Cutting and Embossing
This exercise shows how you can use Intersect with Model to create the edges needed to make cutouts. 1. Start with an arc and use Offset to create an outer arc. Connect the arcs with lines to complete the face. Note If this option does not appear, open File Preferences to the Extensions page and check Ruby Script Examples. Note If this option does not appear, open File Preferences to the Extensions page and check Ruby Script Examples. This creates a construction point at the center of the arc....
Intersecting Moldings
This exercise may not represent a typical or practical design a funky picture frame , but it's useful to know how to handle objects that intersect. It demonstrates how to use Follow Me to easily create interesting edges, and uses Intersect with Model to trim them to one another. 1. Start with a flat box for the frame itself, then draw a vertical arc starting from the endpoint of one edge. This arc will be driven along two of the frame's edges. 2. Another section will be driven along the other...
Roofing with Follow Me
This is the easiest method you use the tools Follow Me and Intersect with Model. 1. Start with the initial house form - RoofHouse.skp. or download it from 2. Use Protractor to set an 8 12 slope line at the front of the 90-degree wing. 3. Use Line to create a triangular section of the roof. Make sure it extends past the halfway point of the wing. Now for the magic of Follow Me. With this tool you can either select a shape and then the path along which to extrude it, or select the path first....
Using Offset for Roofs
This simple exercise will demonstrate how to use the Offset tool. This is useful for creating parapets and overhanging roofs. For general information on this tool, see Offset on page 69. 1. Start a new file and create a stepped form. Push Pull 2. Activate Offset Tools Offset . 2. Activate Offset Tools Offset . 3. If you click a face, Offset will create new lines from all face edges. Select the top face and drag the offset outward. You can also click instead of dragging. Now there are two top...
Inserting and Editing Predefined Components
Editing components is a simple procedure. We'll start with predefined components, to save you the trouble of creating your own for now . 1. Open the Transportation Sampler category and insert an armored truck, a delivery truck, and a sedan. 2. Open In Model. The three components you inserted will appear here. 3. Switch to List View to see the components listed by name. EJHE3HH3 Note While Transportation components do not have this property, certain types of components such as windows and doors...
Component Files
SketchUp comes with many components defined for you. These are simply groups of .skp files, grouped into categories. You can also create components and save them into your own folder. 1. In Windows, open the Preferences Window Preferences, Mac SketchUp Preferences to the Files page. The folder you set for Components is where component files will be created when you save them. Mac To find component files, start in the root directory and go to Library Application Support SketchUp Components....
Using Groups for Cutting
Groups and components can be very useful as cutting tools. This is because of their unsticky nature - they remain separate from other objects surrounding them. Groups and components can be very useful as cutting tools. This is because of their unsticky nature - they remain separate from other objects surrounding them. 1. Start with a box and draw two arcs one concave and one convex on one side. 1. Start with a box and draw two arcs one concave and one convex on one side. 2. Push Pull the arc...
Shortcut Keys
Also knows as hotkeys or accelerator keys, keyboard shortcuts can be set up for quick access to tools you use often. A few shortcuts are provided for you such as Ctrl Cmd Z for Undo , but the rest need to be added. See Preferences gt Shortcuts on page 452. In this tool you simply click two points to define a rectangle, and the zoom adjusts to fit the window into the full screen. This is a good way to enlarge your view of a specific small area of the model.
Breaking Connected Faces
When two objects have a common face, that face acts as one face - the objects are both stuck to it. Grouping one or both of the objects breaks this link. 2. A free edge can be moved up or down. It can only move left or right if you use Autofold. 2. A free edge can be moved up or down. It can only move left or right if you use Autofold. 3. An edge along the shared face, however, can only be moved within that face. 3. An edge along the shared face, however, can only be moved within that face. 4....
The Outliner Manipulating Groups and Components
This exercise will show you how to move groups and components around, and how to combine them. 1. We will start with a table that has nested components also called sub-components . In the red-green plane draw a rectangle approximately 5' x 2'-6 look at the VCB to see the dimensions of the rectangle . Push Pull it a bit. Make this box a component called Table Top. Open the Outliner Window Outliner , and the component is listed. The four-square symbol next to the component name indicates that it...
