i use it primarily for theatre, and for all of my scene design work. I can create the ground plan, then the elevations, then plot them in scale, adhesive them to bristol, cut them out and place them and instantly make a model of my designs.

 

my school just licensed about 15 copies of the ld assistant 04 which combines with the 3d render tool to let you render the set, place lights anywhere, focus the lights, then you can pot a scale groundplan, with the light plot on ti as well, distinguishing labeled instruments even.

 

then again a full copy of AutoCAD costs around $1,000 so it might not be the best for someone working on more of a budget in a smaller venue.

 

I use Sketch-Up basic ALL THE TIME--and I'm hooked.  The basic version is FREE.  PERIOD.  (not for a limited time).  The professional version is around $400.