Line 226: Line 226:


=== Selecting ===  
=== Selecting ===  
Once you created an object, you often want to change some things about it, ie you often want to refine it, ... Therefore it is important that you can select existing components.  
Once you created an object, you often want to change some things about it, ie you often want to refine it, ... Therefore it is important that you can select the existing components.  


====The SELECT-tool ====  
====The SELECT-tool ====  
You can SELECT tool calls in 3 ways:  
You can activate the SELECT-tool on 3 methods:
1. Clicking the icon in the Tool Kit button
# By clicking on the icon in the "Tool Set"
2. Via the menu: Tools -> SELECT  
# Via the menu: Tools -> SELECT
3. Using the keyboard shortcut: Space  
# Using the keyboard shortcut: Space  
2 The basic elements in SketchUp (lines and planes) to give each their own way  
 
they are selected:  
The 2 basic elements in SketchUp (lines and surfaces) both heave their own unique way to inform you that they are selected:
 
A selected line turns blue. A selected field is provided  
A selected line turns blue. A selected field is provided  
a blue stippelbarcering.  
a blue stippelbarcering.  

Revision as of 10:53, 4 March 2010

Lesson 1

Introduction

Welcome to the course: "SketchUp: 3D modelling for all". Since no theoretical introduction is required to learn to work with SketchUp, we can immediately begin working on the computer. First off; a few practical things you need to know:

Starting up SketchUp

In order to start up SketchUp, please follow these steps:

  • Open the "Start Menu" by pressing the "Windows-logo" bottom left of your screen (in case you use Windows).
  • Go to "All Programs"
  • Go to "Google SketchUp 7"
  • Click "SketchUp"

Practice files

This course will make use of practice files. They can be found at Appendix 1. It is best to download the practice files at the beginning of the lesson.

At the appendix article, you get an overview of the files required for each lesson. Right-click on a file and choose File -> "Save as" to allows you to save the file to a location of choice.

SketchUp Help-function

First off, I would to inform you that SketchUp itself has some help-functions:

Status

When you select a particular tool, SketchUp always tell you what it expects of you. These tips appear at the bottom left.

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 1

In this example, I draw a circle. SketchUp first asked me to select the center of the circle. Now it asks me to define a border point.

Instructor

By clicking "Window" -> "Instructor" the Instructor is opened. This is also an interactive help. The instructor shows extensive tips depending on the tools that you select.

Mini-manual

Less spectacular, but certainly worth consulting.

Videos

Certain Google video's may be useful to explain you some more advanced functions. See http://sketchup.google.com/training/videos.html

Navigation

SketchUp is a 3D program. It is therefore important that you learn to move smoothly in a 3D-environment. SketchUp has 3 essential tools for this:

The ORBIT-tool

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 1a

(shortcut: o)

You use this tool to turn around something:

  1. You select the tool (icon or shortcut)
  2. Activate the tool by clicking anywhere with the left mouse button within the 3D-environment (left mouse button is kept pressed down)
  3. and you turn by moving the mouse left to right and up and down.

The ZOOM-tool

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 1b

(shortcut: z)

This tool is an obvious one. You zoom in and out with it:

  1. You select the tool (icon or shortcut)
  2. You activate the tool by clicking anywhere with the left mouse button within the 3D-environment (left mouse button is kept pressed down)
  3. and you zoom by moving the mouse up and down.

The PAN-tool

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 1c

(shortcut: h)

You use this tool within the 3D-environment to move left, right, up and down without turning:

  1. You select the tool (icon or shortcut)
  2. You activate the tool by clicking anywhere with the left mouse button within the 3D-environment (left mouse button is kept pressed down)
  3. and you move around by moving the mouse left, right, up, or down.

Conclusion & Example

The navigating within the 3D-environment is thus based on (a combination of) 3 tools: ORBIT, ZOOM and PAN.

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 2

To study the above model in detail, we could:

  1. use ORBIT to turn around the closet, so that we can see its back.
  2. use ZOOM to see the closet from close-up.
  3. use PAN to place the part in which we are interested in centrally on screen.

A faster method to navigate

Because navigation is so essential, it is possible to activate all these tools on a faster method. This is however only possible if you work with a 3-button mouse ! All navigation tools can be activated using the third (or middle) mouse button.

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 3
  1. ORBIT is activated by holding the middle mouse button. Just as in the traditional way, you turn around by moving the mouse left, right, up or down.
  2. ZOOM. Zooming is done by rotating the middle mouse button (the scroll wheel). Rotating upwards makes you zoom in, rotating downwards makes you zoom out.
  3. PAN is very similar to ORBIT. Again hold down the middle mouse button and move your mouse. However, this time we also press the Shift-key on our keyboard to activate the tool.

