SKETCHUP NOTES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO SKETCHUP & BASIC SHAPES I (10/02/2015)

BY: NUR SYAHIDA MOHD ARIF
REFERENCE: GOOGLE SKETCH UP THE MISSING MANUAL BY CHRIS GROVER

LEARNING OUTCOMES
a. FAMILIARIZE WITH THE BASIC SKETCH UP INTERFACE
b. TO UTILIZE CAMERA VIEW TO EASE THE 3D MODELLING PROCESS
c. TO USE BASIC DRAWING TOOL TO PRODUCE RECTANGLE, CIRCLE AND TRIANGLE
d. TO USE BASIC MODIFIED COMMAND SUCH AS ROTATE, MOVE, COMPONENT AND
GROUPING

GO TO DESKTOP SELECT GOOGLE SKETCHUP CHOOSE TEMPLATES (MILLIMETERS) START

USING SKETCHUP

SKETCHUP TEMPLATES
WILL LET YOU CHOOSE
THE UNITS YOUR
DRAWING GOING TO
BE

Figure 1: SketchUp user templates

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 Figure 2: SketchUp user interface

Figure 3: SketchUp menu

Draw Arc Tape measurement Rotate Orbit Pan

Paint bucket Move Offset

Eraser Tool

Wireframe

Figure 4: Sketch Up toolbar

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CHANGING YOUR CAMERA VIEW

WHEN YOU WORK IN 3D, YOU CONSTANTLY CHANGE VIEWS, SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO LEARN WHERE
THE VIEW TOOLS ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM.

VIEW TOOLS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO (2) CATEGORIES:

 CAMERA STANDARD VIEW : FRONT, LEFT, RIGHT
 ORBIT/ZOOM TOOLS/ PAN (HAND) TOOLS

CAMERA STANDARD VIEW

SELECT CAMERA FROM THE PULL DOWN MENU STANDARD VIEW

IN THE VIEW TOOLBAR, YOU WILL FIND THIS HANDY BUTTON TO JUMP INTO A NEW VIEW:

1)ISO: IT’S USEFUL WHEN

YOU WANT TO GET A
FEELING OF PERSPECTIVE
VIEW.
2)TOP: IF SOMETHING FEEL
ODD WITH THE
CONNECTION OF THE
OBJECT, IT’S BEST TO VIEW
IT FROM TOP VIEW
3)FRONT: A GOOD START
TO BEGIN YOUR MODEL
WITH
4)RIGHT: IT’S A COMMON
SENSE TO JUMP FROM
FRONT, RIGHT & LEFT VIEW
WHEN YOU’RE MAKING A
3D
5)BACK
6)LEFT

Figure 5: Camera toolbar

ISO TOP FRONT RIGHT BACK LEFT

Figure 6: Standard View

ORBIT TOOLS (O)

YOU CAN MOVE IN WITH ANY DIRECTION FROM THE ORBIT TOOLS. JUST DRAG YOUR DRAWING IN
THE DIRECTION YOU WANT TO TURN IT.

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PAN TOOLS (H)
USING THE PAN TOOLS WITH IT’S HAND ICON FEELS LIKE YOU’RE GRABBING THE IMAGE AND
DRAGGING IT TO THE NEW SPOT.

ZOOM (Z)
A VERY HANDY BUTTON WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO ALLOCATE YOUR OBJECT IN THE MODEL.

1) HOW TO DRAW A RECTANGLE?

ALTERNATIVE (A)
SELECT THE LINE TOOLS DRAW A RECTANGLE. YOU CAN INPUT THE DIMENSION BY SELECTING
THE LINE
KEY IN THE VALUE HIT ENTER (REPEAT THE STEP UNTIL YOU GET A RECTANGLE SHAPE).

ALTERNATIVE (B)
SELECT THE RECTANGLE TOOLS DRAW A RECTANGLE. YOU CAN INPUT THE DIMENSION BY
SELECTING THE RECTANGLE HIT THE VALUE WITH (,) IN BETWEEN THE VALUE.
X Y
EXAMPLE: (1000, 6000)
YOU’LL GET A RECTANGLE WITH A VALUE OF 1000MM LENGTH AND 6000MM HEIGHT.

Figure 7: Drawing a rectangle using rectangle tool

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 1000mm

6000mm

1000mm

Figure 8: Drawing a rectangle using line tool

2) HOW TO DRAW A CIRCLE?

CLICK THE CIRCLE ICON/TOOL CLICK WHERE YOU WANTED TO DRAW THE CIRCLE
KEY IN THE RADIUS HIT ENTER

Figure 9: Drawing a circle using circle tool

Figure 10: How to draw a circle

3) HOW TO DRAW A POLYGON (TRIANGLE)?