SketchUp Screen
When you launch SketchUp, your screen looks like this shown in Windows, Mac is similar Note To adjust what toolbars and icons are displayed, select View Toolbars Mac View Customize Toolbar . Drawing and Editing Tools These tools create geometry Line, Arc, Rectangle, etc. , construction objects Measure and Protractor , and enable object manipulation Move, Rotate, Push Pull, etc. They are all described in this chapter. Drawing Axes When you open a file, the model contains a set of red, green, and...
Set Slope and Double Constraints
This method is probably not what you'd use to actually solve this problem, since it's complex and there is an easier tool to use Follow Me . But if you need practice using double constraints, this will get you up to speed. 1. On the house form, draw the two valley lines between wings. 1. On the house form, draw the two valley lines between wings. 2. Then use Midpoint snaps to draw the three ridge lines. 2. Then use Midpoint snaps to draw the three ridge lines. For the remainder of this...
Chapter Introduction
How this Book Came How this Book is Set What's New in This About the SketchUp Viewing Shortcut Drawing Square and Golden Circle and Manipulation Taking Off Quantities Using Select and Entity Move and Autofold with Curved Using Move to Resize Curves and Curved Rotate and Rotate - Defining the Rotation Using Rotate to Scaling with the Axis Displaying and Smoothing Annotation Creating Dimension Display and Dimensioning Using the Text Using the Axis Tool with Follow Basic Follow Follow Me with...
Unsticking Objects from a Group
Sometimes you may create a group that you might later want to break. An example of this could be a group of objects from which you want to remove some objects and place them elsewhere, outside the group. Editing a group is straightforward you know how to delete objects from a group. And a simple cut-and-paste operation enables you to preserve the removed objects and insert them elsewhere. 1. Start with the following objects a hexagon pulled to create a nut, and a circle pulled to create a bolt....
Measure
This tool has three purposes to measure distances, to scale an entire model, and to create construction lines. Activate Measure Tools Measure, Mac Tools Tape Measure . Activate Measure Tools Measure, Mac Tools Tape Measure . 3. Measure the length of the base by clicking the two endpoints. 3. Measure the length of the base by clicking the two endpoints. To change the length of this edge, type the desired length such as 20' - don't forget the unit. Using Measure this way enables you to scale your...
the SketchUp Book
A collection of exercises, tips and tricks that will maximize your investment in SketchUp. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information contained within this book is complete and accurate. However, the authors assume no responsibility for the use of this information, nor for any infringement upon the intellectual property rights of third parties which would result from such use. No part of this publication may be stored in a system, reproduced, or transmitted in any way or by any...
Protractor
This tool has two basic purposes to create angled construction lines and to measure angles. 30. Draw the next line straight up from Point D to where it hits the construction line directly above it blue direction . 2. Activate Protractor Tools Protractor. 2. Activate Protractor Tools Protractor. The protractor appears. Hover over the midpoint shown. If you move slightly to the right and left, you can align the protractor to either adjacent face. The color of the protractor tells you how the...
Using Move to Resize Curves and Curved Surfaces
This section applies to arcs, circles, and polygons, and to the surfaces created when these entities are extruded. Note that the changes you can make in this exercise can only be performed on curves and faces that have not been edited -they must still retain their original shape. For example, once you use Scale to change a circle into an oval, the oval cannot be resized. 1. Create a small circle, and activate Move. Make sure nothing else is selected, and move the cursor around the circumference...
Intersecting Arches
This exercise is pretty straightforward - intersecting two arches that meet at a 90-degree angle. 1. Start in a new file in Front view. Use Rectangle and Arc to draw an arch. Select all edges except for the bottom one, and use Offset to create an inner arc. Then erase the bottom edge. Push Pull it out and display the hidden edges View Hidden Geometry . This is so that we will have a reference for copying and rotating. 4. Select the arch and activate Rotate. Shift-lock the protractor to the...
Autofold with Curved Faces
Autofold can be also be handy with faces created as a result of Push Pull'ing arcs, circles, and polygons. 1. Start with a box that has an arc attached to it. Pull the arc up but not all the way to the top of the box. 2. Select the top face of the arc form and activate Move. The only way you can move this face is up or down. 2. Select the top face of the arc form and activate Move. The only way you can move this face is up or down. 1. Start with a box that has an arc attached to it. Pull the...
