SketchUp for Interior Design: 3D Visualizing, Designing, and Space Planning [2 ed.] 1119897742, 9781119897743

Table of contents :
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Foreword
Why Read This Book?
What’s Covered?
Any Pre-Reqs?
Computer and Version of SketchUp Discussed in this Book
Extra Goodies
Further Resources
About the Companion Website
Chapter 1 What Is SketchUp and How Do Interior Designers Use It?
What Is SketchUp?
What Is SketchUp Used For?
Who Uses SketchUp?
SketchUp Pro
SketchUp Free and SketchUp Shop
SketchUp Make 2017
Is SketchUp Easy to Learn?
Do I Need to Know AutoCAD?
Difference between Traditional CAD Drawings and Models
Solid Models
Surface Models
T-spline Models
Mesh Models
Building Information Management (BIM)
What SketchUp Pro Can Do
Summary
Further Resources
Chapter 2 Getting Started
Hardware, Operating System, and Browser Requirements
PC: Windows 11, Windows 10
Mac: OS 12+ (Monterey), 11+ (Big Sur), and Mac OS 10.15+ (Catalina)
Tablets
Viewer App
Video Card
Space Mouse
Download SketchUp Pro
Launch SketchUp Pro
Choose a Template
The Workspace
Menu Bar
Getting Started Toolbar
The Global Axes
Scale Figure
Bottom-left Screen Icons
Measurements Box
Panel Trays
Run Multiple SketchUp Files at the Same Time
Save Options
Backup Files
Save and Exit the Software
Summary
Further Resources
Chapter 3 Exploring the Interface
Add the Large Tool Set
The Search Tool
The Select Tool, Erase and Undo
The Rectangle Tool
The Inference Engine
The Rotated Rectangle Tool
The Circle Tool
The Push/Pull Tool
Impute Numbers
The Pan, Orbit, and Zoom Tools
Modifier Keys
The Escape Key
The Camera and the Views Toolbar
Selection Techniques
The Move Tool
Resize a Circle with the Move Tool
Customize the Workspace
Customize Toolbars on the PC
Customize the Getting Started Toolbar on the Mac
Make a Custom Template
The Help Function
Summary
Further Resources
Exercises
Chapter 4 Modeling Furniture
Faces and Edges
The Eraser Tool and Erasing
The Pencil and Freehand Tools
Make a Roof Ridge with the Move tool
Stickiness
What Is a Group?
Make a Group
Edit a Group
Causes of a Non-Filling Face
Best Practices for Modeling
Color-coordinate Axes and Model Lines by Changing the Edge Style Setting
Model a Table
Model the Tabletop
Guidelines and Guide Points
The Tape Measure’s Two Modes
Place Guidelines for the Table Legs
Model the Table Leg
What Is a Component?
Edit a Component and Make It Unique
Turn the Leg Square into a Component
Component Options
Copy the Leg Component
Add Volume to the Leg Component
Add the Leg’s Lower Part
How to Edit the Leg’s Length
Taper the Leg with the Scale Tool
Adjust Size with the Scale Tool
Draw the Apron
Add a Shadow
Model a Bookcase
Make a Shell with the Offset Tool
Group the Shell
Make and Array a Shelf Component
What Is Array?
Linear Array the Shelf Component
Change the Shelves’ Height and Depth
Add a Curved Apron with the 2-Point Arc Tool
What Is the Entity Info Box?
Make a Component Door
Make a Second Component Door and Mirror It
Model a Crown Molding
Put Glass in the Doors
A Translucent Workaround with the Rotate Tool and Hide
Add Knobs with the Circle Tool
Model a Clock with Radial Array
Draw Clock Hands with Inference Matching
Summary
Exercises
Chapter 5 Drafting, Modeling, and Furnishing a Floor Plan
Prepare a Raster File for Import
Draft a Plan by Tracing a Raster Image
The Explode Function
How to Resize Geometry
Scale the Imported Floor Plan with the Tape Measure
Change Line Color
Trace Interior Walls
Edge Styles Again
From Plan to Model
Add a Porch, Door, and Window
Flashing Planes
Draft a Plan from a Paper Sketch
The 3D Warehouse
Import a Door through the Components Tray
To Download into the Model or Not?
Component Door in Single- versus Double-sided Walls
Import Warehouse Furniture Through the Components Browser Search Field
Copy and Paste Between SketchUp Files
Paste In Place
See All Components Loaded in the Model with the In Model Icon
Purge and Delete Unused Components
Make a Local Collection and Link It to the Components Browser
Create Plan and Elevation Views
The Section Tool
Make a Section Cut with Create Group from Slice
Model a Building from an AutoCAD (DWG) Plan
Prepare a DWG File for Import
Import a DWG File of the Cottage
Model the DWG File
Export the File
Interact with Revit, 20-20, and Chief Architect
“Clipping” (Disappearing Geometry)
Move Geometry with Coordinates
Add Tags to Control Visibility
Change Line Type with Tag
Modeling Tips
Model a Sloped Roof with the Protractor Tool
Geo-locate a Model
Fun Exports and Imports
Is SketchUp Running Slow?
Make SketchUp Run Faster by Keeping the Polygon Count Down
Strategies to Make SketchUp Run Faster
Summary
Further Resources
Exercises
Chapter 6 Model a Two-story Interior
Explode and Clean Up the Imported DWG File
Create Faces
Model the Plan
Model and Group the First Floor’s Walls and Floor
Make Tags and Move Groups to Them
More About Tags
Add a Component Door
Nesting and Organization
The Outliner
Make a Second Floor Platform
Cut a Stairwell on the Second Floor
Draw the Staircase
Draw and Divide a Vertical Riser Line
Copy the Steps with a Linear Array
Add Volume to the Staircase
Model the Second Floor
Push/Pull the Walls Up
Create Edges with Intersect Faces with Model
Move the Second Floor onto the First
How to Click Two Corners Together
Modeling Tips
Make a Mansard Roof with Autofold
Field of View
Model Cabinets with Guidelines and the 3-Point Rectangle
Make Crown Molding with Follow Me
The Weld Function
Soften and Smooth
Model a Handrail
How to Search the 3D Warehouse
Viewing Components In Model
Download and Edit a Warehouse Staircase
Mirror with Flip Along
Mirror with the Scale Tool
Change the Staircase’s Height and Width with a Reference Line
Troublesome Components
Change a Component Axis with the Axis Tool
Change Orientation of Multiple Faces at Once
Change the Default Face Color
Summary
Exercises
Chapter 7 Painting with Colors, Materials, and Match Photo
What Is Painting?
Paint with Built-in SketchUp Materials
Painting on Groups versus Loose Geometry
The Paint Bucket Tool
Painting Shortcuts
Adjust a Color
Enter RGB Values
Sample, Save As, and Export on the PC
Translucency
Purge Unused Colors and Materials
Purge versus Delete
Paint with Materials
Edit a Material
Map SketchUp to a Digital Imaging Program
Import Materials from Other Models
Make New Materials Available to All of Your SketchUp Files
Check Face Orientation on Painted Surfaces with Entity Info and Face Style
Modeling Workflow
Photograph a Material for Import
Import a Material
Repeating and Seamless Materials
Import an Image
Erase an Image
Model Wall Art with an Imported Image
Model a Picture Frame with Follow Me
Image Placement Tips
Make and Link a Local Materials Collection on the PC
Import and Replace a Color or Texture on the Mac with Load
Drag Materials into the Model
Position a Material with Fixed and Free Pins
Fixed Pins
Free Pins
Straighten a Skewed Image with Free Pins
Paint on a Curved Surface
Paint on Draperies with Texture/Project
Paint Letters on a Cylinder with Texture/Project
Match Photo on an Interior Space
Use an Appropriate Photo
Import the Photo
Choose the Dialog Box Settings
Align the Photo’s Perspective to SketchUp’s Camera
Trace the Photo.
Project the Photo
Scale the Model with the Tape Measure
Summary
Further Resources
Exercises
Chapter 8 Enhancing and Presenting the Model
Annotate the Model
The Dimension Tool
Edit the Dimension Stringer
Font Size: Points versus Height
The Text Tool
Screen Text versus Leader Text
Screen Text
Leader Text
Pushpin versus View Based Leaders
Dimension a Floor Plan
3D Text
Styles
Make a Shortcut to the Default Style
Remove the Sky
Watermark the File
Shadows and Shadow Settings
Scenes
Make Scenes of Different Designs
Animate with Scenes
The Camera Tools
Position Camera
Look Around
Walk
Dynamic Components
Live Components
Export a SketchUp File into a Different Format
Export a Model as a 2D Graphic
Export as a 3D File
Enhancing the Model
Enhance with Photoshop
Enhance with Rendering Programs
Enhance with Hand Rendering
Summary
Further Resources
Exercises
Chapter 9 Extensions
What’s an Extension?
The Extension Warehouse
Download and Install textureMe
Find the Extension
How Do Extensions Work?
Extension Manager
Developer
Make a Desktop Shortcut
Summary
Further Resources
Exercises
Chapter 10 Construction Documentation with Layout
What Is LayOut?
Prepare the SketchUp Model for LayOut
Create Scenes
Change Style and Properties
Make a Section View
Save and Send
Choose a Paper Size
The LayOut Workspace
The Yellow Warning Triangle and Updating the LayOut File
The Viewport
Copy the Viewport
Link Viewports to Scenes
Scale the Scenes
The Top of Screen Menu
File
View
Tools
Window
Help
Annotate the Views
The Scrapbook Tray
Add Line Weights
More LayOut Capabilities
Summary
Exercises
Index
EULA

Citation preview

SketchUp for Interior Design

SketchUp for Interior Design 3D Visualizing, Designing, and Space Planning Second Edition

Lydia Sloan Cline

Johnson Country Community College Overland Park KS, US

Copyright © 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-­copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-­8400, fax (978) 750-­4470, or on the web at www.copyright. com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-­6011, fax (201) 748-­6008, or online at http://www. wiley.com/go/permission. Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer ofWarranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-­2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-­3993 or fax (317) 572-­4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data is Applied for: Paperback ISBN: 9781119897743 Cover Design: Wiley Cover Image: Courtesy of Lydia Cline Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by Straive, Chennai, India

Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Why Read This Book?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi What’s Covered?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Any Pre-­Reqs?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Computer and Version of SketchUp Discussed in this Book.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Extra Goodies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii About the Companion Website������������������� xiii Chapter 1: What Is SketchUp and How Do Interior Designers Use It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What Is SketchUp?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What Is SketchUp Used For?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Who Uses SketchUp?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SketchUp Pro.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SketchUp Free and SketchUp Shop. . . . . . . . . . 2 SketchUp Make 2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Is SketchUp Easy to Learn?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Do I Need to Know AutoCAD?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Difference between Traditional CAD Drawings and Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Solid Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Surface Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 T-­spline Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mesh Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Building Information Management (BIM).. 5 What SketchUp Pro Can Do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter 2: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Hardware, Operating System, and Browser Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PC: Windows 11, Windows 10. . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Mac: OS 12+ (Monterey), 11+ (Big Sur), and Mac OS 10.15+ (Catalina). . . . . . . . . . 13

Tablets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Viewer App. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Video Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Space Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Download SketchUp Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Launch SketchUp Pro.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Choose a Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Menu Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Getting Started Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Global Axes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Scale Figure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Bottom-­left Screen Icons.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Measurements Box.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Panel Trays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Run Multiple SketchUp Files at the Same Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Save Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Backup Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Save and Exit the Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Chapter 3: Exploring the Interface . . . . . . . . 25

Add the Large Tool Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Search Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Select Tool, Erase and Undo. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Rectangle Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The Inference Engine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The Rotated Rectangle Tool.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Circle Tool.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Push/Pull Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Impute Numbers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Pan, Orbit, and Zoom Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Modifier Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Escape Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Camera and the Views Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . 35 Selection Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Contents

v

The Move Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Resize a Circle with the Move Tool. . . . . . . . . 40 Customize the Workspace.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Customize Toolbars on the PC. . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Customize the Getting Started Toolbar on the Mac.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Make a Custom Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The Help Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Chapter 4: Modeling Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Faces and Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The Eraser Tool and Erasing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The Pencil and Freehand Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Make a Roof Ridge with the Move tool. . . . . . . 50 Stickiness.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 What Is a Group?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Make a Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Edit a Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Causes of a Non-­Filling Face. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Best Practices for Modeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Color-­coordinate Axes and Model Lines by Changing the Edge Style Setting. . . . . . . . . . . 55 Model a Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Model the Tabletop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Guidelines and Guide Points.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 The Tape Measure’s Two Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Place Guidelines for the Table Legs. . . . . . . . . . 58 Model the Table Leg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 What Is a Component?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Edit a Component and Make It Unique. . . . . 60 Turn the Leg Square into a Component.. . . . 60 Component Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Copy the Leg Component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Add Volume to the Leg Component. . . . . . . . 62 Add the Leg’s Lower Part.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 How to Edit the Leg’s Length. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Taper the Leg with the Scale Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Adjust Size with the Scale Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . 64

vi

Contents

Draw the Apron.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Add a Shadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Model a Bookcase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Make a Shell with the Offset Tool.. . . . . . . . . 65 Group the Shell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Make and Array a Shelf Component. . . . . . . . . 66 What Is Array?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Linear Array the Shelf Component. . . . . . . . 68 Change the Shelves’ Height and Depth. . . . . 69 Add a Curved Apron with the 2-­Point Arc Tool. . . 69 What Is the Entity Info Box?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Make a Component Door.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Make a Second Component Door and Mirror It.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Model a Crown Molding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Put Glass in the Doors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 A Translucent Workaround with the Rotate Tool and Hide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Add Knobs with the Circle Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Model a Clock with Radial Array. . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Draw Clock Hands with Inference Matching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Chapter 5: Drafting, Modeling, and Furnishing a Floor Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Prepare a Raster File for Import.. . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Draft a Plan by Tracing a Raster Image. . . . . . . 87 The Explode Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 How to Resize Geometry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Scale the Imported Floor Plan with the Tape Measure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Change Line Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Trace Interior Walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Edge Styles Again. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 From Plan to Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Add a Porch, Door, and Window.. . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Flashing Planes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Draft a Plan from a Paper Sketch. . . . . . . . . . . . 102 The 3D Warehouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Import a Door through the Components Tray. . . 106 To Download into the Model or Not?.. . . . . . . . 106 Component Door in Single- versus Double-sided Walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Import Warehouse Furniture Through the Components Browser Search Field. . . . . . 109 Copy and Paste Between SketchUp Files.. . . . . 111 Paste In Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 See All Components Loaded in the Model with the In Model Icon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Purge and Delete Unused Components. . . . . . . 112 Make a Local Collection and Link It to the Components Browser.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Create Plan and Elevation Views. . . . . . . . . . . . 116 The Section Tool.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Make a Section Cut with Create Group from Slice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Model a Building from an AutoCAD (DWG) Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Prepare a DWG File for Import. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Import a DWG File of the Cottage. . . . . . . . . . . 121 Model the DWG File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Export the File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Interact with Revit, 20-­20, and Chief Architect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 “Clipping” (Disappearing Geometry). . . . . . . . 125 Move Geometry with Coordinates.. . . . . . . . . . 126 Add Tags to Control Visibility.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Change Line Type with Tag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Modeling Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Model a Sloped Roof with the Protractor Tool.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Geo-­locate a Model.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Fun Exports and Imports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Is SketchUp Running Slow?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Make SketchUp Run Faster by Keeping the Polygon Count Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Strategies to Make SketchUp Run Faster. . . . . 133 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Chapter 6: Model a Two-­story Interior . . . 137

Explode and Clean Up the Imported DWG File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Create Faces.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Model the Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Model and Group the First Floor’s Walls and Floor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Make Tags and Move Groups to Them.. . . . . . . 141 More About Tags.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Add a Component Door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Nesting and Organization.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 The Outliner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Make a Second Floor Platform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Cut a Stairwell on the Second Floor. . . . . . . . . . 146 Draw the Staircase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Draw and Divide a Vertical Riser Line.. . . . . 147 Copy the Steps with a Linear Array. . . . . . . . 148 Add Volume to the Staircase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Model the Second Floor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Push/Pull the Walls Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Create Edges with Intersect Faces with Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Move the Second Floor onto the First. . . . . . . . 153 How to Click Two Corners Together.. . . . . . . 153 Modeling Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Make a Mansard Roof with Autofold.. . . . . . . . 154 Field of View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Model Cabinets with Guidelines and the 3-­Point Rectangle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Make Crown Molding with Follow Me. . . . . . . . 157 The Weld Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Soften and Smooth.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Model a Handrail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 How to Search the 3D Warehouse. . . . . . . . . . . 161 Viewing Components In Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Download and Edit a Warehouse Staircase.. . . 163 Mirror with Flip Along. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Mirror with the Scale Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Change the Staircase’s Height and Width with a Reference Line.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Troublesome Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

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Change a Component Axis with the Axis Tool. . . 165 Change Orientation of Multiple Faces at Once. . . 166 Change the Default Face Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Chapter 7: Painting with Colors, Materials, and Match Photo . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

What Is Painting?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Paint with Built-­in SketchUp Materials. . . . . . 169 Painting on Groups versus Loose Geometry.. 170 The Paint Bucket Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Painting Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Adjust a Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Enter RGB Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Sample, Save As, and Export on the PC. . . . . . . . 176 Translucency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Purge Unused Colors and Materials.. . . . . . . . . 177 Purge versus Delete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Paint with Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Edit a Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Map SketchUp to a Digital Imaging Program.. 180 Import Materials from Other Models. . . . . . . . 180 Make New Materials Available to All of Your SketchUp Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Check Face Orientation on Painted Surfaces with Entity Info and Face Style.. . . . 182 Modeling Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Photograph a Material for Import. . . . . . . . . . . 183 Import a Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Repeating and Seamless Materials. . . . . . . . . . 185 Import an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Erase an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Model Wall Art with an Imported Image. . . . . 187 Model a Picture Frame with Follow Me. . . . . . . 188 Image Placement Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Make and Link a Local Materials Collection on the PC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Import and Replace a Color or Texture on the Mac with Load. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Drag Materials into the Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

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Position a Material with Fixed and Free Pins.. . 192 Fixed Pins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Free Pins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Straighten a Skewed Image with Free Pins.. 195 Paint on a Curved Surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Paint on Draperies with Texture/Project. . . . 196 Paint Letters on a Cylinder with Texture/Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Match Photo on an Interior Space. . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Use an Appropriate Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Import the Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Choose the Dialog Box Settings. . . . . . . . . . . 199 Align the Photo’s Perspective to SketchUp’s Camera.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Trace the Photo.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Project the Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Scale the Model with the Tape Measure. . . . . 203 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Chapter 8: Enhancing and Presenting the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Annotate the Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 The Dimension Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Edit the Dimension Stringer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Font Size: Points versus Height. . . . . . . . . . . 208 The Text Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Screen Text versus Leader Text. . . . . . . . . . . 209 Screen Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Leader Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Pushpin versus View Based Leaders. . . . . . . 210 Dimension a Floor Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 3D Text.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Styles.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Make a Shortcut to the Default Style.. . . . . . . . 215 Remove the Sky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Watermark the File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Shadows and Shadow Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Scenes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Make Scenes of Different Designs. . . . . . . . . . . 219

Animate with Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 The Camera Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Position Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Look Around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Dynamic Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Live Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Export a SketchUp File into a Different Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Export a Model as a 2D Graphic. . . . . . . . . . . 229 Export as a 3D File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Enhancing the Model.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Enhance with Photoshop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Enhance with Rendering Programs.. . . . . . . 231 Enhance with Hand Rendering. . . . . . . . . . . 231 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Chapter 9: Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

What’s an Extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 The Extension Warehouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Download and Install textureMe. . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Find the Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 How Do Extensions Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Extension Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Developer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Make a Desktop Shortcut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Further Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Chapter 10: Construction Documentation with Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

What Is LayOut?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Prepare the SketchUp Model for LayOut. . . . . 249 Create Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Change Style and Properties.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Make a Section View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Save and Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Choose a Paper Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 The LayOut Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 The Yellow Warning Triangle and Updating the LayOut File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 The Viewport.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Copy the Viewport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Link Viewports to Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Scale the Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 The Top of Screen Menu.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Annotate the Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 The Scrapbook Tray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Add Line Weights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 More LayOut Capabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Contents

ix

Foreword

W

elcome to the second edition of SketchUp for Interior Design! Modeling software has largely replaced traditional two-­dimensional drafting as the means for designers to create and communicate. SketchUp remains the modeling program of choice in many diverse fields due to its low price and short learning curve. Like the first edition, this one is for the beginner who wants to get up and running fast.

