Wow ! that's a real nice temple you have here... and the 3D version is fabulous... It gave me the impression of looking at the basilique Sainte Sophie in Istanbul ! Very majestic !

I find that sketchup is a very good help to figure out volume and shadows, but as you say : you can drawn in it.... it's like giving life to your map, so it's tempting to make the whole map in 3D, but it takes so much time....

Nevertheless, I'm still dreaming to take the time to dive in Sketchup one of these days and make a whole illustration with it.... (castle ? village ? city ? region ?)