CLICK THE POLYGON TOOLS CLICK WHERE YOU WANTED TO DRAW THE POLYGON KEY
IN THE NUMBER OF SIDES THAT YOU WANT (PICK 3 FOR TRIANGLE) HIT ENTER NOW CLICK
ONCE TO SET THE CENTER POINT OF YOUR TRIANGLE CLICK AGAIN TO SET AN EDGE POINT

Figure 11: How to draw a polygon

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 Figure 12: Drawing a triangle
PUSH AND PULL TOOLS & GROUPING OBJECT

1) GO TO TOOLS PUSH (OR YOU CAN JUST CHOOSE FROM THE ICON LIST)

2) CLICK ONCE ON THE OBJECT’S FACE MOVE YOUR CURSOR TO YOUR DESIRE LOCATION
KEY IN THE VALUE (NUMBER) OF HEIGHT THAT YOU WISH TO PROJECT HIT ENTER

THE PUSH/PULL TOOLS

THE KEY IN NUMBER WILL

APPEAR HERE
Figure 13: Push/pull tool

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SELECTING OBJECT

BEFORE YOU CAN MOVE THE OBJECT THAT YOU HAVE MADE IN SKETCH UP, YOU HAVE TO SELECT IT.

 WHEN YOU SELECT AN EDGE, A HIGHLIGHT IS SHOWN IN

THE SELECTION AS BLUE LINE. WHEN YOU SELECT A FACE,
IT’S HIGHLIGHTED WITH A PATTERN OF DOTS.
 A SINGLE CLICK SELECTS THE EDGE OF THE FACE THAT
YOU CLICK, NOTHING ELSE. IF YOU CLICK THE EDGE, AND
MOVE TOOL (M), IT WILL DISTORT THE ORIGINAL SHAPE
OF THE OBJECT.
 DOUBLE-CLICKING A FACE, SELECT THE FACE AND OTHER
ADJACENT EDGE.
 DOUBLE-CLICKING THE EDGE, SELECT THE EDGE AND ALL
THE FACE THAT IT BISECTS.
 TRIPLE-CLICKING SELECT THE ENTIRE OBJECT

Figure 14: Face of the object is selected

MOVING, COPYING,DELETING & ROTATING OBJECT

1) PRESS (M) TO SELECT THE MOVE TOOLS OR CHOOSE THE MOVE TOOLS FOM THE TOOLBAR.

2) MOVE THE CURSER OVER ONE OF THE BROAD FACES. MAKE

SURE TO SELECT THE ENTIRE OBJECT FIRST BEFORE MOVING THE
OBJECT.

3) HOLD THE CURSOR OVER THE CORNER OF THE OBJECT

(ENDPOINT IN COMPONENT) AND CLICK THE OBJECT.

4) MOVE THE CURSOR TO THE NEW LOCATION IN YOUR DRAWING

AND CLICK AGAIN.

Figure 15: Selecting the endpoint in component

COPYING THE OBJECT

1) SELECT THE OBJECT (IN MOVE TOOLS) COPY/CTRL

IT’S BEST TO MAKE A COMPONENT/GROUP
WHEN USING THE COPY TOOLS

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COPYING MULTIPLE OBJECT WITH THE SAME DISTANCE
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1

RIGHT CLICK TO TRANSORM YOUR OBJECT INTO A

COMPONENT. THIS TO ENSURE THAT THE OBJECT WON’T
BE DETACHED WHEN YOU’RE COPYING THEM.

3 4

Figure 16: Figure (1), Figure (2), Figure (3) & Figure (4) Step on multiplying object

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DELETING THE OBJECT

1) SELECT THE OBJECT HIT (E) FOR ERASE/ CHOOSE THE ERASE TOOLBAR

ROTATING OBJECT

1) CHOOSE THE TOP VIEW, OR GO TO CAMERA STANDARD VIEW TOP VIEW PRESS
(Q)/ CHOOSE ROTATE FROM THE TOOLBAR ( A PROTECTOR ICON WILL APPEAR)

WHEN YOU CLICK, THE REFERENCE

GUIDELINES APPEAR ON THE SCREEN.
THE SUPPORTS ROTATE AS YOU MOVE
THE CURSOR. A NEW GUIDELINE FOLLOW
CURSOR. USING THIS LINE, YOU CAN
ACCURATELY SELECT AN ANGLE WITH THE
PROTACTOR. WHEN YOU COMPLETE THE
ROTATION, ROTATE GUIDELINE DISSAPEAR.

Figure 17: Rotate tools

GROUPING OBJECT

SELECT OBJECT CREATE GROUP