Why Read This Book? You may be wondering why you should read a SketchUp book when there is so much content online. My answer is that online content, while very good, is not organized. If you don’t know what the software’s capabilities are, you don’t know what to ask or search for. This book leads you through SketchUp in an orderly manner. Its intent is to acquaint you with SketchUp’s many capabilities. Toward that goal, tools and functions are described under their own headings and then used in tutorial examples. SketchUp’s most popular functions are introduced early, to enable you to quickly do what you want with it. Some tools are revisited later to show more complex options. By the time you finish, you’ll have been exposed to most of the tools, one or two options for each, and different approaches for solving modeling problems. You’ll be given links to forums where you can ask your increasingly complex questions. End-­of-­chapter resources will also help guide you through the ocean of Web information.

What’s Covered? Coverage is specific to the interests of interior designers and interior architects: How to model interior spaces; study scale and proportion; test design ideas; plan spaces; present solutions; generate architectural floor plans, elevations, and sections. Also discussed is using SketchUp in conjunction with other industry-­popular programs.

Any Pre-­Reqs? Prior knowledge of drafting software is not needed. However, it is assumed that the reader has basic architectural drafting knowledge, such as what floor plans, interior elevations, perspective, isometric, and section views are. This book shows how to use SketchUp to create those drawings; it doesn’t discuss what they are. If you could benefit from a drafting refresher, check out the resources at the end of this Foreword.

Computer and Version of SketchUp Discussed in this Book Only SketchUp Pro is discussed because the free Web version does not yet have all Pro’s capabilities. Most screenshots are from a PC, but where Mac operations are different, Mac screenshots

Foreword

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are included. This book also assumes the reader uses a laptop or tower computer. SketchUp can be used on some tablets, but a desktop or laptop with a three-­button mouse (two buttons plus scroll wheel) exploits its full capabilities.

Extra Goodies On the Wiley site there is a Homework folder with files for completing the end-­of-­chapter exercises. Download and save the whole folder at once to your desktop so everything will be available when needed. Instructors have an additional folder with answers to the end-­of-­ chapter questions. So, let’s get started!

Further Resources Cline, Lydia Sloan Architectural Drafting for Interior Designers, 3rd edition, New York: Bloomsbury, 2021 Lydia’s YouTube channel has architectural drafting and SketchUp tutorials. https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfDrafting

Download past versions of SketchUp here. https://www.sketchup.com/download/all

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Foreword

About the Companion Website

T

his book is accompanied by a companion website: www.wiley.com/go/Cline/SketchUpforInteriorDesign

From the website you can find the following online materials: ▶▶

Quiz Questions and Answers

▶▶

End-of-Chapter Exercises

▶▶

Wallpaper and Draperies

▶▶

Homework

About the Companion Website

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CHAPTER

What Is SketchUp and How Do Interior Designers Use It? What Is SketchUp? SketchUp is a polygonal surface modeling program. Polygonal meaning that everything SketchUp creates is made from polygons. Those are planes—­flat shapes bordered by straight lines (Figure 1‑1). Surface meaning that everything SketchUp makes is hollow. Modeling meaning that the result is a three-­ dimensional (3D) digital drawing composed of lines and faces (planes). Collectively, those lines and faces are called geometry. SketchUp is also a vector program, meaning it creates vector files. A vector file is a collection of lines and curves that scale up or down without loss of quality. Examples of vector files are PDFs (Adobe documents) and DWGs (AutoCAD documents). This is as opposed to a raster file, which is a collection of individual pixels and loses resolution quality when enlarged. Examples of raster files are JPGs and GIFs. SketchUp creates SKP and SKB files. SKP is the SketchUp file; SKB is an automatically created backup file. It preserves the next-­to-­last save. To change an SKB file into an SKP file, just over-­type the SKB extension with SKP.

1

Objective: This chapter discusses what modeling is and how the SketchUp modeling program is used by designers. Concepts and Functions: SketchUp Pro, SketchUp Free, SketchUp Shop, SketchUp Make 2017, model, solid/surface/t-­spline/mesh model, BIM, geometry, plane, polygon, vector, raster

Figure 1-­1:  All SketchUp models, including circular ones, are made of polygons and are hollow.

Chapter 1: What Is SketchUp and How Do Interior Designers Use It?

1

What Is SketchUp Used For? SketchUp is used to electronically sketch ideas three-­dimensionally—­to “get your doodle on.” It’s an alternative to pencil and tracing paper for thinking out ideas. Many use it for quick iterations, design studies, and presentations. Since you can sketch loosely (meaning without imputing numbers), SketchUp helps you think spatially. Height/width relationships are easy to see; for example, a hallway that seems wide in a floor plan may present dark and narrow when the vertical dimension is added. As with a physical foam core model, a digital model can be studied from any direction. However, SketchUp one-­ups the foam core model with camera tools that let you stroll through at eye level.

Who Uses SketchUp? SketchUp was written as a user-­friendly alternative to complex modeling software in the architectural field, its original user base. However, it has since been widely adopted by diverse fields such as interior design, game development, filmmakers, woodworkers, catalog illustrators, packaging designers, landscapers, real estate agents and stagers.

SketchUp Pro SketchUp Pro is a subscription product; compare prices at https://sketchup.com/plans-­and-­ pricing. Educational pricing is available for students and faculty; academic proof must be submitted. One license permits two sign-­ins. SketchUp Pro works on both the PC and the Mac. Files made on one platform transfer easily to the other. It can be operated in limited fashion on some Wacom and Surface tablets, and on the iPad. A free viewer app can be downloaded at https://www.sketchup.com/products/ sketchup-­viewer/downloads or from the App store. This lets you open and look at SketchUp files without having the software.

SketchUp Free and SketchUp Shop SketchUp Free is a web app (https://app.sketchup.com/app?hl=en). It targets K-­12 students and is for noncommercial use. Access it from any WebGL-enabled browser. It’s version-­less and always sports the latest release. You can save your work as an STL file, which is useful for 3D printing simple models. However, Free lacks important features such as the ability to install extensions or to save models as SKP. There is a subscription product called SketchUp Shop that is SketchUp Free with some added functionality. Free has a different interface than Pro (Figure 1‑2).

SketchUp Make 2017 SketchUp Make 2017 is a legacy version that has most of Pro’s features but lacks some features that designers may need, such as the ability to import DWG files and geolocation data.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 1-­2:  The Free interface.

Download 2017 free at https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-­older-­versions. Pro and Make cannot both be installed on the same computer.

Is SketchUp Easy to Learn? It’s probably easier than other commercial industry-­standard modeling programs, as it has fewer features and is somewhat intuitive. But “easy” is relative. Like everything else, SketchUp still takes practice—­you probably didn’t make great pencil sketches right away, either. Know that there are many ways to do the same thing in SketchUp, and no one right way. Some ways may take a few more steps, but if you make learning SketchUp the priority, efficiency will follow.

Do I Need to Know AutoCAD? AutoCAD or any other two-dimensional (2D) drafting program is not a prerequisite to learning SketchUp. This is because drafting and modeling programs operate differently. If your computer drafting experience has only been with traditional 2D software, you will find that modeling requires a different approach. You may also find that you never want to go back to 2D software once you see the power of 3D.

Difference between Traditional CAD Drawings and Models With traditional 2D computer-aided drafting (CAD) software such as AutoCAD, the mouse is an electronic pencil with which you replicate the hand-­drafting process. 3D drawings made with 2D software are really just a collection of 2D pieces assembled to give the illusion of three dimensions. A model, however, is a true 3D object that you can orbit around to view from any direction (Figure 1‑3). By default, SketchUp displays the model as a 3-­point perspective. That is, all parallel lines converge to left, right, and top or bottom vanishing points. However, SketchUp

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Figure 1-­3:  Orbit around a model to view it from any position.

can be set to display as a 2-­point perspective, as an isometric (3D view in which parallel lines remain parallel), and orthographically (plan, elevation, and section views). Orthographic (2D) views are generated from the model. A model makes the jump to scaled construction docu‑ ments in the LayOut program that installs with SketchUp. There are five model types: solid, surface, t-­spline (Figure 1‑4), mesh, and building information model (BIM). It’s helpful to know a bit about them all, as this may affect time spent trying to achieve a specific result in SketchUp. No model type is best, as all have different abilities. For example, designs that require a constant wall thickness are better drawn with a solid mod‑ eler. Designs that require organic forms are better drawn with a sculpting modeler. A common workflow is to start a model in one program and export it to another for further development. This exploits the capabilities of both.

Solid

Surface

Mesh

Figure 1-­4:  Solid, surface, mesh, and t-­spline models.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

T-spline

Solid Models These are filled solid inside; think rock. They contain data like interior volume, mass, and weight. This enables you to perform tasks like specifying a constant wall thickness or connecting and curving adjacent edges. Create solid models by adding and subtracting primitive geometric forms, such as cubes and cylinders, to and from each other, or by sketching shapes and extruding them into solid forms. Solid models are used to create product models that have many parts and details. SolidWorks and Fusion 360 are popular solid modeler programs.

Surface Models These are hollow with a skin composed of lines and faces. You can create complex curves and forms, but they have hard, not smooth, edges. Only surface data, such as area, is stored. A surface model doesn’t recognize geometry as specific features; for example, where a solid model would recognize a staircase and perform relevant calculations, a surface model just sees the staircase as lines and faces. Surface models are used when the designer is primarily concerned with form and appearance. SketchUp is a popular surface modeler for building design; Fusion 360 and Catia are popular surface modelers for product design.

T-­spline Models This is a type of surface model that is free-­flowing and curvy, and composed of four-­sided polygons. It’s used to create organic forms. You sculpt a t-­spline model by pushing and pulling the polygons and dragging control (editing) points. Blender and ZBrush are popular t-­spline programs.

Mesh Models A mesh is a type of surface model that is created when a raw model is exported as an STL file from whatever software it was designed in. STL is a 3D printing format. Mesh models often have very high polygon counts. Ones with low polygon counts can be imported into SketchUp for further development.

Building Information Management (BIM) A BIM model contains all building systems: architectural, electrical, plumbing, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). The model lives on a server and can be accessed by anyone authorized to do so. BIM models also contain nongraphical data, such as material, fire resistance class, color, and cost of the objects in it. Revit and Chief Architect are popular BIM programs with architects and interior designers. SketchUp is not BIM, but with downloaded extensions it can have BIM properties.

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What SketchUp Pro Can Do With this program you can: ▶▶

Model complete interiors and exteriors of buildings (Figure 1‑5).

Figure 1-­5:  This house is completely modeled inside and out. ▶▶

Import real-­life terrain contours and geolocation information (Figure 1‑6).

Figure 1-­6:  Access land contours and geolocation data anywhere in the world through SketchUp.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

▶▶

Apply artsy styles with one click (Figure 1‑7). Export as high-­resolution JPGs or anima‑ tions for marketing and presentations.

Figure 1-­7:  Four of the many line types and styles in SketchUp. ▶▶

Access high-­quality, ready-­made models from the 3D Warehouse, including products from manufacturer catalogs (Figure 1‑8).

Figure 1-­8:  Catalogs of product models in the 3D Warehouse.

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▶▶

Access extensions (add-­on tools) from the Extension Warehouse.

▶▶

Import JPG files of floor plans to trace and model.

▶▶

Import DWG (AutoCAD) files of floor plans to trace and model (Figure 1‑9). DWG files become SketchUp geometry.

▶▶

Export SketchUp models as a DWG file for import into AutoCAD, Revit, or 20/20 for further development.

▶▶

Create presentation boards and scaled drawings from the model with LayOut, a program that installs with SketchUp (Figure 1‑10).

1 1

Perspective NTS

3 1

Floor Plan 1/4” = 1’-0”

2 1

4 1

Figure 1-­9:  This model was made from an imported AutoCAD plan.

South Elevation 1/4” = 1’-0”

West Elevation 1/4” = 1’-0”

Figure 1-­10:  Create scaled drawings from the model in LayOut.

8

▶▶

Use, create, and edit dynamic components. These are models programmed to store information and perform specific actions. For instance, staircases can add steps when height is adjusted; cabinets can open doors with a mouse click; price and parts information can be stored.

▶▶

Perform additive and subtractive modeling tasks called Boolean operations. This saves mod‑ eling steps, making for a faster workflow (Figure 1‑11).

SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 1-­11:  With solid modeling tools, a tenon is pushed into a block of wood, then pulled away, revealing a clean mortise joint created. ▶▶

Generate reports, which are tables of information of the objects in the model. These tables can be lists and quantities of materials that are helpful for cost estimating, such as deciding how much paint to buy based on the area of walls in the model. Reports are generated with one click and downloaded as a CSV (Excel) file (Figure 1‑12).

Figure 1-­12:  A materials list of objects in the model.

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▶▶

Receive one year of free technical support via phone and e-mail with a Pro subscription. After that, a Maintenance and Support subscription is needed to receive support.

▶▶

Import hand sketches into SketchUp, trace and model.

▶▶

Do shadow studies.

▶▶

Export the model as a JPG and import it into a digital imaging program to add color (Figure 1‑13).

Figure 1-­13:  Hand sketches imported, modeled, shadow-­studied, and then colored in Photoshop. Courtesy of mkerrdesign.com. ▶▶

Incorporate artwork and photos into the design. The tabs at the top of Figure 1‑14 are preset scenes for a slideshow presentation.

Figure 1-­14:  Incorporate artwork and photos into the design.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

▶▶

Import images of the textiles to be used in the design (Figure 1‑15).

▶▶

Save models locally on your own computer or on the Trimble Cloud for remote collaboration (Figure 1‑16). You have unlimited online storage.

Figure 1-­15:  A textile pattern imported and applied to a drapery model.

Figure 1-­16:  Upload your model to the Trimble Cloud directly from SketchUp and collaborate with others on it.

Want to learn more? Join me in Chapter 2, where we’ll discuss what’s needed to run SketchUp, put it on your computer, and explore its interface.

Summary SketchUp is a surface modeling program used by interior designers for space planning, conceptual design, client presentations, and document drawings. Users can think through an idea, study design options, and present them creatively.

Further Resources The Official SketchUp Blog: http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/ Buy SketchUp here: https://store.sketchup.com/ Learn about SketchUp on the iPad: https://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-­for-­ipad SketchUp for Web: https://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-­for-­web Download a free SketchUp viewer: https://www.sketchup.com/products/ sketchup-­viewer/downloads

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Compare plans and prices: https://sketchup.com/plans-­and-­pricing SketchUp Shop: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-­web/whats-­included-­sketchup-­shop Learn about other modeling types: Fusion 360 for Makers, 2nd edtion by Lydia Sloan Cline. San Francisco: Maker Media.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

CHAPTER

Getting Started Hardware, Operating System, and Browser Requirements An internet connection is needed to authorize SketchUp each time you open it, and to use some of its features. A late-­ model computer and operating system is recommended, as SketchUp is a graphics-­intensive program. The more detailed your model, the more processing power it needs. Following are the recommended specifications. SketchUp’s help menu has a downloadable app that can check your machine for compatibility.

2

Objective: This chapter discusses what is needed to run SketchUp and looks at the interface. Concepts and Functions: three-­ button mouse, video card, Space Mouse, workspace, menu bar, global axes, scale figure, origin, measurements box, instance, viewer app, template, Trimble Connect, coordinates, backup files

PC: Windows 11, Windows 10 ▶▶

2+ GHz processor

▶▶

8+ GB RAM

▶▶

700 MB of available hard-­disk space

▶▶

3D-­class video card with 1 GB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration

▶▶

Video-­card driver must be up-­to-­date and support OpenGL 3.1 or higher

▶▶

Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.5.2

▶▶

three-­button, scroll-­wheel mouse

▶▶

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 or higher

Mac: OS 12+ (Monterey), 11+ (Big Sur), and Mac OS 10.15+ (Catalina) ▶▶

2.1+ GHz processor

▶▶

8 GB RAM

▶▶

700 MB of available hard-­disk space

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▶▶

3D-­class video card with 1 GB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. The video-­card driver must support OpenGL version 3.1 or higher and be up-­to-­date.

▶▶

Three-­button, scroll-­wheel mouse

▶▶

QuickTime 5.0 and Safari

A keyboard and three-­button scroll-­wheel mouse are needed. A one-­button mouse or trackpad is doable but difficult. 3D modeling requires much more on-­screen movement than 2D drafting. A scroll wheel and right-­click button let you make that movement faster than clicking icons and keyboard shortcuts, tapping, and sliding.

▶▶SketchUp can adjust icon and drawing element sizes appropriate for high DPI (dots per inch) screens.

Icons are sized when SketchUp starts up. If you adjust your DPI or scale (Microsoft Windows, up to 150%) you will need to restart SketchUp to see correctly sized icons and drawing elements.

Tablets SketchUp can also be used on an iPad Pro, Surface Pro, and Wacom graphics tablet. Use it with an Apple Pencil, mouse, and keyboard; a stylus pen; and/or gesture software.

Viewer App SketchUp has a free viewer app that can be used on an Apple or Android phone or tablet (Figure 2‑1). This is useful for showing a model on the job site. The viewer app can also be downloaded on a desktop, useful for someone who wants to see the model but doesn’t have SketchUp. The viewer’s interface resembles SketchUp’s Web version. A model must be downloaded to the device to be viewed; the viewer app cannot access the model from the cloud.

Figure 2-­1:  The SketchUp viewer on an iPad Pro.

Video Card The video card, also called a graphics card, is an electronic board inside the computer that sends information to the monitor. Standard computers come with a built-­in card that may display SketchUp models with a low-­resolution, jagged appearance. A dedicated card, such as the kind used for graphic design, HD-­v ideo editing, animation, and gaming will give a smoother

14

SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 2-­2:  Standard video-­card output (left), dedicated graphics card (right).

appearance (Figure 2‑2) and better handle the high demands of modeling software. If you plan to print SketchUp models for construction documents and marketing purposes, a high-­level video card is especially important.