Note: A useful extra trick is to double-click using the middle mouse button. Doing this will center the drawing on the point where you double-clicked.

Exercise

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 4

Give the diamond a new color. Use herefore the PAINT BUCKET-tool and choose a random color. You will notice that, to color each facet, you must constantly rotate, zoom in and out, ... This way you will quickly master the navigating.

Construction (introduction)

What really makes SketchUp special, is the way in which you create volumes. The big idea is that you draw a flat basic shape to start off with. Then, you use the PUSH/PULL-tool convert this form into a 3D-shape. On this volume, you can then draw new surfaces, stretch these, push these, ... This works as follows:

Creating a volume

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 4
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 5

The PUSH/PULL-tool is used to create, enlarge or decrease volumes, to pull surfaces upwards, or to push them down.

  1. Select the PUSH/PULL-tool. The mouse pointer changes to a cube with an arrow pointed upwards.
  2. Click on the surface that you want to pull up or push down.
  3. Move the mouse to enlarge or decrease the volume.
  4. Click again when the volume attains the size you want.

"PUSH/PULL" is just one of the methods to create volumes. In total, there are 3 methods we can use to create volumes. We will learn to use them in another chapter. This was merely an introduction, to show that everything in SketchUp starts from 2D.

Construction (2D)

A line is the simplest element within SketchUp. You draw a line as follows:

Drawing a line

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 6

Lines can be drawn upon existing surfaces, or independently of any existing geometry:

  1. Select the LINE-tool. The mouse pointer changes to a pencil.
  2. Click to define the starting point of the line.
  3. Move the cursor to the end point of the line. Note that the length of the line is displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen; the so-called "Value Control Box" or VCB.
  4. Click a second time to draw the line. The end point of the line can immediately be the start of a new line.

2 drawing methods, only 1 good one

In SketchUp, you can draw lines using 2 different methods (This is also applicable to many other operations):

  1. Click -> drag -> release
  2. Click -> move -> click
Click -> drag -> release

This first drawing style means that, in order for you to draw a line, you must:

  1. click a starting point
  2. keep the left mouse button down while you move the mouse to an end point
  3. release the left mouse button when you have reached this end point.

This drawing method should be avoided. It may seem more intuitive (similar to drawing with pen and paper), but it is more tiring, (left mouse button is held continuously), and it leads to more mistakes (accidentally releasing the left mouse button prematurely, ...).

Click -> move -> click

Using this second drawing style you work as previously described:

  1. Click to define a starting point (left mouse button is immediatelly released)
  2. The mouse is moved to an endpoint
  3. Click to define the endpoint.

Drawing on a precise manner

It is often thought that SketchUp can not be used to accurately draw out models. Nothing can be further from the truth. SketchUp is just as good as AutoCAD on this issue.

Entering dimensions

In the bottom right corner, the VCB displays the length of the line as you draw it. You can also enter a length yourself here. Type the length, just after you defined the starting point of the line.

Inference; SketchUp's intelligence

While SketchUp gives you complete freedom, it also encourages you to draw accurately. It does this by constantly giving you pointers. This system is called the "inference engine".

Line-inference
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 7

When you draw lines (or when you are only still planning to draw them), SketchUp keeps proposing to draw them parallel to one of the three main axes. You "feel" this intuitively. If you come near to one of the directions of the main axes, a kind of magnetism will encourage you to draw parallelly to the axis (snapping). You also get tips visually; colored lines mark the axis directions. Each axis has a different color; green, red, and blue.

This is byt the way not only true for the main axes. SketchUp also takes the existing lines into account. For example, it will also inform you if you draw perpendicular or parallel to an existing line (these directions are indicated with a purple line).

Tips:

  • Pressing the Shift-key ensures that you can only draw in the direction of the proposed axis.
  • With the arrow keys you can limit yourself too. Pressing the up (or down)-arrow provides a containment into the blue direction, the left (or right)-arrow creates a containment into the green or red direction.
Point-inference
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 8

Special points are also recognized if the mouse pointer comes near them: endpoints, midpoints, ...

Creating surfaces

The LINE-tool still remains active after drawing a line. The endpoint of the line that you just drew is automaticly starting point of a new line. This way, you can easily keep drawing. Once you drew at least three lines which are within the same plane, and which form a loop (a closed figure), you create a surface.

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 8

Surfaces versus lines

Lines can exist on their own. Surfaces can not. A surface only exists as long as it is surrounded by edges. Once you remove one of the surrounding edges, you no longer have a surface (however simple or complex this surface may be). Even if you accidentally broke a surface by removing one of its edges, it is still no disaster. By redrawing the deleted edge, the surface is "healed" (= "healing").

