September 1, 2026  Gemini's Re-interpretation of the Old SketchUp Project

Here are a dozen images selecetd from the  July 23rd project.  Gemini has transformed these images to appear fanciful and almost surreal.  Many of them are shown in a wet and lush environment.

Link to Here

July 23, 2026  A New Life for An Old SketchUp Project

Today, I resurrected some old images from Digtal Art,  page 2 (see left side bar).  The images had originally been exported from an old SketchUp model (2015--16) and then edited with GIMP.   Along with a few short instruction Gemini did a good job adding more photorealism.

There are potentially thousands of images that can be rendered from the digital art page 2 gallery.  All you need to do is download or print screen one of the 2D graphic images (Or one that has also been edited with GIMP) and ask Gemini to create a photorealistic image from the drawing.  Give Gemini a few specific instructions that you would or would not like to see. In a few seconds you'll have your own customized copy.

There were quite a few details that I got wrong in the original SketchUp model of my hometown, but the rest is recognizable if you're an old-timer like myself.  Three decades of structures, cars, and trains (30s through 60s) tend to overlap in many scenes.  Note, I also used GIMP photo editor to fix a few spots that usually came up in the background where Gemini couldn't quite figure out what was what.

Here are fifty-six examples of Gemini's work that focuses on a small town's Main Street, Depot, and Baseball Ball Diamond as seen in the mid 1950s (or earlier) through the early 1960s:

You can download a copy of the above images and a few more interior views by clicking here:  Digital Photorealistic Album 2026, (PDF file, 13.3 MB, 62 pages).

The advantage of the PDF format is that you can zoom into specific areas for a closer look.  Many of the images retain reasonably good quality up to 400% mangnification;  however, some will pixelate and rendering errors become more evident.  I have manually edited many specific elements with the GIMP Photo Editior that Gemini had misinterpreted.

Lastly, before the above mentioned modeling project was completed in 2016, there was an earlier series of gif images created from my initial 2013 SketchUp model with GIMP image light and filter edits.  You will see a crudely drawn set of images using a more primitive style.  

A few structures from the first model, however, were good enough to be carried over for later versions that followed. Thanks to AI, rendering tools for the general public have improved since then.    Click Here.  This GIMP animation plays on a continuous loop so close the tab when finished viewing.

July 22, 2026  SketchUp Model with Gemini AI Enhancements

Below is an Hour Glass that was rendered from a SketchUp image uploaded to Gemini and is based on the following instruction:

"Please use the following design to create an hour glass which is placed on an old hardwood table in a 17th century sitting room. There is glass and sand within the wire lattice work that is currently green.  Change the green to a tarnished silver color.  The upper and lower gold-colored sections should be pollshed brass.  Both ends are made of shiny hardwood."

To see how the initial model was made, Click Here to view it with SketchUp Viewer.  See images below.

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The October 8, 2025 Post in SketchUp Projects V illustrates equally elaborate Gemini-generated images created from line art -- various views of wire frame SketchUp models accompanied by detailed prompts. Click here to view Contemporary Arizona Homes and Lifestyle.

July 15, 2026   Review Thread Design Sequence -- Five Helix Thread Design with SktetchUp and Twilight Render

Today's project is a review of the Five-helix Method for drawing a 1", 8 TPI section of thread.  The finished model was rendered in SketchUp Make with Twilight Render Extension--Hobby Version.  The model's dimensions have not been reduced to actual scale to allow greater precision while drawing.

Click the following link to view an uneditable version of the model using SketchUp Viewer:  Coarse Thread Review.

The Viewer version illlustrates all preliminary steps in the creation of the model.  The first rendering below was created with Twilight Render Extension and does not appear in SketchUp Viewer in its rendered state--it is a separate file, as are the 2-D graphics renderings that were exported from SketchUp Make as jpg file.

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