Space Mouse A mouse option for both the PC and Mac is 3DConnexion’s Space Mouse (Figure 2‑3), designed for modeling software. You push, pull, twist, or tilt the mouse to pan, zoom, and orbit around the model. The Space Mouse has programmable buttons for your most-­used tools. It’s not a replacement for the traditional mouse; you still use that to select, create, and edit.

Download SketchUp Pro It’s time to point your browser to www.sketchup .com and download Pro (Figure 2‑4). Note the offerings under the Products tab. Pro, Studio, Higher Education, and Universities are the same Figure 2-­3:  The 3D mouse is used with a product with different subscription prices. Shop traditional mouse. is the same as Free with the ability to import and export more file types and access to Trimble Connect for storage and collaboration. Three programs will download: SketchUp Pro, LayOut, and Style Builder (Figure 2‑5). All can be used independently or linked to each other. Linking lets you sync updates.

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Figure 2-­4:  Download SketchUp Pro.

Figure 2-­5:  SketchUp Pro, LayOut, and Style Builder icons.

Launch SketchUp Pro Click on the SketchUp Pro icon to launch. You’ll be asked to sign in (Figure 2‑6). Use your Google, Apple, or Trimble account. If SketchUp is already open on more computers than your license allows, a splash screen will tell you so. Click on the Manage activations button. It sends you to your Trimble account. Managing the activation is the one time you will need a Trimble account. You can make one here or on any SketchUp site, such as the 3D Warehouse. Click on My Products>View Included Applications. Then click on Manage Devices for SketchUp Pro, LayOut, and Style Builder. Once deactivated, sign out of Trimble, re-­sign in, and restart SketchUp.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 2-­6:  The sign-­in screen.

Choose a Template Once signed in, a Welcome screen with six template choices appear (Figure 2‑7). These are files with different default measurement settings to accommodate different uses, such as woodworking and 3D printing. Click More templates for another 12 choices. SketchUp will open after you choose a template. The template you last chose will appear as the first thumbnail on the template choice page. You can skip this screen by clicking on Preferences>General and unchecking Show Welcome Window. If you do this, your default template will open. Making your own custom template is discussed in Chapter 3. For our practice file, choose Architectural Inches.

Figure 2-­7:  Choose a template.

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With this template, all dimensions appear in a feet and inch format (Figure 2‑8). When you type a number, the default is inches, so no need to add the inch unit (″). But to enter feet, you must add the foot symbol (′) after a dimension number. Know that you can also type dimension units in metric (mm, cm, m) in the architectural inches template; just include the unit after the dimension number.

The Workspace

Figure 2-­8:  Dimensions in the architectural inches template appear in feet and inches.

The workspace operates a bit differently in PC and Mac, and we’ll note those differences as we get to them. Figure 2‑9 shows the PC screen. The Mac screen is almost identical; Figure 2‑10 shows differences. Mac users, your menu starts with a SketchUp entry, and that entry contains the Preferences and Licensing/Update options that are under the PC’s Window and Help menus. Mac users also don’t have the panel trays on the right side of the screen that PC users have. Instead, Mac users click open individual submenus, double-­click on them to minimize, and then stack and move them together around the screen. Following are the elements of the workspace. Getting Started Toolbar

Menu

User Info

Panel Trays Scale Figure

Axes

origin

Model Info Geolocation

Figure 2-­9:  The PC’s workspace.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Measurements Box

Window

PC

Panel Trays

Sketch Up

Mac

Stacked Submenus

Figure 2-­10:  The PC and Mac menu bars.

Menu Bar This is a horizontal bar at the top of the screen that houses tools and functions. It has nine categories: file, edit, view, camera, draw, tools, window, extensions, and help. ▶▶

File. Contains functions that let you open, save, print, import/export files, send files to LayOut, geolocate a file, and access Trimble Connect, which is online storage and collaboration space. There’s also a Predesign option, which assists with research.

▶▶

Edit. Contains standard undo/redo, cut, copy, and paste functions plus SketchUp-­ specific ones like making selections, groups and components, hide/unhide, and deleting guides.

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▶▶

View. Contains options that alter how the model looks, such as opaque or transparent, how section cuts are filled, show hidden geometry, shadows, fog, and animation settings.

▶▶

Camera. Contains tools that affect how you view the model, such as in perspective, isometric, or 2D; orbit/pan/zoom; walk and look around at eye level; and match the model’s perspective with that of an imported photo.

▶▶

Draw. Contains line, arc, and shape tools for creating the model.

▶▶

Tools. Contains what’s needed to edit and modify. Here you’ll find the eraser, paint bucket, move, rotate, scale, push/pull, follow me, offset, tape measure, and protractor. Also contains dimension and text tools, the section plane, solid tools (these mimic a solid modeling experience) and the outer shell tool (this removes interior overlapping geometry).

▶▶

Window. Here is where you turn the panel trays on and off. Also, access model information, preferences, components options/attributes, and the 3D Warehouse (models that others made) here.

▶▶

Extensions. Access the Extension Warehouse (more tools) and Extension Manager (install and update).

▶▶

Help. Here you can return to the template choices, access online support, check what version you’re using and if there’s an update, manage your license, and download an app that checks your computer for the ability to run SketchUp.

Getting Started Toolbar The horizontal bar under the Menu bar contains icons that activate the most common drawing and editing tools. It opens by default when you open SketchUp.

The Global Axes These are the height, length, and depth lines along which you draw. Their intersection is called the origin. The height (z) line is blue, and the ground lines (x and y) are red and green. The axes lines are solid in the positive directions and dotted in the negative. Every point has a coordinate (group of numbers) that describes its location. For example, (3,4,5) means 3 units along the x/red axis, 4 units along the y/green axis, and 5 units along the z/blue axis. You can find each point’s coordinates by clicking the Text tool onto it and then dragging. The coordinates will appear in the text box (Figure 2‑11).

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 2-­11:  Every point has a coordinate that describes its location along the axes.

Global axes apply to the whole model. Individual components have their own, local axes. Those local axes can be rotated so they don’t match the global axes if the design warrants it. If a downloaded component’s local axes don’t match the global axes, they can be rotated to match.

Scale Figure This human shape helps you visualize sizes, which is useful when you’re loosely sketching instead of imputing dimensions. The scale figure is a component, meaning a collection of loose lines and planes that are manipulated together. It is a 2D shape, but 3D figures are available in the Warehouse.

▶▶Fun fact: In each major annual release the scale figure is a different SketchUp team member. You can

download them all from the Warehouse. Earlier scale figures are dynamic, meaning when you click the dynamic components tool on them, some characteristics change.

Bottom-­left Screen Icons Pin activates the geolocation tool (this defines the precise location on Earth where the model exists). Figure opens the model information window. Here you can access and modify settings on functions such as animations, dimensions, components, text, and units. Instructor. This icon is on the Mac and opens a brief tutorial for the currently activated tool (Figure 2‑12). On the PC, access the Instructor at Window>Default Tray and click Instructor to make it appear in the panel trays. Links inside the Instructor take you to the SketchUp Knowledge Center. Clicking on a different tool changes the information in the Instructor. If the Instructor distracts you, go to Windows> Instructor and uncheck it. When you want it back, recheck. You can also make the Instructor appear and disappear by clicking the circled question mark in the lower-­left corner of the modeling window.

Measurements Box

Figure 2-­12:  Icons and Instructor window on the Mac.

The rectangular field in the lower-­right corner displays all dimensions. If you don’t see it, it may be hidden behind your taskbar/dock. Maximize the SketchUp screen or drag it higher on the desktop. Typing numbers is how to make SketchUp models accurate. You don’t have to type numbers specifically in the Measurements Box—­that’s just where they’ll show up. Such numbers

Chapter 2: Getting Started

21

include line lengths; circle diameters; rectangle sizes; number of polygon sides; number of copies; distance to move, offset or push/pull something; and rotation angles. Some tools cause default numbers to appear, and you’ll overtype them when needed. For example, when you click on the Polygon tool, the number 6 appears in the box, meaning you’ll draw a polygon with six sides. Before clicking the polygon in place, click in the Measurements box and type in the desired number. Then draw the polygon. The nature of the number that appears in the Measurements box depends on which tool is activated. The number could mean inches, degrees, or number of sides. As we cover different tools, how they’re entered in the measurement box will be discussed.

Panel Trays These are where files and functions are stored. Earlier we clicked open the Instructor tray. Click on the Materials tray now. You’ll find a drop-­down menu with nested options for stone, tile, carpet, and other items (Figure 2‑13). View the trays on a PC at Window>Default tray (Figure 2‑14). That’s where you click individual trays on and off. If you inadvertently turn off a tray, just go there to turn it back on. Tray order can be changed by dragging them. Mac users, you need to turn the trays on under the Window menu.

Run Multiple SketchUp Files at the Same Time On a PC, clicking File>New prompts you to save the current file. Upon saving, the file closes, and a new instance (open copy) of SketchUp opens. If you want to close the file without saving but keep SketchUp open, click No when asked to save the file. Clicking File>Open prompts you to save the current file and then navigates to another one. You can run multiple instances (copies of SketchUp software) on a PC by right-­clicking on the SketchUp desktop icon and selecting open or clicking on the desktop icon of the file you want to open. While you can run multiple instances, you can’t run multiple files under one instance. On a Mac you can have multiple files open in one instance. Clicking File>Open or File>New opens a new file without closing the current one.

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 2-­13:  The Materials tray/ carpet options.

Figure 2-­14:  View all trays at Windows>Default tray.

Save Options Under File there are four save options. Save does just that—­it saves the open file. Save As replaces the open file with a new one. Save A Copy As leaves the current file open and makes a closed copy at a location you choose. Save As Template makes a template out of your file. The file is saved with an SKP extension and it will appear with all the other template choices when you open SketchUp. Files made in earlier versions of SketchUp can be opened in later ones. Files made with later versions may not work correctly in earlier versions if they can be opened at all. You can save a file as an earlier version by scrolling through the Save As Type field at the bottom of the Save dialog box (Figure 2‑15) and choosing the earlier version of SketchUp you want. Figure 2-­15:  Save SketchUp files in their SketchUp automatically creates an autosave file current version or as an older one in the at a time increment of your choice after the last Save As dialog box. save. Set that increment at Window>Preferences >General and check Autosave (PC), and at SketchUp>General (Mac). The autosave file deletes once you save again or exit. If SketchUp crashes, the autosave file remains, giving you almost up-­to-­date work. Set a frequent autosave to protect against crashes.

Backup Files Backup files are automatically made in the same location as the SKP file (ensure that the Create Backup box is checked at Preferences>General). They have an SKB extension. Don’t delete backups until done with a project, as they’re useful if (oh, the horror) the SKP file gets corrupted or accidentally overwritten. SketchUp’s backup files are unique in that they’re the previously saved version of the model, not the last saved version. This is handy if you mess up a model after a save and need to backtrack a bit. Convert an SKB file into an SKP file by overtyping the b into a p.

Save and Exit the Software PC users, click File>Exit or the X in the upper-­right corner. Mac users, go to SketchUp>Quit SketchUp to exit the software; clicking the red button in the upper-­left corner just closes the active file, not the software, because you can have multiple files open in one instance.

Chapter 2: Getting Started

23

Now’s a good time to save the file—­call it Practice and choose where on your computer to save it. Perhaps make a folder called SketchUp Files and put all work from this book in it. Next up is navigating around the workspace! Join me in Chapter 3 where we’ll start learning tools.

Summary SketchUp runs on both the Windows and Mac platforms. It requires an internet connection and is optimally used on a tower or laptop computer with a strong graphics card, three-­button mouse, and keyboard. It can be run on some tablets. A viewer app is available that enables you to see a model without installing the SketchUp software. SketchUp can run multiple simultaneous files; on the PC they are separate instances and on the Mac the files can run under one instance. The automatically created SKB backup file preserves the next-­to-­last saved version.

Further Resources Hardware needed to run SketchUp: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/ system-­requirements

SpaceMouse models: https://3dconnexion.com/us/spacemouse/ Download SketchUp viewer app: https://www.sketchup.com/products/ sketchup-­viewer/downloads

SketchUp Free vs. SketchUp Shop: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-­web/ whats-­included-­sketchup-­shop

Tips on using Trimble Connect: https://blog.sketchup.com/ article/7-­tips-­for-­remote- ­collaboration

Overview of the Predesign feature: https://help.sketchup.com/en/predesign-­sketchup/ getting-­started

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SketchUp for Interior Design

CHAPTER

3

Exploring the Interface

I

n Chapter 2 you installed and launched the SketchUp soft‑ ware and saved a file called Practice. Open it, as we’re going to maneuver around the workspace now.

Objective: This chapter discusses the SketchUp desktop and how to maneuver around it.

Add the Large Tool Set

Tools: screen tip, select, rectangle, push/pull, pan, orbit, zoom, move, transparent tool

The Getting Started toolbar doesn’t contain every tool. There are a lot more. On the PC, click View>Toolbars. This opens the toolbar window, which shows them all (Figure 3‑1). Check the box in front of Large Tool Set to make that toolbar open, and then double-­click on the toolbar’s top bar to dock it (Figure 3‑2). On the Mac, click View>Tool Palettes>Large Tool Set (Figure 3‑3). A floating toolbar will appear. Mac toolbars don’t dock or minimize with the workspace. On both the PC and Mac you can move toolbars off SketchUp and onto the desktop for more workspace room.

Concepts and Functions: menu bar, getting started toolbar, views toolbar, standard toolbar, large tool set, auto-­select, inference engine, inference lines, windows, preferences, model info, transparent tool, modifier key, plan, elevation, perspective, paraline, isometric, selection window, crossing window, template, select, erase, undo, rectangle, rotated rectangle, lasso, push/pull, impute numbers, orbit, pan, zoom, move, copy

Figure 3-­1:  On the PC, click View>Toolbars to see all the tools available.

Chapter 3: Exploring the Interface

25

Figure 3-­3:  On the Mac, click View>Tool Palettes>Large Tool Set to add it to the workspace.

Figure 3-­2:  Click open the Large Tool Set.

Large Tool Set duplicates many of the tools in Getting Started and has additional tools. Throughout this book we’ll mostly access tools through toolbars. But you can access them through the Camera, Draw, Figure 3-­4:  Hover the mouse over a tool icon and the Tools menus at the top of the screen to see its screen tip. if you want. Explore! Hover the mouse over each icon to read its screen tip, a pop-­up menu that describes what each tool is and what it does (Figure 3‑4) to get familiar with the icons. Click on the Menu items and read the submenus. Shortcut fans can find a list of keys that activate tools at Window>Preferences>Shortcuts (PC) or SketchUp>Preferences>Shortcut (Mac). Now let’s play with some of those tools.

26

SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 3-­5:  The Search window.

The Search Tool Click on the magnifying glass and a search box appears (Figure 3‑5). The shortcut is Shift + S. You can quickly find and activate both built-­in commands and installed extensions. Just type the tool’s name or a word related to its workflow, such as “elevation” or “Boolean.” This search box is especially helpful with tool menus that have a lot of icons. Instead of keeping that toolbar open all the time, you can just type in its name when you want it and the toolbar will appear.

The Select Tool, Erase and Undo The Select tool icon (Figure 3‑6) is an arrow. It highlights objects Figure 3-­6:  The Select tool. for editing and for context menu-­clicking. Click to activate. With the Select tool activated, click on the scale figure component. A blue box appears around it, indicating that it is highlighted. This means you’ll get a specific context menu when you right-­click on it. Right-­click inside the blue box and choose Erase from the context menu (Figure 3‑7). He’s gone! No worries, go to Edit >Undo Erase to bring him back. Undo reverses the last action, and you can undo all actions one at a time until the last save. Or just reimport him by clicking on the Components tray from the Panels tray on the right (Mac Users, find it under the Window menu) and then on the house icon (Figure 3‑8). All components in the model, including erased ones, appear under the house icon, and you can drag them into the workspace. Figure 3-­7:  Right-­clicking on a selected Return to the Select tool by clicking the space bar. item brings up a context menu.

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The Select tool has a drop-­down arrow in which a lasso is nested. This lets you select irregular boundaries. Its shortcut is Shift + Spacebar

The Rectangle Tool The Rectangle tool looks like a square and its dropdown arrow accesses a rotated rectangle (Figure 3‑9). Click it. Now click the cursor anywhere on the modeling window, drag and click again. You’ve just drawn a rectangle (Figure 3‑10).

The Inference Engine While dragging the rectangle, you may have noticed a diagonal dotted line appear and disappear (Figure 3‑11). That’s SketchUp’s inference engine at work. This diagonal line appeared when the rectangle’s shape was dragged into a proportion called the Golden Section. If the rectangle is dragged into a perfect square, a screen tip that says square will appear. The inference engine is a geometric analysis feature that enables you to draw accurately. It helps you make accu‑ rate models without constantly typing dimensions. Based on how and where

Figure 3-­8:  The house icon shows all components in the model.

Figure 3-­9:  The Rectangle tool.

Figure 3-­10:  A rectangle drawn with the Rectangle tool.

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Figure 3-­11:  This dotted inference line indicates the rectangle has Golden Section proportions.

you move the cursor, it assumes, or infers, the specific points, planes, and directions you want, like AutoCAD’s osnaps, if you’re familiar with those. For example, if you hover over the approx‑ imate location of the midpoint, endpoint, or edge with the Pencil tool, the actual midpoint, endpoint, edge, etc., will appear as a colored dot or line.

▶▶Tip: Sometimes the inference you want won’t pop up immediately. In that case, encourage it by moving the cursor a few seconds over that area.

There are three kinds of inferences: point (e.g., to an endpoint or midpoint), linear (along the three axes), and planar (on the model’s faces). To clarify planar inferencing, SketchUp snaps to a plane when it cannot snap to a specific piece of geometry. Instead of abstractly discussing inferencing, we’ll discuss it as we use it. For now, just go to Edit>Undo Rectangle (Figure 3‑12) and then redraw the rectangle as a square by watching for the diagonal inference line and clicking when the “square” screen tip appears.

Figure 3-­12:  Every action is immediately reversed with the Undo function.

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The Rotated Rectangle Tool This is nested in the Rectangle tool and lets you use three points to create a rectangle. This is helpful for items that need two endpoints for length and another for height, such as doors (Figure 3‑13).

The Circle Tool This is also nested in the Rectangle tool. Click on the tool and move the cursor to the workspace, but don’t click it on the workspace yet. Notice the 24 that appears in the Measurements box (Figure 3‑14). This circle is really a polygon with a default of 24 sides. Before clicking the circle into place, hit the Backspace key and the 24 will disappear, enabling you to type a new number. Do not hit any key in between the Backspace key and new number; if you do, the new number won’t take. Why would you want to change the polygon number? Well, a bigger number creates a smoother shape that more closely resembles a circle. The downside is that also creates a larger file size, so is inadvisable if the circle is a minor feature. If you won’t be zooming in on this

1.