Cutting Using Components
This exercise shows how components can be used in conjunction with Intersect with Model. Note For an in-depth exercise on using Intersect with Model and components, see Creating a Log Cabin on page 427 1. Start with a form like this using lines and tangent arcs and use Offset to create an inner set of edges. 1. Start with a form like this using lines and tangent arcs and use Offset to create an inner set of edges. Push Pull the form out and close the end faces. This will be the grill form that...
Alignment and Insertion Point
Components can be set to automatically align to faces in your model, and you can adjust the point at which they are inserted, relative to the alignment face. We will create an octagonal window for this, so start with an 8-sided polygon. In Top view activate Polygon, and before starting to draw, enter 8 to set the number of sides. To get it aligned with the red-green axis, rotate it 22.5 degrees. 4. Select the entire window and make it a component. 2. Offset the octagon and Push Pull the frame...
Creating a Table Leg
This exercise will show how to create a lathed form - a table leg. Its dimensions are a bit exaggerated, but it shows clearly how to use Intersect with Follow Me to create everyday shapes. 1. Start with a square in Top view, and Push Pull it into a box. 2. We will mark the center of the table leg with a construction line from the bottom of the cube. Activate Measure, hover over two adjacent midpoints, and start the line at their intersection. Draw straight down and stop where you want the table...
Arch Cutouts Using Groups
This exercise is similar to the previous one, but uses an arch form to create intersecting cutouts. The result is a vaulted ceiling. 1. Start with a square sides must be equal in the red-green plane and Push Pull it up to a box. Draw an archway on one side. 3. To separate this arch from the box, add a dividing line. If you used the Ctrl Option key when you pulled out the arch, this step wouldn't be necessary. 4. Now we need to move the cutout all the way through the box. Select the arch form ....
Rotate Copy
As with the Move tool, you can use Rotate to make rotated copies by using the Ctrl Option key. 1. Start with a tall box and use Arc to create a horizontal half-circle from the top edge. Push Pull the arc down slightly. 4. Activate Rotate on the selected column use a right-to-left window to select it . 2. The next step is to create a column which will be rotated and copied along the periphery of the arc. Draw a small rectangle on the underside of the arc. Anchor the protractor on the midpoint of...
Axes
This tool can move the origin and or change the orientation of the axes. 1. If the axes are not displayed, select View Axes. 2. Draw a box with a sloped face, based in the default red-green plane. 4. We will orient the axes to Face A. Start by locating the origin at the lower left corner. 4. We will orient the axes to Face A. Start by locating the origin at the lower left corner. 5. The next click defines the red direction. Click anywhere along the lower edge. 5. The next click defines the red...
Cutting Method 1
1. Starting with an empty wall, create the arched outline as before, and use Push Pull to make the hole. 1. Starting with an empty wall, create the arched outline as before, and use Push Pull to make the hole. Because components can only cut through one face, we can eliminate one of the cut faces. Erase the back face of the wall. 3. Now when you make a component out of the window objects, Cut Opening is available and checked , and the component will glue to Any face. 4. Create the component,...
Nested Cutting Components Any Wall Thickness
This method uses nested components that can be used to cut walls of any thickness. It is similar to Creating a Window Component Plus a Cutout Component on page 217, which uses two separate components - the window plus the cutout shape. This method uses a single component, but does not allow for window frames on both sides of the wall - only the front. To use a component with details on both sides of a wall means you need to have a set wall thickness. 1. Start in Top view like before. If you...
Creating Dimensions
This section focuses on ways to create and place dimensions. Dimension display and properties will be covered in the next section. 1. Start with a box with a chamfered corner. Draw an arc protruding from the front face and Push Pull it up. Lastly, create two identical cylinders on the top face create one using Circle and Push Pull, and use Move with Ctrl Option to make a copy of it . 4. Now to add some dimensions to this form. Activate Dimension Tools Dimension . 4. Now to add some dimensions...
Edges
This sections covers ways to show, hide, and soften edges of curved objects. For information on ways to display the model itself shaded, wireframe, transparency, etc. , see Display Settings on page 438. When you are creating curved objects such as spheres, cylinders, etc., SketchUp enables you to display and manipulate these objects either as faceted objects, or as smooth, single objects. 1. First we will construct the object. Start with a horizontal rectangle, and along one edge make a...