Construction (3D)

Converting a surface into a volume can be done on 3 methods. "PUSH/PULL" has already been cited earlier. The 3 methods (ascending from often to less frequently used) is as follows:

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 9
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 9b
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 9c
  • 1. PUSH/PULL
    • Menu -> Tools -> Push/Pull
    • Icon
    • Or shortcut P

See Construction (introduction) for an overview of the operation.

  • 2. FOLLOW ME
    • Menu -> Tools -> Follow Me
    • Icon
    • (no standard keyboard shortcut)
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 10

FOLLOW ME is slightly more advanced than PUSH/PULL. In PUSH/PULL, a surface is stretched along a straight line, perpendicular to this surface. With FOLLOW ME, you yourself decide the direction in which you stretch the surface. This does not even have to be a straight line. FOLLOW ME is useful to draw out stair railings, cornices, ...

Method of operation:

  1. Think about which line (or series of lines, curves, ...) you wish to use as your path to stretch your surface along. This may even be the edge of a surface.
  2. Draw the surface that will need to follow the path. This does not need to be completely perpendicular towards the path, but atleast approximatelly.
  3. Select the FOLLOW ME-tool. The mouse pointer changes to a cylinder with a curved arrow.
  4. Click on the surface that you just drew.
  5. Drag the mouse pointer along the path. SketchUp marks the path you follow red.
  6. Click again to define the end point.
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 11
A surface, and the edge of the cylinder as the path
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 12
Halfway the path
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 13
The completed FOLLOW ME-command
  • 3. LINE

Some volumes are so assymetric or random that the above methods are no longer sufficient. Therefore it is important to know that you're not limited to drawing on the ground plane. You can also draw into all possible directions (INFERENCE is than important), and that way, you can model any volume line by line (or surface by surface).

Example:

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 14
Drawing a line as the height
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 15
Drawing the first lateral surface manually
File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 16
Finishing of the other sides

Exercises

PUSH/PULL: Draw a rectangle of 5m x 5m, give him a height of 2,5 m.

FOLLOW ME: Draw, perpendicular to one of the top sides of this volume, the cross-cut of a cornice, and then use FOLLOW ME to drag this cross-cut along all of the top sides of the volume, and thus make it into a volume.

LINE: try to draw a saddle roof, without using PUSH/PULL or FOLLOW ME.

Tips:

  • First draw a rectangle.
  • Draw a line perpendicular to this rectangle from the midpoint of one of the shorter sides (ie: following the blue axis). Repeat this process from the other shorter side.
  • Connect the top points of the lines with the right corner points of the rectangle.

STAIRS

File:SketchUp Beginner Manual 1 image 17

Draw a stairs, viewing it from its side (6 steps, each 20 cm high and 20 cm deep).

Tips:

  • Use the correct drawing style: click -> move -> click.
  • Draw accuratelly (type in the distances)
  • Take notice of the "inferences"; only draw following the blue and green axises, and use the Shift- and arrow-keys to restrict yourself into certain directions.
  • Create a closed surface. Should this not succeed the first time, check whether all lines are indeed drawn in the same plane (blue and green), and whether you made a closed loop. Redraw the whole a second time if necessary.
  • As an extra, you can give the side view a thickness (eg 90 cm) using the PUSH/PULL-tool.

Selecting

Once you created an object, you often want to change some things about it, ie you often want to refine it, ... Therefore it is important that you can select the existing components.

The SELECT-tool

You can activate the SELECT-tool on 3 methods:

  1. By clicking on the icon in the "Tool Set"
  2. Via the menu: Tools -> SELECT
  3. Using the keyboard shortcut: Space

The 2 basic elements in SketchUp (lines and surfaces) both heave their own unique way to inform you that they are selected:

A selected line turns blue. A selected field is provided a blue stippelbarcering.

Note that with the SELECT-standard tool but one element at a time select. In other words, if you have selected a plane, and you click the SELECT tool on half plane, then the second plane is selected, but it is first not selected.

Multiple select elements: SHIFT-select

To select multiple elements, you must hold down SHIFT while you elements click the SELECT tool. The mouse pointer looks different; The black arrow is a plus and a minus-equipped. This way you can add features to your selection, but also elements from Delete your selection.

Window Selections

With the SELECT tool also allows for a window around a number elements dragging, and they thus selecting all. Note: there is a subtle difference between 2 methods of selection: 1. If your windows from top left to bottom right drag, only those elements completely within the window are selected. 2. If your windows from top left to bottom right drag, are also elements that fall partially within the selected window.