2.

3.

Figure 3-­13:  Use the Rotated Rectangle to draw a door.

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Figure 3-­14:  The default for the circle is 24 sides.

circle because it is a minor feature, type a smaller number. Let’s accept the default of 24 and click the circle tool twice to create it. What makes the circle-­polygon different from the polygon made with the Polygon tool that is also nested with the Rectangle tool? Click the Polygon tool, backspace the default of 6, type 24 and hit Enter. Your Figure 3-­15:  An extruded polygon and circle. polygon will have 24 sides just like the circle. But when you extrude it up with the Push/Pull tool, all the sides will show. When the circle is extruded, it is smooth (Figure 3‑15).

The Push/Pull Tool Push/pull (Figure 3‑16) adds volume to a face by extruding (stretching) it. It’s an auto-­select Figure 3-­16:  The Push/Pull tool. tool, meaning when you move it onto a face, the face highlights. Not all tools auto-­select; generally, you must highlight a face in a separate action with the Select tool. Click the push/pull icon and then move the mouse onto the square you just drew. See how the face becomes dotted? That means it’s selected and ready to edit. Click, hold, and drag the cursor up, let the cursor go, type 5′ and hit Enter. The square is now a 5′ tall cube (Figure 3‑17). Figure 3-­17:  A cube made with Push/Pull.

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Note that while 5′ appears in the measure‑ ments box, I didn’t have to type inside that box. I can type the number anywhere on the screen. Since we’re using the inches template you don’t need to type the inch symbol (″) after each number, but you do need to type the foot symbol (′) if you want feet. Type metric units (mm, cm, m) if you want those. When the face being extruded is adjacent to another face, it will pull that face along (Figure 3‑18). To keep the adjacent face intact, press and release the Ctrl key (Command on the Mac) right before performing the push/ pull action. If you push/pull a face on an angled surface up, the resultant volume will be rectangular. Press and release the Ctrl key to preserve the original shape.

Figure 3-­18:  Press the Ctrl key (Command on the Mac) to preserve faces and forms when using Push/Pull.

Impute Numbers To make the cube a specific size, type its dimensions as you model it. For example, after clicking the first point of a rectangle, type 5',5' and hit Enter. The rectangle will snap to 5 feet on each side. The first dimension goes along the red axis, the second dimension goes along the green. To change the size, type new numbers immediately after hitting Enter. If you perform any intermediate action after hitting Enter, such as clicking on a different tool, you won’t be able to enter new numbers. SketchUp draws at a 1:1 scale, so the 5′ is true size, meaning an actual 5′. Working with true size numbers makes calculations for scaling the model easier. To impute fractions, add a space between the inch and fraction. For example: 7′-­6 1/2, 7′-­6 1/2. Don’t forget the comma between the set of numbers (Figure 3‑19). Change the precision of fractions at Window>Model Info>Units (Figure 3‑20).

Figure 3-­19:  Imputing whole numbers and fractions.

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Figure 3-­20:  To change the model’s units, go to Window>Model Info>Units.

▶▶Tip: You don’t have to type two numbers to draw a rectangle. You can type one number and click on a

piece of geometry for the second number. Either type the first number and click the second or click the first number and type the second.

The Pan, Orbit, and Zoom Tools Pan looks like a hand; click on it. (Figure 3‑21). Then click on the cube, hold, and drag it around the Figure 3-­21:  The Pan and Orbit tools screen. You’re panning, that is, moving the view around the desktop. You can also pan by holding the left mouse button and the scroll wheel down together. Pan is useful for moving geometry away from anything overlapping it, such as other geometry or dialog boxes (pop-­up windows). Now click on the Orbit tool, the circular arrows left of Pan. This whirls you, the viewer, around the cube; the cube itself doesn’t move. Orbit lets you spin around the model to view it from all angles. The most efficient way to orbit is to hold the mouse scroll wheel down and drag it around. Orbit on top, below, and behind the cube (Figure 3‑22). Hold the Shift key down while orbiting to temporarily pan. The Zoom icon is a magnifying glass to the right of Pan. Zooming in brings you close to an object, which lets you examine small details. Zooming out takes you farther away, which lets you see the big picture.

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Figure 3-­22:  Orbiting around the cube.

Click the Zoom tool onto the model, hold the left mouse key down and drag it up and down to zoom in and out (Figure 3‑23). Even better, just rotate the scroll wheel on the mouse. The icon to Zoom’s right—­the magnifying glass with three arrows—­is Zoom Extents. Clicking it makes the whole model fill up the window. If you click Zoom Extents and your model hides off in a corner, it’s because there are little pieces of geometry you drew earlier still lurking around. Find and erase them, and your model will come back. Clicking Zoom Extents is a good way to locate those lost, small pieces. Pan, Orbit, and Zoom are transparent tools, meaning you can activate them while using another tool and then pick up the other tool where you left off. For example, if you’re drawing something with the Pencil and click on Orbit, the

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Figure 3-­23:  Zooming out and in.

Pencil icon will deselect. When you click the Pencil to reactivate, it will resume drawing in the location it was before you clicked Orbit.

Modifier Keys Modifier keys are keys pressed while using a tool to make it do something else. Examples are the Shift key while orbiting to temporarily pan, or the Ctrl key while push/pulling to keep a face intact. Here are PC and Mac modifier key equivalents: PC

MAC

Alt

Command

Ctrl

Option

Enter

Return

Shift

Shift

The Escape Key The Esc key quits an operation. It cancels dialog boxes, closes menus, and quits functions. If you’re in the middle of something and need to get out, just hit Esc.

The Camera and the Views Toolbar You’ve probably noticed by now that the cube you modeled appears in perspective. That is, it looks the way the eye sees it: parallel lines converge to vanishing points and its size changes with proximity to viewer location. Three-­point perspective is SketchUp’s default mode. However, you can make the model appear as a paraline view, which is where parallel lines remain parallel; they don’t converge. Click on Camera>Parallel Projection (Figure 3‑24). Now the cube appears as an isometric view, a type of paraline drawing where the horizontal lines slope at a 30° angle. With parallel projection on, let’s do something that makes modeling software really shine. We’ll generate orthographic views from this cube, spe‑ cifically top, front, and side views. Or in architec‑ tural drafting terms, the plan and elevations.

Figure 3-­24:  Click on Camera>Parallel Projection to see the model in a paraline view.

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On the PC, click on View>Toolbars and check the Views box. A toolbar with icons that look like 2D views of a house will Figure 3-­25:  The Views toolbar. appear (Figure 3‑25). On the Mac, go to View>Customize Toolbar. A tools page appears on which tools are stored (Figure 3‑26). Drag the Views toolbar from this window into the Getting Started toolbar (Figure 3‑27). Drag the Undo/Redo arrows there also, while you’re at it.

Figure 3-­26:  On the Mac, Views>Customize Toolbar brings up a tools dialog box.

Figure 3-­27:  On the Mac, drag the Views toolbar into the Getting Started toolbar.

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Figure 3-­28:  Isometric and top views of the cube.

Clicking on View’s icons generates top, front, right, back, and left views (Figure 3‑28). To return to the isometric view, click the View toolbar’s first icon, the one whose screen tip says iso. Finally, click Camera>Perspective to return the model to a perspective view.

Selection Techniques Geometry must be selected before anything can be done with it. A highlighted cube has blue dots on its faces and is ready for editing. Activate the Select tool by clicking on it. Your selection options are: Selection Window (Figure 3‑29). Hold the mouse down and drag it from the upper-­left corner to the lower-­right corner. Let go. All geometry entirely within that window will get selected for edit‑ ing. Anything partly outside the window will not be selected. Figure 3-­29:  Drag a selection Crossing Window. Holding the mouse button, window from the upper-­left to lower-­ drag it from the lower-­right corner to the upper-­left right corners. corner. This creates a crossing window. All geometry touched by that window, whether entirely inside it or not, will get selected. Right Click on selected geometry. You’ll get a slightly different context menu depending on whether you select a line or plane, but options include selecting by connected faces; all connected geometry; all with the same tag; and inverting the selection (Figure 3‑30).

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Figure 3-­30:  A selection window and the highlighted cube.

▶▶Tip: A performance issue with a weak video card is an inability to make selection windows. A quick fix is to go to Preferences>OpenGL and uncheck Use Fast Feedback. Know this will also slow the program down when working on large models.

Single, Double, and Triple Clicks. Click the Select tool once on a face to select it. Double-­click to select a face and all its bordering edges. Triple-­click an edge or a face to select all attached geometry (Figure 3‑31).

Figure 3-­31:  Single-click to select a face. Double-­click a face to select it and all its edges. Triple-­click an edge or face to select everything attached to it.

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Shift and Control Keys. Hold the Shift key down to bring up a plus/minus sign. This indi‑ cates you can add or remove individual pieces from the selection. Hold the Ctrl key down to bring up a plus sign, indicating you can add individual pieces to the selection.

The Move Tool Move (Figure 3‑32) relocates selected geometry. Click on its icon, click on the cube, and move it around. When you move parallel to the axes, lines that color-­coordinate with Figure 3-­32:  The Move tool. those axes appear. They’re inference lines, telling you that you are indeed parallel to the axis. Figure 3‑33 shows the cube moving along the red axis. You can edit a line’s length with the Move tool if the line doesn’t bound a face. Hover Move over one of the line’s endpoints and then click and drag the endpoint to change the line’s length. The Move tool also copies. Press and release the Ctrl key. A plus sign appears, indicating you can make a single copy of what is selected Figure 3-­33:  A red inference line (Figure 3‑34). Press and release the Ctrl key appears when the cube moves parallel to twice to “stamp,” or make multiple copies. Press the red axis. and release the Ctrl key to return to Move mode. Alternatively, you can select geometry, click File>Copy and then File>Paste. Then click the copy that appears into place.

Figure 3-­34:  The Move tool moves and copies.

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Resize a Circle with the Move Tool If a circle’s perimeter is highlighted, click the Move tool anywhere onto the circle to relocate it. If a circle’s perimeter isn’t highlighted, click the Move tool anywhere onto the circle to resize it by dragging.

Customize the Workspace What if you don’t like where the toolbars are? Or you want a custom toolbar with the icons you use most? Personalize the workspace by customizing the toolbars and changing their locations.

Customize Toolbars on the PC On the PC, undock and move toolbars by grasping their handles, those dotted lines at the left end or top. Remove a toolbar from the modeling window by unchecking it in the View>Toolbars window. Incidentally, you can right-­click on a blank spot up on the top menu bar area to access the toolbar list and click them on and off (Figure 3‑35). Toolbars can also be moved off the workspace and onto the desktop to free up more modeling room To make a custom toolbar go to View>Toolbars. Click New, and a pop-­up menu box will appear. Name it and hit OK (Figure 3‑36). Drag and drop tools from other toolbars into the new toolbar. The toolbars window must remain open while doing this. Note that the new toolbar is listed with all the others (Figure 3‑37). While that window is open you can also move the position of individual tools on the Getting Started and other menus by sliding the icons around with the cursor. When you drag a tool from one toolbar into Figure 3-­35:  Right-­click at the top to another, the tool disappears from the one it was quickly access toolbars. dragged from. To return it, you’ll have to drag it back; open the toolbars window to do that. It’s possible to lose or inadvertently delete a tool. With the toolbar window still open, right-­click on a toolbar to see its context menu and click Reset All to restore it to defaults (Figure 3‑38). You can also restore an individual toolbar by clicking it in the Toolbars window and then clicking the Reset button. Reset all toolbars at once with the Reset All button. Your custom toolbar stocked with its tools will remain. Delete a custom toolbar by highlighting it and clicking the Delete button. Once you close SketchUp with the toolbars in their new docked positions and shapes, it will remember them each time it opens.

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Figure 3-­36:  Make a custom toolbar at View>Toolbars>New.

Figure 3-­37:  Drag tools from other toolbars into the newly created one.

Figure 3-­38:  Right-­click on a toolbar for a context menu.

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Figure 3-­39:  The Standard toolbar.

A useful toolbar to activate is the Standard toolbar, which contains operating system com‑ mands such as Save, Copy, Undo, and Redo (Figure 3‑39). We’ll be activating other toolbars as needed throughout the book.

Customize the Getting Started Toolbar on the Mac Customization on the Mac consists of adding, deleting, and relocating tools to the Getting Started toolbar. Right-­click on a blank space on the Getting Started menu and choose Customize Toolbar (Figure 3-­40). The tools window we saw earlier appears; drag what you want from it into the Getting Started bar. Delete icons from Getting Started by dragging them back into the tools window. Drag tools left and right on the Getting Started bar to reposition them (the tools dialog box must be open while doing this) and click Done to set. To restore Getting Started to its original state, drag all its tools into the tools window and then drag the default set toolbar at the bottom of the tools window up to the top of the screen. SketchUp will remember any other modeling window changes made, such as the screen size and the location of other toolbars.

Figure 3.40:  Click on Customize Toolbar to create one with your preferences.

Make a Custom Template A template is a file of default settings. You may want to customize one after you start “sketchupping” in earnest. Click on File>New to open a new SketchUp file. Here are features to consider for a custom template:

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▶▶

Custom toolbars and specific locations for them on the workplace.

▶▶

Units, Dimensions, and Text. Go to Window>Model Info. Adjust settings such as those shown in Figure 3‑41.

SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 3-­41:  Dimensions (PC) and text settings (Mac). ▶▶

Styles, Components, Materials. Go to Window>Style and adjust whatever settings there you want, such as workplace color and model style (Figure 3‑42). Click open the components and materials windows to add anything there. You might want to add a dif‑ ferent scale figure component or delete the one that’s there.

Figure 3-­42:  The Styles, Components, and Materials windows.

▶▶

Perspective. Go to the Camera menu and change the default to 2-­point perspective or paraline.

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When you’ve finished choosing all the settings, save and name the file at File>Save As Template (Figure 3‑43). Then click on File >New from Template to see the custom thumb‑ nail appear with the built-­in ones (Figure 3‑44). To delete the custom template, go to Window>Preferences>Files on the PC and SketchUp>Preferences>Files on the Mac. Click on the folder next to Templates. A browser window will open in which you can delete the tem‑ plate (Figure 3‑45).

Figure 3-­43:  Save and name the custom template file. My templates

Figure 3-­4 4:  Find the custom template under My Templates.

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Figure 3-­45:  Delete a custom template at Preferences/Files.

The Help Function Stuck? Click on Help>Help Center (Figure 3‑46). This will take you to a page with tutorials, and if you scroll to the bottom, there’s a link to the official SketchUp community forums at https:// forums.sketchup.com/. The community forums at https://sketchucation.com/ are another nice resource. However, just typing your question into Google may be fastest, as it has probably been asked and answered already on one of the many places where SketchUp is discussed. Now that you can maneuver around the work‑ space, it’s time to model something. Join me in Chapter 4 and we’ll make some furniture.

Figure 3-­46:  Accessing online help.

Summary Personalize the workspace with modified toolbars and custom templates. Impute numbers and watch for inference prompts to model accurately. The Select tool highlights geometry, which enables editing. The Pan, Zoom, and Orbit tools maneuver around the modeling window; Rectangle makes faces; Push/Pull adds volume; Move relocates and copies; and Esc gets you out. Find tools quickly with the Search box. Generate 2D views with the Views toolbar and take questions directly to Google for the quickest answers.

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Further Resources SketchUp channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SketchUpVideo SketchUp Blog: https://blog.sketchup.com/ Lydia’s YouTube channel. Lots of SketchUp tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/user/ ProfDrafting

Exercises This exercise will get you comfortable with the SketchUp interface. Download the Eames Chair file from the Wiley site.

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▶▶

Use Orbit to move around it and Pan to move it around the modeling window.

▶▶

Zoom in and out of it.

▶▶

Change its view in the Camera menu from perspective to paraline, and then activate the Views toolbar.

▶▶

Click on the Views toolbar’s icons to see the chair’s different orthographic views.

▶▶

Click on the iso icon to return it to a 3D view, then click Camera>Perspective to return to a perspective view.

▶▶

Click the Select tool on the chair and notice the blue bounding box that appears. That will be discussed in Chapter 4.

▶▶

Open a new SketchUp file. Customize the toolbars and then save it as a template file. Close it, and then find and re-­open.

SketchUp for Interior Design

CHAPTER

4

Modeling Furniture

I

n Chapter 3 we maneuvered around the modeling workspace. Here we’ll use SketchUp’s built-­in tools to create a table, a bookcase, and a clock.

Objective: This chapter uses SketchUp’s native modeling and editing tools to create three furniture and accessory models.

Faces and Edges

Tools: rectangle, pencil, freehand, eraser, tape measure, scale, offset, arc, rotate, circle

Open the Cube file from Chapter 3. The cube, like all surface models, consists of edges (lines) and faces (planes). Collectively those edges and faces are called geometry. Edges are lines. They’re always straight and have no thickness. You can apply styles that make them appear thick, but that’s just a display trick. The geometry itself isn’t thicker. Faces are coplanar surfaces, meaning flat like a piece of paper. They’re bounded by at least three edges and lack thickness. The front, called the normal, is white; the back is blue. You can’t have a face without edges, as the Eraser tool will now demonstrate.

The Eraser Tool and Erasing The Eraser (Figure 4‑1) deletes edges. Click it onto an edge to delete it. Continuously erase multiple edges by holding down the left mouse button and dragging. But the fastest way to erase multiple items at once is to select them and hit the Delete key. Highlight a face with the Select tool, right-­click and choose Erase from the context menu. Figure 4‑2 shows an edge and face being erased. When right-­clicking, ensure that a tool is active, not Orbit, Pan, or Zoom, because those have different context menus.

Concepts and Functions: edge, face, normal, geometry, rubber banding, fill, stickiness, group, nested group, bounding box, component, component/local axis, definition, instance, redo, grips, guidelines, guide points, shadows, hide, editing box, Materials tray, flip along axis, line, setting axis colors, cursor cross hairs, entity info box, escape key, taper a leg, linear and radial array

Figure 4-­1:  The Eraser tool.

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Figure 4-­2:  Erasing edges and faces.

At Edit>Undo, click to restore the cube. Note there’s a redo option also in case you undo too much. You can also just drag a crossing window around the cube, hit Delete, and redraw it.

The Pencil and Freehand Tools The Pencil, also called Line, draws straight lines (a model’s edges). After clicking two endpoints, hit ESC to finish a line. Freehand (Figure 4‑3) draws irregular lines in any direction and can draw on Figure 4-­3:  The Pencil and Freehand tools. adjacent faces in all three planes (Figure 4‑4). Freehand lines are multiple straight segments that behave as a single line. Activate the Pencil and draw a line on the top of the cube from midpoint-­to-­midpoint (Figure 4‑5). Find those midpoints by hovering over them until the cyan midpoint inference appears. Click, draw to the opposite side, and click on the midpoint inference again. Always draw parallel to the global axes unless the item you’re modeling is skewed to the axes for a design reason. When drawing parallel to an axis, holding the Shift key down locks the Pencil along that axis.

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Figure 4-­4:  Freehand lines.