Rectangle
If you need to draw a rectangular face, you don't need to use Line to draw four separate lines Rectangle does it in one step. 1. Start a new file Top view and click Rectangle or select Draw Rectangle . 2. Draw a rectangle by clicking the two opposite points, or by clicking and dragging from the first point to the second. Note While sizing the rectangle, you may see two indicators -Squareand Golden Section. See Square and Golden Section on page 14. 3. Draw another rectangle from a point on the...
Nested Cutting Components Specific Wall Thickness
This method presents a very neat way to use one component to cut both faces of a wall simultaneously. You create the front and back components that are set to cut, then combine them into the total window component. When exploded, the subcomponents are released to do their cutting. This exercise also gives an introduction to the use of materials. 1. Start out in Top view drawing in the red-green plane . When components are set to cut, they need to be aligned according to the red-green plane of...
Rotate
1. For a basic look at Rotate, start with a form like this. We want to rotate one of the wings. 3. Once in Rotate, you need to select the objects to rotate. Use a right-to-left selection window to select all faces of the wing. The entire top and bottom face is selected, so Rotate will not work - the entire face will move. The faces must be divided. 6. Draw the same line on the bottom face, either by orbiting the model upside-down, or doing it in wireframe view. 1. For a basic look at Rotate,...
Info
9. Hiding edges does not change the structure of the adjacent faces. Activate Select and select either face next to the edge. Each face remains a separate object. 10. Select a few more edges and hide them by selecting Edit Hide. You could also right-click and select Hide. 11. For another easy way to hide edges, activate Erase and press Shift. You can click individual edges or press and drag over the edges you want to hide. Use this method to hide interior and exterior edges along one side of...
Select
You need to understand this tool before getting into the other manipulation tools, because, in many cases, objects need to be selected before you can apply another tool to them. Selecting is very straightforward, but this exercise may show you some features you didn't know about. 2. Click Select, or select Tools Select. 3. When in Select mode, the cursor appears as an arrow. Click an edge to select it. 3. When in Select mode, the cursor appears as an arrow. Click an edge to select it. The...
Defining the Rotation Axis
In the previous exercise, the rotation protractor was set along to a standard plane like red-green or along an existing face. This exercise shows how to set your own rotation axis. 1. Start by drawing a hexagon use the Polygon tool, specifying 6 sides . Use Line to start a rectangle off one of the sides. For any edge of the hexagon, start the line at Point A, hover over edge A-B, and get the Perpendicular to Edge constraint. 2. Complete the rectangle and select it. 2. Complete the rectangle and...
Simple Roof and Dormers
1. Start with a box like this, and make the roof ridge line by drawing a line across the top, from midpoint to midpoint. 2. Activate the Move tool and drag the ridge line 2. Activate the Move tool and drag the ridge line Note As you've probably already seen, you can also select the line first and then move it. Note As you've probably already seen, you can also select the line first and then move it. 3. Try creating a gable by moving the ridge endpoint shown. This breaks the vertical face - not...
Sketchup Move Text Leader
Text can be placed in your model in two ways attached to geometry or floating in space. 1. Start out a building like this, with one main section and two slope-roofed wings. 1. Start out a building like this, with one main section and two slope-roofed wings. Before creating text, we will set the type of text to be used. Open the Model Info window to the Text page, and make sure Leader is set to View Based, and End Point is set to Closed Arrow. For the font and color, use whatever you like....
Creating a Window Component Plus a Cutout Component
Here's a convenient way to handle cutouts for components that have a non-rectangular shape. Basically you create two components to be used each time you insert the cutout - one is the component itself and the other is used as the cutout. 1. Make a vertical wall and create an arch shape rectangle arc for the window. Offset the shape to create the frame. 3. Push Pull the frame slightly outward. 2. Use Move Ctrl Option to copy the two arch shapes to the other side of the wall. Use Shift to lock...
Replacing Components
In SketchUp is it easy to replace any or all components with another component. A good example for this is a building with many windows. In this example, profiles are turned off so that all edges are thin. This is handy when you have a busy model that can look cluttered with thick lines. 1. Create a tall box with one window cutout. 2. Make a component from the cutout rectangle. 2. Make a component from the cutout rectangle. 3. Make several copies of the cutout. To copy these cutouts to the...