Advanced selection methods

By right clicking on an object, you can SELECT the context menu of a advanced selection methods available. I suggest you try them all. Note: this menu change depending on you right click on a line, a plane, one group, one component, ... In this manner you can write a fast plane and all surrounding edges select ...

Faster advanced selecting

Previous selection methods are very useful, but unfortunately cumbersome to activate (right click, ...). Therefore you advanced selection methods used by double clicking or to driebdubbelklikken. This is something you can best try. Double clicking on an area select the plane and all surrounding edges, driebdubbelklikken select everything on a plane to plane borders (3D).

Organizing (Part 1)

To operate efficiently, it is important that you organize a good drawing. Thus it is easier to post things to select, copy, move, ...

SketchUp contains 3 tools are drawings to organize groups (GROUP) components (COMPONENT) and layers (Layer). For now we limit ourselves to groups. The Other tools will be discussed later.

Groups

The first and simplest tool organization. Creating Groups To create a group to first select a number of elements (lines and planes). Then: 1. Choose the menu Edit -> Make Group 2. If you right-click (right click) and select Make Group Once you do this, a bar around your selection:

A pyramid fully selected (note the blue edges, and the blue dots on the surfaces).

The same pyramid as a group. Even now he is selected (notice the blue bar around the pyramid).

Advantage 1: easier selection To select the pyramid before you had 4 faces and 8 edges (12 elements) Select. Now it suffices to element 1 (the group), select = 1 clicks.

Advantage 2: Independent Items

LOOSE ELEMENTS = dependent In SketchUp has everything affects everything. Elements stick to each other.

If you two pyramids next to each other, and trying to come after a move, you will notice that both pyramids stuck together, and that various geometry starts to deform.

GROUPS = independent Groups are completely independent the rest of the drawing.

If you repeat the same situation with 2 groups, you will notice that the 2 Pyramids are nice unchanged.

Bulk edit

Does this mean that a group of good independent from the rest of the drawing? No, double-click a group, the Group: You then joined the group correctly, and can edit everything as you just learned. An open group is surrounded by a dotted bar:

To return the group to close press ESCAPE or click anywhere outside the group.

Exploding groups

If you would like the group back into separate elements, You can right click and choose EXPLODE:

This works also through the menu: Edit -> Group -> Explode

Manipulating

We now know how to construct objects, select and organize. To build models, we can also manipulate objects: 1. Moving and Copying: The MOVE / COPY tools 2. Rotate: The ROTATE tool 3. Scaling and mirroring: the SCALE tool

The MOVE/COPY-tool: Move and Copy

(Icon, M or shortcut menu -> Tools -> MOVE) MOVE / COPY is fairly obvious: 1. You select one item that you want to move 2. You then select the MOVE tool 3. You pick what you want to get moving: First click = start point, second click = endpoint What is less obvious, and so important, is: 1. As with drawing lines, you can use the Move tool SketchUp's inference. Also you can type in exact distances. 2. The MOVE / COPY-tool can also copy! You need to have when moving the CTRL key held down. Because kopiëerfunctie the function hidden behind the move is, many see People overlook this.

2. The ROTATE tool: rotate

(Icon, Q or shortcut menu -> Tools -> ROTATE) ROTATE like MOVE / COPY: 1. You select one item that you want to rotate 2. You then select the ROTATE tool 3. A type of protractor (the protractor): You pick which angle you want to obtain: first click = center of rotation, second click = start, then third = endpoint.

Tips: 1. You can enter exact angle of rotation. 2. By pressing CTRL can also use this tool to copy objects.

3. The SCALE-tools: scaling

(Icon, S shortcut or menu -> Tools -> SCALE) SCALE methods: 1. You select one item that you want to go flat 2. You then select the Scale tool 3. There appear a number verschalingspunten on your item. By dragging, scaling the item.

Tips: 1. Scaling an object can deform (change ratios). To avoid using your scaling vertices, or hold down the SHIFT key. 2. If you press CTRL, scaling your object around its center. 3. You can verschalingsfactor exact type.

To reflect you as a factor of -1.

Exercise

Departure of a Lego cube (model download http://www.skup.be/syntra/sketchup/) shown above and try to build structures.

Tips:

  • Use the MOVE / COPY tool to the Lego cube to copy (CTRL-key).
  • Note the Midpoint inference to a cube-top box to a different place.

One of the lower corners of the cube is one of the top on a centers of the other block placed.

  • Use the ROTATE tool to block a twist. Type in a corner of

90 degrees for precise work, or look very good on the inference help.

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