Figure 4-­5:  Hover over the midpoint until an inference appears.

The Pencil “rubber bands,” meaning the endpoint of one line is the start point of another. Clicking the Esc key exits the Pencil, as it does all other tools. If rubber banding annoys you, go to Preferences>Drawing and unclick Continue line drawing (Figure 4‑6) to turn it off.

Figure 4-­6:  Adjust Pencil settings in Preferences.

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Note that in Figure 4‑5 the line between the two midpoints is green. That’s the inference engine telling you the line is parallel to the green axis. Once you click on the second midpoint, the line turns black. While you are drawing, a line not parallel to any axis will appear black.

▶▶Tip: Modifiers are keys that, when pressed and released, make tools do different things. When a tool is

activated, you can see what modifiers are available in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Confirm the current modified state of the tool by examining the cursor (there will typically be a plus or arrow sign near it) or the tool’s on-­screen modeling behavior. To exit a modified tool state either hit the modifier key again or change tools.

Make a Roof Ridge with the Move tool Activate the Move tool (Figure 4‑7) and click it anywhere on the line you just drew. Move is auto-­selecting, meaning it Figure 4-­7:  The Move tool. highlights geometry just by touching it. Now move the mouse straight up. When a blue inference line appears, you’re moving parallel to the blue axis. Hold the Shift key down while using Move to lock the movement along an axis. Click the line at a random height to make a roof ridge (Figure 4‑8) on this little house.

Stickiness When you moved that roof line, it took the planes Figure 4-­8:  Drag the line up with the on both sides with it. That’s called stickiness, the Move tool to create a roof ridge. fusion of objects that touch. Stickiness lets you do great things like create a roof peak by moving a line up. It can also be frustrating if you don’t know how to work with it, because it will deform objects you didn’t mean to deform. As an example, activate the Rotated Rectangle tool. Click it on the front and back corners of the house as shown in Figure 4‑9—­note the green endpoint inferences and tooltips—­and then move it any distance to the right to make a rectangle. Note that the rectangle is filled in. That means a face was created. Next, push/pull the rectangle up until the blue midpoint inference point appears. Click on that point. Then click on the Select key. Sometimes the normals (front faces) orient inwards. Correct them to orient outwards so that SketchUp knows which is the inside and outside of the cube. That’s important for tasks such as 3D printing, sending the model to another program for rendering and using the

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1.

2.

3.

Figure 4-­9:  Use the Rotated Rectangle to make a rectangle adjacent to the house and push/pull it up.

Solid tools and calculating volume on models made with the Solid tools. Select, right-­c lick, and choose Reverse Faces. Drag a selection window around both blocks (Figure 4‑10) to highlight them. Now hold the Shift key down. A plus and minus sign appears, meaning you can add or subtract individual pieces from the selection (Figure 4‑11). Double-­click the Select tool onto all planes of the second box. This will deselect them and their edges, leaving just the house highlighted. Now click Move onto the house and do just that, move it around. See what happens? The house sticks to the block, causing the block to deform (Figure 4‑12). Not good! Click Edit>Undo to restore the block and house to as they were before moving the house.

Figure 4-­10:  Drag a selection window around the blocks, press and hold Shift, and deselect the second box.

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Figure 4-­11:  The plus and minus sign that lets you add or subtract individual pieces from the selection.

Figure 4-­12:  Moving the house causes the block fused to it to deform.

What Is a Group? Here’s how to manage SketchUp’s stickiness. Make a group, which is a collection of loose geometry inside an invisible shell. Any geometry can go in a group: edges, faces, text, dimensions, cutting planes, as well as photos and textures. Groups can even contain other groups, which collectively are called a nested group. A group is isolated from the rest of the model’s geometry, hence it doesn’t stick to anything. Along with solving the stickiness issue, groups let you manipulate—­move, rotate, scale, paint, etc.—­all the pieces inside them together. Copies of groups behave independent of each other.

Make a Group Undo the model until just the house remains. Then draw a selection window around it, right-­c lick on it, and choose Make Group (Figure 4‑13). A blue bounding box appears.

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Figure 4-­13:  Select the house, right-­click and choose Make Group. A blue bounding box appears around it.

This is the invisible shell that encloses the loose geometry and signifies that it is indeed now a group. Redraw the block next to the house, from corner to corner like you did the first time. Then click Move onto the house again and move it around. It easily moves without taking the block along (Figure 4‑14). The bounding box should be the same size as the geometry inside it. If it’s bigger, you inadvertently included something else. Right-­click and choose Explode from the Context menu to return the group to its individual edges and faces. Then carefully select and group the house again.

Figure 4-­14:  Groups don’t stick to anything.

Edit a Group Editing must be done inside a group’s bounding box (also called the editing box). Double-­c lick on the bounding box to access the loose geometry. Everything outside the bounding box will gray out. Draw a line on the house. Then click on the workspace to close the editing box. Move the house. You’ll see that the line moves with it.

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Before we continue, click open the bounding box again and then click on both sides of the line you just drew. The faces highlight separately (Figure 4‑15). This is because lines break up faces. So, erase any unnecessary geometry as you work. Now erase this line, click the Select tool, and click on the workspace to close the bounding box. If you draw a line on a group outside its bounding box, that line won’t be part of the group and will get left behind when you move the group. It’s easy to think you’re adding lines to a group when you’re really drawing outside the group, since loose geometry and groups can occupy the same space.

Figure 4-­15:  Edit a group inside its bounding box. Draw a line to see how it breaks up a face.

Causes of a Non-­Filling Face Before we start our project, let’s discuss a common modeling problem: tracing a perimeter that won’t fill. No fill means no face. If you’re not sure if a face has formed, click the Select tool on it. A face will become covered with blue highlighting dots. No dots mean no face. The following may cause a non-­filling face: The model is very large or very small. SketchUp doesn’t deal well with either. Other problems may also arise with extreme sizes. If this describes your model, make it smaller or larger and see if that helps. You can always scale it back to size when you’re finished. We’ll discuss how to do that later in this chapter. There are gaps between lines. See if there’s an unconnected line by clicking Window> Styles>Edit and checking the Profiles box to turn profiles on. You may also need to increase the profiles number. This makes any line not connected to others on both sides appear thinner than lines that are connected to others on both sides. There is overlapping geometry. Make the model transparent at View>Face Style>Xray and then zoom in closely to look for small, overlapping pieces. The face is not coplanar. This is because: 1. The endpoints aren’t aligned. They may be misaligned just enough to form a subdivided plane, one where a face forms if a diagonal line is drawn across it. See if SketchUp supplied a hidden diagonal line by clicking View>Hidden Geometry. Alternatively, click the Text tool on each point, hold the mouse down and drag. This creates a leader line and text field in which the point’s coordinates appear (Figure 4‑16). All points

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must have the same last coordinate (the z/blue axis) to be coplanar. Or 2. One line isn’t parallel to the rest of the lines. Assuming you’re modeling parallel to the global axes (the best way to model), set all lines so they match the color of their parallel axes (discussed shortly). Any line not parallel with the axes will be black.

Best Practices for Modeling Start your model on or near the origin. Some tools simply operate better there, plus SketchUp can get glitchy when the model is far from the origin.

Figure 4-­16:  Click the Text tool on the plane’s corners to reveal its coordinates. All corners must have the same last coordinate to be coplanar.

Model in the upper-­right quadrant. Number coordinates are positive there, making imputed numbers and calculations easier. Align the front of your model (the longest side) with the red axis. This makes it work well with the Views toolbar. Model all lines parallel to the axes. This facilitates accuracy, coplanar faces, and works best with the Views toolbar. Modeling parallel to the axes is so important that we’re going to color-­coordinate the lines of our first project with the axes to help develop your feel for when you’re modeling along the axes and when you’re not.

Color-­coordinate Axes and Model Lines by Changing the Edge Style Setting Styles are display settings that change the model’s appearance. Line color, thickness, and endpoint size are examples of those settings. Figure 4‑17 shows how to change line color to coordinate with their parallel axes. Click on the Styles panel (PC) or Window>Styles (Mac) to open the Styles dialog box. Click the Edit tab to bring up the edit panel. Then click the first icon, Edge Settings. At the bottom of the panel is a Color field. Scroll to By axis. This will color-­coordinate the edges with the axes they’re parallel to and take effect immediately. Note that the roof’s sloped lines remain black. This is because they’re not parallel to any axis. Another aid in modeling accurately is activating the cursor’s crosshairs. You can color-­ match them to the axes, too, for instant visual feedback. Go to Preferences>Drawing and check Display crosshairs (Figure 4‑18).

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Edit

Edge Settings

By axis

Figure 4-­17:  Click Windows>Styles to open the Styles dialog box; then the Edit tab; then the Edge Settings icon; then scroll to By Axis in the Color field to color-­coordinate lines with the axes they’re parallel to.

Figure 4-­18:  Color-­coordinate the cursor’s crosshairs with the axes.

Model a Table So! It’s time to implement these tools and techniques. Let’s model the table in Figure 4‑19. Go to File>Save and choose Save As. Type Table in the pop-­up screen. This will save and close the Practice file and make a new file active called Table. It will have the same settings as Practice, including the color-­by-­axis setting. Drag a selection window around the house and block, right-­ click and choose Erase to delete them.

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Figure 4-­19:  Table.

Figure 4-­20:  Make a rectangle 6’ × 3’ and push/pull it up 2”.

Model the Tabletop Model the tabletop (Figure 4‑20). Activate the Rectangle tool, click it on-screen, and type 6′,3′. The first number goes along the red axis, the second along the green. Add the foot symbol since the default is inches. Remember that you don’t have to type inside the Measurements box. Next, push/pull the rectangle up a little bit and let go. Immediately type 2. The top will adjust to a 2″ thickness. Make the tabletop a group. Drag a selection window around the tabletop, right-­click and choose Make Group (Figure 4‑21). Now we need some guidelines for leg placement.

Figure 4-­21:  Select the tabletop, right-­click and choose Make Group.

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Guidelines and Guide Points Guidelines are dashed, infinite-­length construction lines. Guide points are marks at specific locations. Neither are part of the model; they’re strictly for construction purposes. Both can be made anywhere on the screen, hidden, erased, moved, and rotated. Use the Tape Measure Figure 4-­22:  The Tape Measure. (Figure 4‑22) to make them.

The Tape Measure’s Two Modes The Tape Measure (Figure 4‑22) has two operating modes: Mode 1: This measures lines and creates guidelines and guide points. By default, the Tape Measure is in guideline mode. The -­-­+ signs next to its icon (Figure 4‑23) tell you that it’s in guideline mode. Measure a line by clicking the Tape Measure on the endpoints. Create guidelines by clicking the Tape Measure onto a line on the model and dragging it to Figure 4-­23:  The -­-­+ signs mean the desired guideline location. Create guide points by the Tape Measure is in measure and guideline mode. clicking the Tape Measure on an endpoint or midpoint and then clicking on the desired guide point location. Click the Tape Measure onto opposite corners of a rectangle to create diagonal guidelines. Where the guidelines intersect is the center of that rectangle. Too many guidelines and points can interfere with inference engine accuracy, so erase when no longer needed. They can be erased individually or all at once at Edit>Delete Guides. If you think you might use them again, select them, right-­click, and choose Hide. Mode 2: This scales a model bigger or smaller. Click the Tape Measure on two endpoints, type the desired size, and hit Enter. The whole model will resize, not just the item you clicked on. To only size one part of the model, group it, open its editing box, and rescale inside the editing box. The Tape Measure can also scale a model based on one known dimension, which we’ll do in Chapter 5. Click the Tape Measure on two of the tabletop’s endpoints. To confirm your dimensions, you should see 6′ or 3′ appear in the Measurements box. The measuring tape functions like an inference line, changing colors to match parallel axes. The Measurements box dynamically displays the length of the measuring tape as the mouse moves.

Place Guidelines for the Table Legs Orbit under the table, click the Tape Measure on an edge, move the Tape Measure in the direction the guideline is needed, let go and immediately type 2. A guideline 2″ from the edge appears (Figure 4‑24). Place guidelines on the other three edges. Note that you can type another number immediately after placing a guideline and the guideline will adjust to that number.

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Figure 4-­24:  Click the Tape Measure onto a line, move it inward, let go, and type 2 to create a guideline 2” from the edge.

Model the Table Leg Let’s draw one leg. Outside the tabletop’s group shell, click the Rectangle tool on the intersection shown in Figure 4‑25, and then click a second point. Immediately type 4,4. The rectangle will adjust to a 4″ × 4″ square. Remember that you must type those dimensions immediately after clicking the second point or the dimensions won’t take. To change the rectangle’s size later, the Scale tool, discussed later in this chapter, is needed. You might notice some flashing in the square; that’s just SketchUp telling you that two faces are adjacent. Once you push/pull the square, the flashing will disappear. But before going further, let’s turn this square into a component.

Figure 4-­25:  Draw a 4” × 4” square to serve as the top of the leg.

What Is a Component? Like a group, a component is a collection of loose geometry that moves together and doesn’t stick to anything. Unlike a group, a change to the definition (original) component applies to all instances (copies) of it, which makes components a powerful modeling tool. Components also take up less file space than groups. When multiple copies are needed, make those copies components.

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Most components are 3D, but there are also 2D ones, such as the scale figure. 2D components take up less space than 3D ones, so are good for entourage items such as trees and people.

Edit a Component and Make It Unique A component is created by right-­clicking on selected geometry and choosing Make Component. As with groups, make changes inside its bounding box. And, as with groups, loose geometry and components can occupy the same space, so it’s easy to think you’re editing the component when you’re really drawing outside its bounding box. If you want to change just one instance, select it, right-­click and choose Make Unique from the context menu. You can also hold the Shift key down to select multiple components to make unique. Subsequent edits to the other instances won’t affect the unique component(s). Change a unique component’s name so you can distinguish it from the rest when viewing a list in the Outliner panel tray.

▶▶Double-­click on the scale figure to open its editing box. You can then apply different colors and materials to it.

Turn the Leg Square into a Component Let’s make the square a component, copy it once, and model it into a leg. Select the square, right-­click, and choose Make Component from the context menu. A dialog box appears (Figure 4‑26). In the Name screen, over-­t ype “Component 1″ with “Table Leg.”

Figure 4-­26:  Select the square, right-­click and choose Make Component.

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Component Options We’ll keep the defaults for the other options, but here’s what they mean: ▶▶

Glue to. This attaches components to faces. The alignment option determines which face the component “glues” or snaps to. If your component is a window, door, or piece of wall art, choose vertical to make it snap to walls. A vertical orientation will also make the component automatically rotate when moved to a perpendicular wall.

▶▶

Set Component Axes. This lets you give the local axes a different orientation than the global axes. Every component has its own axis, which sets orientation upon insert and is the “handle” when moved. By default, the component axes are aligned with the global axes, and the origin is in the corner of the bounding box closest to the global origin.

▶▶

Always face camera. This applies to 2D components. Have you noticed that no matter which way you orbit, the scale figure always faces you? Check this box or you’ll see the component’s unfinished backside when orbiting.

▶▶

Replace selection with component. Make sure this box is checked. If it isn’t, what you’ve selected will not be made a component.

Copy the Leg Component Select the component, activate the Move tool, and then press and release the Ctrl key (Option key on the Mac). Ctrl is a modifier that makes the Move tool copy. Grab a corner, slide the copy to the other side, and align to a guideline (Figure 4‑27). Then repeat to the table’s remaining corners.

Figure 4-­27:  Use Move plus Ctrl key to copy the component square.

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Add Volume to the Leg Component Activate the Select tool and double-­click the component to open its editing box. Click the Push/ Pull tool onto the square, extrude it down a random distance, and type 6. The leg will adjust to a 6″ length (Figure 4‑28). Note this affects the copied components, too.

Add the Leg’s Lower Part Place guidelines 1″ from each of the block’s edges and sketch a 2″ × 2″ square inside the larger square, using either the Pencil or Rectangle. Then push/pull that square down 26″ (Figure 4‑29).

Figure 4-­28:  Open the component editing box and push/pull the square down 6”.

How to Edit the Leg’s Length If you want to add more length later, open the bounding box, select the bottom of the leg, and stretch it out a random length with push/pull. Then type a specific number and hit Enter. That number will get added to the existing length. To make the leg shorter, push/pull the leg closer to the tabletop, type a number, and hit Enter. That number will be subtracted from the existing length. When finished, right-­click the Select tool anywhere on the screen to close the editing box.

Figure 4-­29:  Sketch a square and push/pull it down 26”.

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Taper the Leg with the Scale Tool The Scale tool (Figure 4‑30) can resize the whole model or just part of it. Figure 4‑31 shows the process for tapering the rectangular leg. Figure 4-­30:  The Scale tool. Select its bottom surface by clicking twice to active both the face and its four edges. Then activate Scale. The selected part automatically highlights with green cubes called grips. Hover the mouse over a grip to activate it. Corner grips scale around points and distort geometry. Grab an edge grip and hold the Ctrl key down, which will force scaling around the center of the selection. Then move the grip inward to taper the leg. Click the Select tool outside the editing box to close. Note how the leg edges are now black, as they’re not parallel to any axis.

Figure 4-­31:  Tapering the leg with the Scale tool.

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Adjust Size with the Scale Tool You can scale an item by eyeballing its proportions or by typing numbers for precision. For example, to adjust the table leg to 24″ long, triple-­click on it with the selection tool to highlight it all. Then activate Scale. The grips will appear on all sides. Grab one grip, drag it a random length in any direction, then immediately type 24,24,24. The leg will adjust to that size. Type 0.5 to scale it down to half its size. Scale can be clicked on the whole model or just one face. You can even click on one face and a line to scale those two items proportionately to each other. To change the tabletop’s size, select it (include its thickness) and activate Scale. Grab a grip, randomly move it, and type two numbers separated by a comma. Remember that the first number scales along the red axis and the second number scales along the green.

Draw the Apron Draw a 1″ × 4″ rectangle at the top of one of the table legs, and then push/pull that rectangle forward (Figure 4‑32). Click on an Edge inference at the opposite end. Triple-­click the apron to select and make it a group. Then copy it with Move and Ctrl and move the copy to the opposite side of the table. Make an apron for the short side of the table (Figure 4‑33), and then group, copy, and move it in place.

Figure 4-­32:  Draw a 1” × 4” rectangle and push/pull it to the opposite leg.

Figure 4-­33:  Make an apron for the short side of the table.

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Figure 4-­34:  The finished table.

Add a Shadow Delete all guidelines by erasing them individually with the Eraser tool. If the guidelines were created inside a group or component, they must be erased within the bounding box. Alternatively, erase them all at once via Edit>Delete Guides, which will remove ones inside groups and components. Return all edges to black by going to Window>Styles>Edit, click on the Edge Settings icon, and scroll to all same in the Color box. As a final touch, click View>Shadows to apply a shadow (Figure 4‑34). Voila! The finished table.

Model a Bookcase

Figure 4-­35:  Bookcase.

Let’s model the bookcase in Figure 4‑35. Open a new file, choose the Architectural Inches template and delete the scale figure.