Circle and Polygon
These two tools are grouped together because they are basically the same. Both create multi-segmented polygons a higher number of segments is a better approximation to a circle. The difference basically lies in the appearance of the faces that result when you use Push Pull. 1. Start in top view and activate Circle Draw Circle . Draw a circle in the red-green plane by clicking the center point and then a point on the circumference. You could also click and drag from the center to the...
Creating a Wall Niche
This simple exercises shows you how to use Follow Me to create a rotated form to use as a cutout, and how to use Intersect with Model to make the cutout. 3. Draw a circle of any size in the red-green plane press Shift to lock the plane , using the midpoint of the bottom line as the circle center. 4. To make things easier later, use Measure to create a vertical construction line along the center. 4. To make things easier later, use Measure to create a vertical construction line along the center....
Cutting Holes in a Curved Wall
In order for a component to cut, its cutting face must be entirely contained within the plane it is cutting. But what if the wall is curved A curved wall is actually a series of connected flat planes, and if a component is placed over a joint between walls, the component will not be able to cut both walls. Note For complex shapes, you can also use model intersection to make cutouts. See Cutting and Embossing on page 105. 1. First we need to create the curved wall. Start with an arc. Use a small...
Multiple Linear Copies
If you want to make repeated array copies, you can 1. Start out with a new box. We will assume that we know some basic dimensions about this building, and that we need to figure out a layout for its windows. To set the first dimension, we will use the Measure tool. Click the endpoints that define the width. 2. The distance between these points is listed in the VCB. 3. To set the exact distance, type 20' and press Enter. Depending on your system of units, you may need to include the foot symbol...
Multiple Rotated Copies
There are several ways to make rotated copies of objects. To demonstrate this, we will build a gazebo. Start a new file. 1. Start with the roof - use the Polygon tool Draw Polygon to draw a hexagon. The default number of sides for a polygon is six, but if you used the tool before with a different number, you will have to change it back to six. Before drawing, simply enter 6 in the VCB. Draw the hexagon in the red-green plane, not necessarily aligned to either axis. Draw the hexagon in the...
Hiding Intersection Edges with Components
This exercise is a neat work-around to the problem of model intersection, in which you cannot find edges on a component when its intersecting face has already been cut. 1. Start with a short rectangular box. Right-click one of the long top edges and select Divide. Select the middle back edge and activate Move. Press Alt Cmd for Autofold and move this edge up. Without Autofold, the edge cannot move up. If your model does not look like this, you can erase and recreate the needed edges. 1. Start...
Offset
This tool takes all the edges of a selected face, or a series of connected edges in the same plane, and offsets them. 2. Activate Offset Tools Offset . 3. Select the top face and press Enter. Move the cursor inward, and the offset distance appears in the VCB. Click to place the offset face inside the original. This creates a new face. 4. Double-click on the inner face to create another offset, using the same offset distance. 4. Double-click on the inner face to create another offset, using the...
Component Source Files and Reloading
This exercise will show you how to create a component in its own file, insert it and manipulate it in another file, and make changes to the component in its original file. 1. We will first make a bookcase component. In a new file, draw a rectangle starting at the origin, and Push Pull it down not up . 18. Edit either one of these, and make a new change. 19. This new component does not appear in the Windows folder, since you didn't save it into that folder. Note The reason for starting at the...
Scaling with the Axis Tool
By default, the Scale bounding box reflects the current red-green-blue directions. But you might need to scale objects according to a different set of axes. 1. Start with a form with a sloped face. Draw a rectangle on the sloped face and Push Pull it outward. Now the scale box is 2D, and aligned to the sloped face. 5. If the axes are not displayed, turn them on by selecting View Axes. Red and green are aligned to the face edges, and blue is normal to it. 6. Use Ctrl Option and a corner handle...
Resolving Sloping Roofs
This exercise will show you how to create one roof for the entire house, keeping all roof slopes at the same pitch. If you want to download the house used in this exercise, go to and download the file RoofHouse.skp. You can then skip to Set Slope and Double Constraints on page 160. 1. In Top view, start by drawing the basic form as shown below, starting at Point 1. 1. In Top view, start by drawing the basic form as shown below, starting at Point 1. 2. For the next line, you will use a double...