU Sacramento and has written this book for students and practicing professionals. If you are new to Podium or you are planning to upgrade to Podium V2 PLUS, this soon to be released book will help you as it covers Podium and its newest features from A-Z. The book is well illustrated with clear directions on everything from setting up your SketchUp model properly, to very detailed lighting and material property settings for both exterior and interior scenes.
The rendering shown above is from Chapter 4.1 Rendering Demonstration, and is presented in multiple day / night scenarios with ample illustrations and detailed procedures.
Quick Start Exercises are now included, formerly a separate manual. The book is now available in PDF format at the Cadalog Web Store. A full-color print version will soon be available at lulu.com/spotlight/jimkenney
This is Jim's third book on SU Podium, and promises to be useful for both beginner and advanced users, acting as a comprehensive introduction, and an in-depth breakdown of the exciting new features offered in SU Podium V2 Plus.
If you want to purchase the printed version of this book, please go to LuLu.com and search for this title.
The Essentials: Rendering with SU Podium V2 by Jim Kenney
Jim Kenney, professor and practising architect, has written an independent book on SU Podium V2 called The Essentials: Rendering with Podium V2. It is now available on www.lulu.com. Type in Podium V2 in Lulu's search field to find it. The book was original written as a manual for Jim's design classes at California State University, Sacramento. Now it has been edited to become a user's guide on getting the most out of SU Podium V2. This 137 page book goes from the basics to advanced topics with many sample tutorials.
Essentials: Rendering With Podium V2 is about SketchUp and Podium: two important pieces of today?s design technology that is having a profound impact on the next generation of architects and designers, as well as today?s practicing professionals. Three-dimensional modeling and photo-realistic rendering is now within everyone?s reach. Modeling with SketchUp is fun and Podium is an easy to use plug-in renderer for SketchUp that gets BIG results. When combined, the two pieces of software can empower students and practicing professionals to challenge themselves and their ideas about design. Using SketchUp and Podium is helping shape the way architectural presentation is taught and how students and practicing professionals visualize and communicate their design solutions. This manual is available in full color print and as an eBook in PDF for Adobe Digital Editions Format.
Cost is $44.95 for the beautiful printed, perfect bound full color version and $14.95 for the PDF e-book version. Purchase from Lulu.com.
Podium Quick Start V2 - Ready...Set..Render!
Podium Quick Start V2 is a three-part, self-paced introduction to Podium, easily completed in six hours or less. Part One is an overview to Podium: it?s tools, functionality and interface are introduced. Part Two covers the main components and functionality of Podium: Rendering Presets, Material Properties and Lighting. Part Three is when it gets fun: there is a series of 13 simple, easy-to-follow rendering exercises involving both exterior and interior scenes. Each exercise typically takes less than five minutes to set up and each exercise will be rendered in five minutes (or less). The process is user friendly and the directions brief and pointed. We believe anyone who has basic SketchUp skills can follow this information and achieve the same results, and, you'll have some fun along the way too!
Student's sample image from Podium Quick Start V2
Cost is $24.95 for the perfect bound full color version and $9.95 for the PDF e-book version. Purchase from Lulu.com.