Make a Shell with the Offset Tool Draw a rectangle 48″ × 24″ on or near the origin, and push/pull it 72″ high (Figure 4‑36). To turn the block into a shell click on Offset (Figure 4‑37). It creates copies of faces and edges at a specified distance from the originals. It also works on two or more connected,

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Figure 4-­36:  Model a 48” × 24” × 72” block.

coplanar lines. Offset is auto-­selecting, so hover it over a face to select. Grab one of the face’s edges, move it in or out, type a specific distance to offset, or just click Figure 4-­37:  The Offset tool. somewhere. Offsetting a face creates a new face. Click Offset onto one of the block’s edges. Drag it toward the center of the block and release. Immediately type 4; the edge will adjust to a 4″ offset. Next, click Move onto the bottom edge. The edge will self-­select; move it straight up along the blue axis, release, and type 12. Push/pull the face inward, release, and type 22. (Figure 4‑38).

Group the Shell Select the entire shell with a selection window or by clicking three times anywhere on it (Figure 4‑39). Remember, a triple-­click selects all connected faces and edges. Right-­click and choose Make Group. Now we can place shelves inside the shell that won’t stick to it.

Make and Array a Shelf Component Click the Rectangle onto the lower-­left and upper-­right corners of the shell’s bottom. Double-­ click to select the rectangle face and edges, then right-­click and choose Make Component (Figure 4‑40). Now we’ll array (make multiple copies of) that shelf.

What Is Array? Array is a function that copies and arranges. There are linear and radial arrays. A linear array is equally spaced copies along a straight line. You can array between two endpoints (think shelves on a bookcase) or array copies with a specific distance between them (think of a row of trees in a park).

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1.

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4.

Figure 4-­38:  Making a bookcase shell.

To array equally spaced copies between two endpoints, make the original, select it, copy it with Move plus Ctrl, and place the copy the desired distance from the original. The original and that copy define the endpoints. Next, type / and the number of total copies wanted; for example, /5. This creates four copies equally spaced between the original and first copy, so five copies total. You must type /5 immediately after placing the first copy for this to work; don’t perform any other action between making the first copy and typing /5. To array copies with a specified distance between them, make the original, select it, make one

Figure 4-­39:  Group the shell.

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Figure 4-­4 0:  Draw a shelf, select, and turn it into a component.

copy with Move plus Ctrl, and then place the copy the distance you want from the original. Type x followed by the number of copies wanted; for example, x5. This creates four more copies (so five copies total), each separated by the same distance as that which is between the original and the first copy.

Linear Array the Shelf Component Copy the shelf and move the copy to the top of the bookcase shell. Type /4. This creates three shelves between the shelf and the first copy. Remember not to do anything between placing the first copy and typing /4. If you inadvertently do an intermediate function, go to Edit>Undo, recopy the shelf, and type /4 again (Figure 4‑41).

Figure 4-­41:  Copy/move the shelf to the top and type /4 to create three intermediate shelves.

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Erase both the original shelf and the first copy because we only needed them to define the endpoints (the array distance). Select them, right-­ click, and choose Erase.

Change the Shelves’ Height and Depth Click on one shelf to open its bounding box. Push/ pull it 2″ up and 2″ back (Figure 4‑42). Activate the Select tool and click it anywhere on the screen to close the bounding box.

Add a Curved Apron with the 2-­Point Arc Tool

Figure 4-­42:  Edit one component shelf’s height and depth.

Double-­click on the bookcase to open the group bounding box. We want to draw a line 12″ above the bottom. Make a guide point by clicking the Tape Measure onto the bottom-­right corner, moving it up, and typing 12. The guide point will appear 12″ from the bottom. Starting at the guide point, draw a line with the Pencil across the bookcase, parallel to the red axis. Make sure the On Face inference appears, confirming that you are indeed drawing on the bookcase’s face (Figure 4‑43). Pay attention to inference pop-­ups because they tell you if you’re placing your geometry where you think you are. If you don’t see On Face, you may be tilting the arc instead of pulling it straight up.

Figure 4-­43:  Draw a line at the bottom of the bookcase.

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The 2-­Pont Arc (Figure 4‑44) makes circular arcs. Which, in SketchUp, are 12 straight, connected lines edited as a single arc; you’ll see the number 12 in the Measurements box right after activating the tool. If you want more than 12 segments to make the arc look smoother, type that number immediately after activating Figure 4-­4 4:  The Arc tool. Arc, and hit Enter. Click Arc onto the bookcase’s endpoints, lift the bulge, and click it onto the line (Figure 4‑45). For more precision, type numbers for the distance between the arc’s endpoints and the height of the bulge. All the native SketchUp arcs are based on a 360° circle. While an arc’s shape can be somewhat manipulated by clicking the Scale tool on it and pulling the grips, if you want Bezier curves, you’ll need to download an extension for making them. Extensions are discussed in Chapter 9. But you can modify an arc’s radius, length, and number of segments in its entity info box.

Figure 4-­45:  Draw an arc.

What Is the Entity Info Box? Entity Info is a dialog box that shows a piece of geometry’s attributes—­its properties and characteristics. Select the geometry and open the Entity Info panel (Figure 4‑46). Different options appear based on what is selected. The Entity Info boxes for circles, polygons, arcs, and lines have text fields to change size, length, and add line segments (Figure 4‑46).

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Figure 4-­46:  Change geometry via the Entity Info box.

Figure 4-­47:  Push/pull and click on the bookcase’s back edge.

Push/pull the arc through the bookcase shell and click on the shell’s back edge. That prevents the push/pulled volume from going past that back edge (Figure 4‑47).

Make a Component Door We’ll place these outside the group, so don’t open the bounding box. Draw a rectangle on the group’s shell, using corner and midpoint inferences. Make the rectangle a component called Door. Then double-­click to open the bounding box, and push/pull it 1″ thick (Figure 4‑48). Add 4″ wide rails and stiles to the component door (Figure 4‑49). Click the Tape Measure on the top and bottom door edges and then click it 4″ away to make guide points. Draw vertical lines from those guide

Figure 4-­4 8:  Make a component door.

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Figure 4-­49:  Draw the rails and stiles.

Figure 4-­50:  Draw the center stile.

points down to make stiles. Do the same thing at the top and bottom to make rails. For the center stile, draw a line down the middle of the door, copy it 1″ on both sides by selecting it, click Move on it, press/release the Ctrl key, drag the center line left, let go, type 1" and hit Enter. Repeat on the right and then erase the middle line (Figure 4‑50).

Make a Second Component Door and Mirror It Highlight the door component, copy, and slide it off to the side along the red axis. Select it, right-­click, and choose Flip Along Component’s Red. Now that it’s a mirror of the first door, editing applied to one will appear in reverse on the other. Grab it by a corner and move it into place (Figure 4‑51).

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2.

3.

Figure 4-­51:  Copy the component door and flip it along the red axis.

Model a Crown Molding Orbit to the top of the bookcase, open its bounding box, and select the bookcase’s edges (click Select on each edge while holding down the Shift key). Selecting the edges instead of the face means the bookcase’s height won’t be affected. Offset the edges 2″ and then push/pull it up 2″. (Figure 4‑52). This creates a crown molding trim. If you want to change the top to a solid slab later, just draw a line between two corners. This creates a new face. Then erase the remaining lines (Figure 4‑53).

Put Glass in the Doors The doors would look nice with some glass in them. For that we need the Materials tray (on the Mac, Windows>Materials). Click it open to see folders of color and texture swatches and

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Figure 4-­52:  Offset and push/pull the edges.

scroll to Glass and Mirrors (Figure 4‑54). We’ll discuss painting more in Chapter 7, but here’s a taste of it. Open one component door’s bounding box. Click on translucent glass blue. The paint bucket cursor appears; click it onto the doors. Both will turn blue (Figure 4‑55).

A Translucent Workaround with the Rotate Tool and Hide So, the glass is blue, but not translucent. Why? Because SketchUp is designed for single-­face modeling. When we made the component door, we push/pulled it 1″ thick. That made it double-­faced. Double-­faces present problems that require workarounds. A workaround for making the glass in this door appear translucent is to either hide the back face or paint it translucent blue. To access that back face, rotate the doors open.

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Figure 4-­53:  You can turn the crown molding into a solid slab by drawing a line between two corners.

Figure 4-­54:  The Glass and Mirrors folder in the Materials tray.

Figure 4-­55:  Paint the doors translucent blue.

The Rotate tool (Figure 4‑56) spins geometry around an axis. It aligns itself with whatever plane it’s parallel to. For instance, if the Figure 4-­56:  The Rotate tool. cursor is above the model, Rotate aligns with the blue axis; if the cursor is in front of the model, Rotate aligns with the green axis; if the cursor is on the side of the model, Rotate aligns with the red axis (Figure 4‑57). The cursor itself color-­coordinates with the axis it is spinning an object around. A black rotator means the object isn’t aligned with any axis. Press and release the arrow keys on the keyboard to lock Rotate into different axes. Press and release to unlock. Hold the Shift key down to lock an axis in place. All orientations are most likely to appear if you model near the origin. You can also click on the Rotate tool and drag it to change its orientation. Open one door’s editing box and select the whole door by triple-­clicking. Move Rotate on top of the bookcase. Once the blue appears, hold the Shift key down to lock it in place, and click the rotator onto the door’s top hinge. Then click it at the opposite endpoint. Swing the door open with the mouse. Both doors will open (Figure 4‑58). Note that you must select the entire door. If the door warps when rotated (Figure 4‑59), you didn’t select it all.

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Figure 4-­57:  The Rotate tool aligns itself with the plane it’s parallel to. You can also click and drag it.

Click here

Click here

1.

2.

3.

Figure 4-­58:  Rotating the doors open.

Figure 4-­59:  The door will warp when rotated if not fully selected.

Select the back face of the door and click on Edit>Hide. It disappears, making the front face’s translucency settings apparent (Figure 4‑60).

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Figure 4-­60:  Hide the double-­faced door’s back face to show translucency.

You can unhide the face anytime at Edit>Unhide (Figure 4‑61). Note that one of the Unhide options is Selected. To view and select hidden items, click on View>Hidden Geometry. Hidden geometry appears with a light grid (Figure 4‑62).

Figure 4-­61:  Unhide hidden geometry.

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Figure 4-­62:  Hidden geometry appears with a light grid.

Finally, click the Rotate tool onto the hinge, then onto the opposite corner, and move the mouse to swing the doors shut (Figure 4‑63). Click here

2.

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Figure 4-­63:  Rotate the doors shut.

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Add Knobs with the Circle Tool The Circle tool (Figure 4‑64) is nested within the Rectangle tool. When activated, the number 24 appears in the Measurements Figure 4-­64:  The Circle tool. box because the circle is really a polygon with 24 segments. You can change that default number by overtyping the 24 with a new number. More sides will make the circle smoother, less sides will take up less file space. Like Rotate, the Circle tool aligns with whatever side it is parallel to. Click keyboard arrows to change its orientation and press and hold Shift to lock it in place. With the door component editing box open, click Circle onto one of the lock stiles. Click again to define the radius. To change the radius after clicking, immediately type a new number. The circle’s radius and segments can be changed later by right-­clicking on it, choosing Entity Info, and typing a new radius (Figure 4‑65). Then push/pull out. Our bookcase knobs have a 1″ radius and are 1″ long (Figure 4‑66). Click on View>Shadows and we’re done (Figure 4‑67).

Figure 4-­65:  Change a circle’s properties through its Entity Info box.

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Figure 4-­67:  The finished bookcase.

Figure 4-­66:  Making knobs with the Circle tool.

Figure 4-­68:  Clock.

Model a Clock with Radial Array Let’s model the clock shown in Figure 4‑68. In the process we’ll do a radial array, which is multiple copies arranged in a circle. Access the Views toolbar (Figure 4‑69), at View>Toolbars (PC) and View>Tool Palettes (Mac) and then click the front view icon.

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Figure 4-­69:  The front view icon on the Views toolbar.

Figure 4-­70:  Draw a circle and place guidelines at its center.

Draw a 3′ diameter circle with the Circle tool. Group it. Hover the Tape Measure over the circle’s center until the Tape Measure snaps to it and draw horizontal and vertical guidelines through that center (Figure 4‑70). Draw a rectangular hour mark at the 12:00 position with the Pencil. Use the inference engine to match the rectangle’s lengths by hovering the cursor over the first length until a pop-­up circle guides you for the other length (Figure 4‑71). Then select the rectangle and make it a component (Figure 4‑72). Array 12 hour marks around the clock face (Figures 4‑73 and 4‑74). Here’s how: a. Select the hour mark component and click Rotate onto

Figure 4-­71:  Make an hour mark.

the circle’s center. b. Click Rotate on the top of the hour mark. c. Press and release the Ctrl key. A + sign appears over the Rotate cursor, indicating mul-

tiple copies will be made. Move the cursor a bit to the right (but don’t click). d. Type 360 and Enter. e. Type /12 and Enter.

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Figure 4-­72:  Turn the hour mark into a component.

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Figure 4-­73:  Set up the array with the Rotate tool.

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Figure 4-­74:  Type 360 and /12.

Add thickness to the clock face by opening its bounding box and push/pulling it straight back Offset the clock face and give the offset thickness with push/ pull (Figure 4‑75).

Draw Clock Hands with Inference Matching Use the Rectangle tool to draw clock hands off the clock face. Group, and then rotate them (Figure 4‑76). Open the editing box and push/pull one hand forward. Click Push/Pull on the face of the second hand and hover it over the face of the first. The second item will snap to that thickness (Figure 4‑77). Release the Figure 4-­75:  Offset and push/pull cursor and close the editing box. the clock face. If needed, adjust the size and proportion of the hour marks and hands with the Scale tool (Figure 4‑78). Scale works inside or out of the bounding box. However, since the hour marks are components, a change made inside one bounding box will affect them all. Done! (Figure 4‑79) This is the extent of furniture and accessories modeling we’ll do. Why? Because there are sources from which you can download just about any ready-­made, editable component you

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Figure 4-­77:  Inference-­match the clock hand’s thickness.

Figure 4-­76:  Draw clock hands.

Figure 4-­78:  Scale the hands and hour marks.

Figure 4-­79:  The finished clock.

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Figure 4-­80:  Accessories were downloaded from the Trimble 3D Warehouse and scaled to size. Note the translucent paint on the door. Courtesy Matthew Kerr, mkerrdesign.com.

need (Figure 4‑80). Editing a component is generally more time-­efficient than making one from scratch. Head to Chapter 5 now, where we’ll model a floor plan and download components from the Trimble 3D Warehouse.

Summary In this chapter we used SketchUp’s native drawing and editing tools to model a table, bookcase, and clock. In the process we learned what stickiness is and how to manage it with groups, examined non-­filling faces, made and edited components, mirrored geometry, applied translucent paint, scaled and arrayed, changed a style setting, and inference-­matched. We also discussed modeling best practices.

Exercises 1. Make a 5′ × 5′ × 5′ cube

▶▶ Group it. ▶▶ Apply the Rotate and Scale tools to it. ▶▶ Flip it along an axis

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▶▶ Change the color of its axes. ▶▶ Hide and unhide its surfaces. ▶▶ Click shadows on and off it. ▶▶ Turn it into a component. 2. Model a piece of furniture from a photo. 3. Model a clock like the one in this chapter.

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Drafting, Modeling, and Furnishing a Floor Plan

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n this chapter we’ll model spaces from plans. We’ll do this three ways: 1. By tracing over a raster file; 2. By drawing from a paper sketch; and 3. By importing an AutoCAD file. So, open a new SketchUp file and we’ll start with importing a raster file.

Objective: This chapter shows different ways to draft and model a plan, and how to import ready-­made components.

Prepare a Raster File for Import

Tools: section, text, protractor, views, tape measure

Figure 5‑1 shows the files that can be imported on a Mac. The PC imports the same ones except for PDF. SketchUp will resample (downsize) files larger than 1024 × 1024 pixels. However, that size is still much larger than what is usually needed. Large files slow down the software, so crop and resample them yourself before importing. To further keep file size down, use compressed file types. JPGs and PNGs are compressed, plus they’re smaller than other file types, hence the best choice. PNGs preserve transparency layers, important when importing a file adjusted with digital imaging software. Convert GIF files (which are not importable) and BMP files (which are not compressed) on the Mac by right-­ clicking on the image and choosing Quick Actions>Convert Image (Figure 5-­2). Once imported, a raster file is permanently part of the model. SketchUp doesn’t externally reference files, meaning it won’t search for them on your computer each time the model is opened and display a red X when it can’t find them.

Concepts and Functions: import raster and AutoCAD files, change face and line styles, change line color, inference-­match, tracing techniques, scale a model, explode, stretch a line, 3D Warehouse, components browser, link a local collection, paste in place, purge, move geometry with coordinates, clipping, flashing, make a sloped ceiling, measure an angle, geo-­locate, tags, make SketchUp run faster, polygon count.

Draft a Plan by Tracing a Raster Image Import a raster image floor plan. Click on File>Import. Choose All Supported Types, navigate to the floor plan JPG, click the Image radio button and then click the Import button (Figure 5‑3). Place the file. Click once to place the JPG’s lower-­left corner, and then click anywhere a second time to place the upper-­right corner (Figure 5‑4). It’s best to model on or near the origin and

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Figure 5-­1:  Importable files.

Figure 5-­3:  Import the JPG.

Figure 5-­4:  Click twice to place the JPG.

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Figure 5-2:  Converting a file on the Mac.

Figure 5-­5:  Explode and group.

in the upper-­right quadrant. Then select and explode the JPG and make it a group (Figure 5‑5). A JPG imports with some group-­like qualities, but is not a true group.

The Explode Function Explode reduces a group or component to its individual geometry. Nested groups and components—­that is, groups or components that are inside other groups or components—­ may need to be exploded multiple times to edit what you’re trying to edit. However, know that adjacent nested geometry fuses upon explosion. Exploded geometry gets automatically selected, so you can quickly re-­group if necessary. Exploding circles and arcs reduces them to individual line segments that don’t behave as a whole anymore. Fix by selecting, right-­clicking, and choosing Weld (Figure 5‑6).

How to Resize Geometry If you’re wondering why we didn’t address scale when importing the file, it’s because we can scale anything at any time. All geometry and imported files can be resized based on a known dimension. Say you want to make a wall 10′ long. Click the Tape Measure on the wall’s endpoints, and then immediately type 10'. The wall resizes, but so does everything else in the file. To preserve the scale of everything else, put the geometry that you want to resize inside a group or component and resize inside its bounding box.

Scale the Imported Floor Plan with the Tape Measure Scale the floor plan (Figure 5‑7). We’ll adjust the plan’s size by scaling a doorway. Interior doors are typically 2′-­8″ wide. Click the Tape Measure on one side of a door jamb and then on the other. A pop-­up box displays the distance as 1′-­5/8″. Type 2′8. A dialogue box appears asking if we want to resize the model. Click Yes. The whole model will resize to a proportion in keeping with the new doorway opening size of 2′-­8″.

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Figure 5-­6:  Exploding and welding a curve.

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Figure 5-­7:  Resize a doorway to scale the floor plan.

It’s easier to trace in a plan view. So, add the Views toolbar to your workspace (View>Toolbars). It has icons that display top and side views of the model. Click the top view icon to see the image as a plan (Figure 5‑8).

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Figure 5-­8:  Display the plan as a top view.

Trace the plan’s perimeter (see Figures 5‑9 a–g). Outside the group’s bounding box, trace the walls with the Pencil. Ensure you’re drawing parallel to the axes and that the On Face in Group pop-­up appears when you click at each corner. if you don’t see the pop-­ups, your points won’t be coplanar. Use inference-­matching to draw the line in f; when the two black dots appear, the bottom horizontal line is the same length as the top horizontal line. If black dots don’t appear, hover the cursor over the top corner and then slowly drag it down to the bottom corner. When finished, a face is created, as seen by the opaque fill. If the fill doesn’t appear, a face hasn’t been created. The corner points are probably not coplanar; erase and redo is the easiest fix.

a. Figure 5-­9:  a–g Trace the raster plan.

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Figure 5-­10:  Make the face transparent.

Make the face transparent. We can’t trace the interior walls through an opaque face, so go to View>Face Style and click X-­ray to make the face transparent (Figure 5‑10). Offset the perimeter walls. Use the Offset tool and type 6, which is the wall thickness (Figure 5‑11).

Figure 5-­11:  Offset the perimeter walls.

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Change Line Color Black lines over a black-­and-­white drawing are hard to see, so make them red. To do this on the PC, click on the Styles tray, and then the Edit tab. In the Color box, scroll to All Same. There’s a box next to it that’s filled black, which is the line’s current color. Click on it to make a picker wheel appear, click on red, move the slider up until the preview box is filled red, and then click OK (Figure 5‑12). On the Mac, click on Window>Styles and then click on the Edit tab. In the Color box, scroll to All Same. A color wheel will appear; click on red and then move the slider over to red (Figure 5‑13).

Slider

Figure 5-­12:  Changing the line color on a PC.

Figure 5-­13:  Changing the line color on a Mac.

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Trace Interior Walls There are multiple approaches to tracing the interior walls, so rather than go step by step, here are some techniques for you to apply. ▶▶

Trace one line on each interior wall and then copy it 6″ to the left or right (Figure 5‑14).

▶▶

Obtain line lengths by inference-­matching. Click the new line’s first endpoint. Hover the cursor over the point shown in Figure 5‑15′s top graphic, and then move the cursor up (bottom graphic) until it locks in place.

Figure 5-­14:  Draw one line, copy it, and move it 6” away. ▶▶

Figure 5-­15:  Inference-­match line lengths.

Use the Move tool to stretch lines and faces longer or shorter (Figure 5‑16). Select the line and move its endpoint forward or backward. Stretch a face by selecting an edge, grabbing it somewhere along its length, and moving it forward or backward. This won’t work if the line and face are connected to other geometry that stretches with it.

Figure 5-­16:  Stretch a line by moving its endpoint; stretch a face by moving its edge.

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▶▶

Use the Pencil to add to lines whose endpoints can’t be moved because they’re attached to other geometry. This results in two lines: the original and the added (Figure 5‑17).

Figure 5-­17:  Add line length with the Pencil.

After you finish drawing the interior lines, return to View>Face Style and unclick X-­ray. The face becomes opaque again, allowing you to see any missing lines or areas to clean up, such as crossed lines at intersections. If you inadvertently erase a line, just redraw it with the Pencil.

Edge Styles Again Eventually your plan should look like the one shown in Figure 5‑18.

Figure 5-­18:  The completed plan.

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Note that all intersections are “clean,” meaning there are no crossed lines in them. This makes the walls contiguous, which is necessary to pull them up together. Also note the thick‑ ened endpoints; those are a default style. You can remove them at Window>Styles. Style options include changing endpoints and profiles (the appearance of line thickness). Unclick the Endpoints box, and the endpoints will disappear (Figure 5‑19). Experiment with different numbers in the checkbox to see how the endpoints are affected. Increase the number in the Profiles checkbox to see how the lines display thicker (Figure 5‑20). Know that technically the lines are still thin; the thickness is just a display trick.

Figure 5-­19:  Uncheck the Endpoints box so the endpoints don’t display.

Figure 5-­20:  Increase the Profiles number to make the lines look thicker.

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Figure 5-­21:  Interior lines are thinner than exterior ones.

Figure 5-­22:  The finished plan. X-­ray is turned off, the edge color is black, and the iso icon in the Views toolbar is checked.

The enabled Profiles feature is what causes Interior lines on a plan to look thinner than the perimeter lines (Figure 5‑21). Thick lines indicate that those lines do not enclose a coplanar face. In the isometric and perspective views, a thicker appearance is the default, mimicking how designers outline forms with thicker line weights to visually define them. You cannot assign different thicknesses to different lines in SketchUp. If you don’t like the different thickness at all, turn them off by unchecking the Profiles box. However, leaving Profiles on helps to see which lines aren’t connected, which is useful when troubleshooting problems like a non-­filling face. Return the edge style to black and click the iso icon in the Views toolbar. Your plan should now look like Figure 5‑22.

From Plan to Model Hover Push/Pull over a wall. Ideally, all walls will highlight. Extrude up 10′ (Figure 5‑23). Erase any extraneous vertical lines that appear on the walls.

Figure 5-­23:  Push/pull the floor plan up.

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I say ideally because if your walls didn’t extrude this smoothly, something went wrong. Did a floor area extrude up with the walls? Push/pull the walls back down and trace the perimeter of that floor area with the Pencil. Sometimes that solves the problem. Erase some faces or walls and redraw them. SketchUp takes playing and practice to get things exactly as you want.

Add a Porch, Door, and Window Put the faces in X-­ray mode again (View>Face style>X-­ray) and we’ll add the porch, a door, and window. Draw the porch (Figure 5‑24). Use inferencing to draw the length of the porch, and then push/pull it up 12″. Add the porch steps (Figure 5‑25). Trace them with the Pencil. Push/pull the second step level with the porch. Push/pull the first step to the midpoint of the second—­an inference dot and screen tip will appear as the cursor approaches the midpoint. When you’re finished, if the faces are reversed (the white side should face out), select and right-­click the stairs and choose Reverse Faces. Add the door (Figure 5‑26). Click the Rectangle at the bottom of the wall (level with the step) for the door opening’s lower-­left corner, type 2′8,7 and hit Enter to make the rectangle 2′-­8″

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Figure 5-­24:  Draw the porch and push/pull it up.

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Figure 5-­25:  Trace the steps and push/pull them up.

Figure 5-­26:  Add a door opening.

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wide and 7′ tall. Remember, there is no space between the comma and the 7. You could also click anywhere the second time and immediately type the dimension. The opening will adjust. Add a window (Figure 5‑27). Place the window head (top) level with the door head. Hover the Rectangle at the top of the door, move it to the right along the axis (watch for the dotted infer‑ ence line), and click to place the window’s upper-­left corner. Click again to place the lower-­ right corner or type a dimension. Alternatively, place guidelines at the window locations in the plan view and then click the Rectangle on those guidelines (Figure 5‑28). Cut the door and window openings. Push/pull the faces back a bit, type 6 (the width of the wall in inches), and hit Enter (Figure 5‑29). Raise the interior floor. Orbit inside the model. The doorway is above the floor. Push/pull the floor up and click it on the door sill (Figure 5‑30). Raise the floors in the other rooms by inference-­matching them to that floor (Figure 5‑31).

Figure 5-­27:  Use inferencing to align the door and window heads.

Figure 5-­28:  Guidelines drawn in plan can be used to place the window opening.

Figure 5-­29:  Cut openings by push/pulling the faces back 6”.

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Figure 5-­30:  Raise the interior floor to the door sill.

Figure 5-­31:  Inference-­match the other rooms’ floors to the new floor height.

Figure 5-­32:  When two planes are adjacent to each other, they flash.

Flashing Planes Before you raised the floor, you may have noticed flashing when orbiting around the cottage (Figure 5‑32). This is called “z-­fighting” and happens when two planes are adjacent. Flashing tells you that the planes are occupying the same space and SketchUp doesn’t know which to display. Here it was happening because the floor plane was on top of the imported JPG, which is a plane, too. Raising the floor hides the flashing under the new face plane.

Draft a Plan from a Paper Sketch Designers typically have a sketch of a space’s layout and dimensions. In this project we’ll trace and model a dorm room from an imported JPG of the plan (Figure 5‑33).

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Figure 5-­33:  A floor plan sketch.

Import the sketch and size it. Click the plan icon in the Views toolbar and follow the same instructions as with the floor plan we imported earlier. Place guidelines on the sketch. Use the Tape Measure to create guidelines defining a 14″ × 10″ rectangle. After you draw one horizontal and one vertical guideline, you can click and drag those guidelines to create the rest. Type distances after dragging but before clicking in place. Then trace over the guidelines on the sketch (Figure 5‑34). If the default black guidelines are hard to see, change their color. Do this at Styles>Edit and click the fifth icon that’s directly below the Edit tab. Click on Guides, click on a color from the picker wheel, and move the slider up (Figure 5‑35). Return the plan to a perspective view. Click iso on the Views toolbar and delete all guidelines at Edit>Delete Guides. Right-­click on the imported sketch to select it and choose Hide. Model the plan. Push/pull the face up 9′. Right-­click on the face that is created and choose Erase (Figure 5‑36). Or just hide if you think you’ll use that face as a ceiling later. Make a guideline 3″ from the corner for the door. Let’s put a door in now.

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Figure 5-­34:  Place and trace guidelines.

Figure 5-­35:  Change the guidelines’ color to make them easier to see.

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Figure 5-­36:  Model the plan.

The 3D Warehouse In Chapter 4 you modeled some furniture. The ability to do that is nice but saving time by using other people’s models is even better. You can import doors, windows, furniture, flowerpots, food, whatever you want from the many online libraries that exist. The largest source of free SketchUp components is the 3D Warehouse, a library where millions of people upload and download models. People use the Warehouse for different things, such as selling products and advertising their modeled or design services. Beginners and pros upload their creations; companies upload their products. Anyone can contribute. You can find whole buildings and cities, and rooms filled with furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Excluding branding and logos, all content is free, reusable, editable, and republishable. A link to the Warehouse’s terms of use is at the end of this chapter. In that spirit of sharing, this book liberally uses Warehouse models. There are multiple ways to access the Warehouse, all requiring an internet connection. One way is directly at https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com. Contents are easiest to browse there. However, it is more convenient to access the Warehouse through the SketchUp software. Click‑ ing on the Warehouse icon (Figure 5‑37) takes you directly to it. However, we’re going to access the Warehouse through the Components tray, which has category folders.

Figure 5-­37:  The Warehouse icon.

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Import a Door through the Components Tray Import a door component (Figure 5‑38). Click open the Components tray, click the dropdown arrow, and then click on the Construction folder. This accesses multiple subfolders; click on Doors Low Poly. This spirits us to the Warehouse, where many door types are presented (Figure 5‑39). I chose Door with left jamb reverse (Figure 5‑40). Click Download. You’ll be asked if you want to load the model directly into your SketchUp model. Click Yes.

To Download into the Model or Not? A Warehouse component, as well as any component you make, is a full-­fledged, self-­contained model. When you download a component, you’re embedding that model into your own model. You’re also bringing in all that model’s imported images, tags, scenes, and styles. That can be dangerous! All that stuff can bloat your file, there may be corrupted elements in it, and it might take a long time to remove unwanted items. If you’ve spent hours developing your own model, don’t download a Warehouse component directly into your file; rather, click No, and a navigation browser will appear enabling you to download the component separately. Check it out, delete what you don’t want, and then import into your file. You can import the Warehouse

Figure 5-­38:  Access the Warehouse via Components>Construction>Doors Low Poly.

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Figure 5-­39:  Many door types are at the Warehouse.

Figure 5-­4 0:  Let’s download this door.

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model at File>Import. Alternatively, select the component, press Ctrl (or Command) C, then click on your file and press Ctrl (or Command) V. Since we haven’t spent much time on our practice model, download the Warehouse model directly into your open file. Place the door. The Move tool is active and is attached to the door’s local axis. Note how the door attaches or “glues” itself to whatever plane it’s on. Gluing is an option when a component is created (Figure 5‑41), so if a component doesn’t glue as expected, inspect that option by clicking on the house icon to access all components in the model. Then find the component’s thumbnail, right-­click and choose Properties (Figure 5‑42).

Figure 5-­41:  The component’s Glue option.

Figure 5-­42:  If a component doesn’t attach to a wall, inspect its gluing option.

Click the back of the frame onto the floor and guideline (Figure 5‑43). Four crosses will appear when you hover the Move tool over the door. Those allow you to rotate the door. While you obviously don’t want to rotate a door, those crosses appear on all downloaded components to enable rotation right away instead of as a separate task.

Figure 5-­43:  Click the door’s frame onto the wall.

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Component Door in Single- versus Double-sided Walls Note that the component door cut a hole in the wall. This is an option when creating a component (Figure 5‑44). If you delete the door, the hole will also delete; if you move the door, the hole will move with it. This is a huge benefit of using component doors instead of manually cutting holes in walls. However, this only works on single-­ face walls, not double-­face walls like we modeled in the cottage. Since designers typically draw walls with thicknesses, a workaround for a double-­ face wall is needed. Sometimes you can draw a rectangle around the door or window component, push the face back, and that cuts a hole through the second face. Other times you might have to Figure 5-­4 4:  Select Cut opening when push the face back and then select/delete it. creating a door component. Import and place the window. First, draw a guide‑ line 2′-­2″ from the ceiling to mark the window head (Figure 5‑45). Then go to Window>Components>Construction>Windows Low Poly, which takes you to the Warehouse and presents windows to browse (Figure 5‑46). Choose one, bring it into the model, and click to place (Figure 5‑47).

Import Warehouse Furniture Through the Components Browser Search Field Let’s import a desk, dresser, and bed now. In the Components browser’s search field, do separate searches for small dresser, dorm bed, and desk (Figure 5‑48). Thumbnails will appear in the browser; double-­click ones that interest you and download into the model. Alternatively,

Figure 5-­45:  Make a guideline for the window head.

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Figure 5-­46:  Browse the Windows Low Poly folder.

Figure 5-­47:  Click a window into place.

Figure 5-­4 8:  Use the search field to find Warehouse components.

click the Details arrow and choose View in 3D Warehouse (Figure 5‑49). You’ll be taken directly to a Warehouse page with the same search results, which makes browsing the individual components easier.

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Figure 5-­49:  Click the Details arrow for a fly-­out menu.

I imported storage cabinets for under the bed and a poster (Figure 5‑50). The poster is an image, and flashed when put against the wall. I opened its editing box and push/pulled it out a bit to give it thickness and stop the flashing (5-­51).

Figure 5-­50:  The dorm room with imported furniture.

Figure 5-­51:  Thickening an imported image.

Copy and Paste Between SketchUp Files You can copy and paste components from one SketchUp file to another. Open both files. You must click the second file open from the SketchUp icon to open two instances of the software. Merely clicking File>Open will close the active file. Select the item to copy in the first file and press Ctrl C (copy). Click on the second file, acti‑ vate the Select key, and press Ctrl V (paste). On a Mac, press Command C and Command V. Alternatively, go to the File menu and click Edit>Copy in the first file and Edit>Paste in the second. Cutting and pasting works on geometry within a file, too.

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Paste In Place Simple pasting puts the content anywhere in the active SketchUp file. The Edit menu has a cool feature called Paste In Place (Figure 5‑52) that puts an item in the same location it was cut or copied from. This is great for moving items that are outside a group/component into it while preserving the location. Because groups/components and loose geometry can Figure 5-­52:  The Paste In Place function. occupy the same spot, a common error is to inadvertently make edits outside a group/ component’s shell instead of opening the bounding box and editing inside it. Relocate geometry to the same place inside the group/component by selecting the geometry, clicking File>Cut, opening the group’s bounding box, and clicking File>Paste in Place. Here are a couple more tips. Go to File>Import, set the Files of Type field to SKP and nav‑ igate to the file you want to import. This brings the whole file into the open one. You can also drag that file’s desktop icon into the open file. Large files will take a while to import.

See All Components Loaded in the Model with the In Model Icon Once downloaded, a component remains in the file even if you delete it from the model. At Window>Components we clicked the dropdown arrow to see the Construction and other component collection folders. To only see components that have been loaded into the model, click the In Model icon; it’s the house (Figure 5‑53). Every component added to the model through any method—­downloading, importing, making it yourself, cutting and pasting—­shows up here. You’ll probably return to this window often to purge or retrieve components.

Purge and Delete Unused Components

Figure 5-­53:  Click the house icon to see all components in the model.

Unused components increase the file size, so get rid of them. Click the Details arrow on the Components browser and choose Purge Unused from the fly-­out menu (Figure 5‑54). Purging removes all unused components from the file.

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Figure 5-­54:  Purge unused components.

You can also right-­click on a component and choose Delete. That removes the component from the file and from the SketchUp software. Deleting components is a useful way to get rid of unneeded blocks that were part of an AutoCAD import. If you think you might reuse purged or deleted components for a different project, make a local collection for them.

Make a Local Collection and Link It to the Components Browser A local collection is a folder on your computer in which components are kept. You can link this folder to the Components browser for easy access to its contents each time you open any SketchUp file. Here’s how. 1. Click the arrow in the upper-­r ight

corner of the Components browser to open the secondary (bottom) pane (Figure 5‑55). It looks just like the top pane. However, you can create your own collection folders in this pane and drag components from the top pane down into them.

Arrow

2. Make a new folder on your desktop and

call it My Components. Then click the Details arrow and choose Open or Create a local collection; on the Mac choose Create a new collection (Figure 5‑56). Navigate to the My Components folder that you just made. Select it and click the Select Folder button (Figure 5‑57). That collection is now open in the lower pane. Populate the

Figure 5-­55:  Click the arrow to open the bottom panel.

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Figure 5-­56:  Click the arrow and choose Open or Create a local collection.

Figure 5-­57:  Navigate to the My Components folder and click Select Folder.

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folder by dragging components into it (Figure 5‑58). Open the folder on the desktop to verify that the components are, indeed, in there now. Right-­click on the Details arrow in the lower pane and choose Add collection to favorites; on the Mac choose Save as a local collection. When you click the dropdown arrow, the My Components folder will appear, too (Figure 5‑59). Eventually you’ll want to make local collections for different categories, such as rugs, tables, and lighting fixtures. You can even save searches as a col‑ lection. Type search terms in the components search field, hit Enter, and after results are returned, click the Details arrow and choose Add to favorites. Your search will appear with all the other collections. To remove a collection, select it, click the Details arrow again, and choose Remove from favorites.

▶▶Tip: If you can’t drag components from the top to bottom pane or make local collection folders, your permission settings may be locked.

Figure 5-­58:  Drag components from the upper pane into the lower pane.

Figure 5-­59:  Add your local folder to Favorites.

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Create Plan and Elevation Views If you prefer to study the model in orthographic views, you can. When we imported the JPG plan of the cottage, we clicked on the Views toolbar’s plan icon for a plan view. However, what we’re getting is an aerial perspective (Figure 5‑60). Make an orthographic top view of the model by clicking Camera>Parallel Projection (Figure 5‑61) and using it in tandem with the Views toolbar.

Figure 5-­60:  A model in Plan appears as an aerial perspective.

Figure 5-­61:  Camera>Parallel Projection and the Plan icon creates an orthographic view.

The other Views icons yield exterior elevation views, so a workaround is needed to obtain an interior elevation view. One way is to hide the wall opposite the one you want an interior elevation of (Figure 5‑62). To finesse the location where the elevation view is made, use the Section tool.

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Figure 5-­62:  Hide a wall to obtain an interior elevation.

The Section Tool Activate the Section toolbar (Figure 5‑63) at View>Toolbars>Section. It creates cut-­through views Figure 5-­63:  The Section toolbar. of the model. It doesn’t cut the model; it just displays a view of the cut. There are four icons: one draws the plane; one toggles the plane on and off; one toggles the cut on and off; and one toggles section fill on and off. Click on the first icon and place the cursor on the wall you want to remove from the cut (Figure 5‑64). Name the cut in the dialog box. Move the plane to the desired location and click in place. You can lock its orientation in place with the arrow keys. Toggle both the cutting plane and the cut part on and off with the other icons. To change the cut’s location, select it and use Move. To change the plane’s direction, select it and use the Rotate tool (Figure 5‑65). To remove a section plane, select and delete it.

Make a Section Cut with Create Group from Slice You can make multiple section cuts in a model (Figure 5‑66), but only one will be active at a time. A workaround for making simultaneously active planes is to group the model with a section plane and then create another section plane outside the group. Grouping the model and applying the Section tool inside the group’s bounding box is useful if you have other models in the file, because otherwise the section plane cuts through everything. Actual cuts in the model can be generated from section plane views. Select a plane, right-­ click on it, and choose Create group from slice. This makes a cut at the insertion location (Figure 5‑67). If you made the plane cut inside a group, you’ll need to open the group’s bound‑ ing box for the Create group from slice option to appear.

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2.

1.

3.

Figure 5-­64:  Creating a cut with the Section tool.

Figure 5-­65:  Use Rotate to change the plane’s direction.

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Figure 5-­66:  Multiple section cuts in a model.

1.

2.

3.

Figure 5-­67:  Creating a cut from a section view.

The cut is a group that can be removed or exploded in place. Removing enables further development. Exploding severs the model in two, enabling separate editing of each part (Figure 5‑68).

Model a Building from an AutoCAD (DWG) Plan So far, we’ve drafted floor plans from imported raster files. You can also import a DWG or DXF file, which becomes SketchUp geometry upon import. This is a common design workflow (Figure 5‑69). You don’t need AutoCAD software installed on your computer to import a DWG file into SketchUp. However, a DWG file needs preparation before import for best results, and opti‑ mally this is done within AutoCAD. Simpler files need less preparation than data-­rich ones that have lots of layers and line weights, and you probably don’t need to do everything on the following list, but all can make a difference. As with a Warehouse model, it’s best practice to import a DWG or DWX file into a new SketchUp file before bringing it into your open model to ensure it isn’t problematic.

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Figure 5-­68:  Exploding a slice severs the model in two.

Figure 5-­69:  This office was modeled in SketchUp from an imported AutoCAD plan. Courtesy mkerrdesign.com.

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▶▶

Import files smaller than 15MB. Larger files either take a long time to import or fail to import. If the file is larger, consider breaking it into smaller files. For example, one file can have a site plan, and another can have a floor plan.

▶▶

Copy and paste the plan into a new AutoCAD file. This keeps stale metadata from importing into SketchUp.

▶▶

Run the PURGE and AUDIT commands to clean up any old data that did enter the new AutoCAD file.

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▶▶

Import only necessary geometry. Delete text, dimensions, hatch lines, x-­references, layers, and any “smart” items (ADT or ARX objects). Delete anything with no 3D relevance, such as door and window symbols and furniture blocks, unless you want to use them as references.

▶▶

Explode all polylines, arcs, and filleted lines. Also erase any construction objects, such as points created where lines were divided. These often import as artifacts (bits and pieces of geometry).

▶▶

Remove all textures, x-­referenced and imported files, colors, and dynamic blocks. These may cause problems upon import.

▶▶

Ensure that lines connected at endpoints are indeed connected. This is especially important for lines that define surfaces you plan to model.

▶▶

Run the Units command so you know what the units are. Scale the file to 1:1 if it isn’t scaled to that already. SketchUp 2018 and later enables you to scale the model using the CAD file units.

▶▶

Save the AutoCAD file as release 13 or 14, as best import results are obtained with those.

▶▶

Locate the plan at the origin.

Import a DWG File of the Cottage Let’s import the AutoCAD file shown in Figure 5-­70. 1. Click File>Import, navigate to and select

the DWG file. Make sure that either AutoCAD Files or All Supported Image Types is visible in the Files field. Then click the Options button (Figure 5‑71). 2. In the Options dialog window, check the

first two boxes (Figure 5‑72). They tell SketchUp to remove triangulated lines from planes and to orient faces uniformly. Set the Units field to the AutoCAD plan’s units. Meaning, if the plan’s units are feet, set it to feet. If the AutoCAD plan’s scale and this field’s scale are different, the plan will not enter SketchUp correctly scaled. If you don’t know the units, choose Model units, and SketchUp will turn one CAD unit into 1″ in SketchUp. Alternatively, use a large unit type, such as feet or meters, and then resize the plan after import.

Figure 5-­70:  AutoCAD file simplified for import.

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Figure 5-­71:  Locate the file to import.

Figure 5-­72:  Set the options.

Uncheck the Preserve drawing origin box. SketchUp will then place the imported plan at the origin. If the plan is placed elsewhere, “clipping” may occur, a glitch that causes part of the plan to disappear. Then click OK.

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3. Click Open to import the DWG file into SketchUp. A box appears showing the specific

data imported. Click again and ta-­da! The imported DWG file is now SketchUp geometry. It imports as a component, so right-­click and choose Explode (Figure 5‑73). If needed, scale the plan to its correct dimensions with the Tape Measure.

Figure 5-­73:  The imported DWG file.

Some clean-­up can be done on the AutoCAD file up after import. Delete unneeded geometry by selecting and erasing. Delete unused data at Window>Model Info>Statistics and click the Purge Unused button at the bottom (Figure 5‑74). If any AutoCAD blocks came into the file, find them in the Components tray and delete them there.

Model the DWG File Erase unneeded geometry and turn walls into faces by tracing over them with the Pencil or the Rectangle. You’ll probably have to do this separately for the walls and interior spaces (Figure 5‑75). There’s an extension called S4U Make Face that can help. Extensions are discussed in Chapter 9. Push/pull the walls up (Figure 5‑76). Create heads over doors and windows with the 3-­Point Rectangle and Push/Pull tools (Figure 5‑77).

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Figure 5-­74:  Purge unneeded data that came in with the AutoCAD file.

Figure 5-­75:  Trace the plan to create faces.

Figure 5-­76:  Push/pull the walls up.

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Figure 5-­77:  Make door heads with the 3-­Point Rectangle and Push/Pull tools.

Export the File You can also import SketchUp files into AutoCAD. All exported plans, elevations, and sections keep their true scale, and components and layers stay intact. Units default to inches. Go to Export>3D Model and export as a DWG or DXF file. There’s also a DAE option (Figure 5‑78), which enables exporting the SketchUp model to other 3D programs such Maya, 3DS Max, and Blender.

Interact with Revit, 20-­20, and Chief Architect You can import SketchUp models directly into Revit and 20-­20. Import a Revit model into SketchUp by exporting the RVT file as a DWG or DXF file, and then importing that file into Figure 5-­78:  Export an SKP file to import into other programs. SketchUp. Import 20-­20 models into SketchUp by exporting the KIT file to a DXF file, and then importing the DXF into SketchUp. Import SketchUp models directly into Chief Architect; import Chief Architect files into SketchUp as 3DS Max files. A lot of cleaning up for all will probably be needed.

“Clipping” (Disappearing Geometry) Clipping is a glitch that causes faces to partially disappear when orbiting and zooming. Clipping occurs when geometry is very small or very large or when it’s located far from the origin, common with a DWG import. Fix by clicking Zoom Extents, and then move the geometry to the origin.

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Figure 5-­79:  Type coordinates to move geometry.

Figure 5-­80:  The Text tool.

Move Geometry with Coordinates To move a far-­away piece of geometry to the origin, select it, click Move on a ground-­plane corner, move the geometry a bit, and type [0,0,0] (include the square brackets). Then hit Enter. (Figure 5‑79). The selected geometry will snap there. This technique also moves distant pieces of geometry together. By now you’ve probably experienced the difficulty of moving two far-­apart or non-­aligned items. The next time that happens, click the Text tool (Figure 5‑80) on a corner of one item to see its coordinates. Select the other item, activate Move, grab a bottom corner, type those coordinates in square brackets, and hit Enter. The item will snap to, or near, the coordinate location.

Add Tags to Control Visibility Tags are an organizational tool. You create and assign geometry to them, then turn them on and off to control the geometry’s visibility. This is useful when viewing or modeling something that is obstructed by something else. The turned-­off geometry also speeds up regeneration time. Tags let you present different design options for one space, which we’ll discuss in Chapter 8. Click on the Tags tray, click on the plus sign to create a tag, and name it. Select geometry to put on it through the Entity Info box. In the Entity Info box, click the dropdown arrow until the new tag appears, and click on it. The selected geometry is now on that tag, and by clicking the eye in the Tags tray, you can turn its visibility on and off. The pencil graphic on the far right of a tag indicates that tag is current, meaning everything you draw will go onto that tag. You can’t make the current tag invisible. Only put groups and components on any tags you create, not edges and faces. This will make it harder to “lose” pieces of geometry or deform them. All loose geometry should be on the “Untagged” tag at the top of the list. You cannot rename this tag. You can click the Pencil on any tag to make it current, but experienced SketchUp users keep the default Untagged tag current because organizational problems occur when others are made current. When a tag is turned off, only visibility is affected; the geometry on that tag is still attached to geometry on other tags. You’ll deform your model by forgetting about geometry on invisible layers. Delete a tag by right-­clicking on it and choosing Delete. A window will appear asking if you want to move its items to another tag or just delete them.

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Make new tag

Tags

Figure 5-­81:  Change line type with the Tag tool.

Change Line Type with Tag Click on the Tag icon and then click it onto a named tag to bring up line type choices (Figure 5‑81). Click on the line type you want. Then click on a line in the model with the Tag icon and that line will change to the chosen line type.

Modeling Tips ▶▶

Reconstruct a broken face by tracing the face’s perimeter. If the face won’t fill, review Chapter 4 for possible causes.

▶▶

Inference-­match to obtain line lengths, watch for inference tooltips when connecting the lines, and draw along the axes. Hold the Shift key down to lock the Pencil and Move tools along the axes.

▶▶

If geometry is in an awkward location to modify, cut and paste it somewhere else on the screen, work on it there, and then move it back.

▶▶

Make a copy of the work and try different modeling techniques on it. For instance, if drawing multiple parallel lines is problematic, select one already drawn and copy it to other locations.

▶▶

If something goes wrong, undo is your friend.

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Model a Sloped Roof with the Protractor Tool Want a sloped ceiling? Group the whole house so the roof doesn’t stick to it. Then activate the Protractor tool (Figure 5‑82). It measures angles and creates angled guidelines. The protractor aligns with the plane it is on. Click the protractor onto the appropriate plane; click it again; move Figure 5-­82:  The Protractor tool. the protractor until the angle you want appears (read it in the Measurements box); click a third time to lock that angle in place (Figure 5‑83). When the cursor is close to the protractor, it snaps to 15° increments. When the cursor is farther away, it moves more smoothly and precisely. The protractor leaves a guideline at the angle specified. After you set the angle, trace over the guideline with the pencil. Then push/pull the roof’s shape to give it volume (Figure 5‑84). From the inside the roof will look like a sloped ceiling.

Figure 5-­83:  Setting a roof angle with the Protractor.

Figure 5-­8 4:  Trace and push/pull the roof.

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To measure an angle with the protractor, click it on an endpoint; click it under the other endpoint, and then click on the opposite endpoint (Figure 5‑85).

1.

2. Click

Click

Click

3.

Figure 5-­85:  Click three times to measure an angle.

Geo-­locate a Model SketchUp can place the model in its geographical location with online digital information. Geo-­location is helpful for shadow studies and presentations. The Geo-­location function imports both 2D imagery and 3D contours, if available. Here’s how to access it. 1. Click on File>Geo-­location>Add location. A map will appear (Figure 5‑86). 2. Zoom into the area you want or type an address. Select a region by drawing a window

around it. Choose a digital imagery provider (I chose Digital Globe) and click the Import button (Figure 5‑87).

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Figure 5-­86:  The Geo-­location function.

Figure 5-­87:  Select the region to import.

The terrain comes in as a flat raster file. Open the Tags tray and you’ll see there are two tags. Turn off the Location Snapshot tag and turn on the Location Terrain tag to get the result in the bottom graphic of Figure 5‑88.

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Tags

Figure 5-­88:  The imported terrain.

Fun Exports and Imports You can place your model on Google Earth. This is a 3D site of the whole globe built on satellite imagery, aerial photography, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data, and lets you view cities and landscapes from all angles. Export the SketchUp model as a Google Earth (KMZ) file at File>Export>3D Model>Google Earth File. Then open Google Earth, go to File>Open, navigate to the KMZ file, and bring it in. The model will appear correctly located and oriented in Google Earth. Do you design video game assets? Import and export Collada (DAE) files, which are used in games. If you extract a character as a DAE file from a game, you can import it into SketchUp.

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Is SketchUp Running Slow? By now you may have experienced SketchUp slowdowns, freezes, and display abbreviations, where bounding boxes are shown instead of components, and details/textures lost. Assuming your computer’s RAM, processor speed, and graphics card meet minimum standards, slowdowns are caused by bloated geometry, which means an excessive number of polygons (the plane figures that make up a SketchUp model). This isn’t necessarily the same thing as a large file size. A large file size can reflect bloated geometry, and indicates complexity, but it’s possible to have a small file size and a large polygon count (the number of polygons in a model). Check file size by right-­clicking the model’s desktop icon and choosing Properties. The Ware‑ house doesn’t accept uploads larger than 100 MB so use that as a guide.

Make SketchUp Run Faster by Keeping the Polygon Count Down SketchUp calculates each polygon when you pan, orbit, and zoom, so keep the polygon count down. Be cognizant of how much geometry the shapes you create have. Figure 5‑89 shows two cylinders with the hidden geometry option turned on. The left is made with the default 24 sides, the right with 12 sides. While the left one looks smoother, it has more geometry. If the circle isn’t important, will 12 sides suffice?

Figure 5-­89:  The smoother circle has more geometry.

SketchUp also makes hidden lines when auto-­ folding, creating curves, and using Follow Me (the path line gets left behind). Some of this can be erased. Examine the model in Hidden and X-­ray modes (View>Face style>X-­ray) for extra geom‑ etry. You may find parts stuck into each other; not deliberately intersected, just stuck (Figure 5‑90). Erasing them reduces the polygon count and keeps the model clean.

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Figure 5-­90:  X-­ray mode may show extra pieces.

At Window>Model Info>Statistics the amount of geometry is displayed. More than 100,000 edges causes slowdowns. Following are strategies to manage the polygon count and hence make SketchUp run faster.

Strategies to Make SketchUp Run Faster ▶▶

Purge unused files. In the Components, Materials, and Styles trays, click In Model (the house icon) and then click the Details arrow. Choose Purge Unused (Figure 5‑91). At Window>Model Info>Statistics, click the Purge Unused button at the bottom (Figure 5‑92). This removes unused materials, components, and styles all at once, as well as unused tags and stale metadata accumulated during the modeling process.

Figure 5-­91:  Purge unused materials, components, and styles.

Figure 5-­92:  Purge everything unused.

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Use images instead of textures when only one instance is needed. Images take less space than textures. Choose JPGs or PNGs when possible, as they take the least space.

▶▶

Use appropriate sizes for imported images. Is the image a major part of the model? Must it display in high resolution? If not, cut its image size down in digital imaging software and import a smaller resolution file, such as 512k × 512k.

▶▶

Model minor items simply. A small, detailed model takes up as much file space as a large one. When zooming in to work on a small piece, it’s easy to lose sight of its relative importance. But small items should be simpler than large ones, and background items even simpler.

▶▶

Download components to the desktop and purge unused/unneeded items before copy‑ ing or pasting them into the model.

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Use components for multiple copies. Components take less space than groups. Use groups for single instances only.

▶▶

Model half of symmetrical items. Make it a component and copy/flip along axis to complete. This saves time and takes up less space than a fully modeled component.

▶▶

Place groups and components on their own tags and turn off the tags that aren’t needed. Turned-­off tags don’t get calculated. Until you’re ready to print, does entourage such as trees and people need to be displayed?

▶▶

Use 2D components for people, cars, and trees that always face the camera (check that setting in their editing box). If a plan view isn’t needed, use 2D plants. Put them in 3D pots to look more convincing.

▶▶

Model with textures off. Textures are calculated with each pan, orbit, and zoom. Click View>Face Style>Monochrome after you’re done painting. Make a scene with the Shaded with textures face style to quickly view it as needed.

▶▶

Model with a simple default style. Don’t model with an elaborate style, as it takes longer to recalculate when rendering, panning, orbiting, and zooming.

▶▶

Turn off shadows while modeling. They slow the model down and are only needed when adjusting position and value, and when printing a hard copy.

▶▶

Turn off edge profiles, depth cue, and extensions at View>Edge Style by unchecking their boxes (Figure 5‑93). All these settings are on by default but add little and slow the model down a lot. In the Styles tray, click Edit and set the edge color to All the same (Figure 5‑94). Hide any watermarks—­click on the fourth cube under the Edit tab to access watermarks (Figure 5‑95).

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Figure 5-­93:  Turn off edge style options.

Figure 5-­94:  Set edge color to All the same.

Figure 5-­95:  Turn off watermarks.

Up for more challenges? They’re right ahead. Join me in Chapter 6, where we’ll model a two-­ story space and stairs.

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Summary We drafted a floor plan by tracing over imported raster files and modeled a house from an imported DWG file. During the modeling process we applied different face and edge styles, inference-­matched line lengths, resized the model based on one part’s known dimension, and imported Warehouse components. We made a component collection and linked it to the Components browser. We generated floor plans and interior elevations from the model with the Section tool, modeled a sloped ceiling, and discussed tags and how to geo-­locate a model. We also discussed a model’s polygon count, and how a large one contributes to slowdowns.

Further Resources The Trimble 3D Warehouse: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ The Warehouse Terms of Service: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/tos/ Get SketchUp and other format models via paid subscription: http://www.formfonts.com/ Get SketchUp models and textures here that are free, low cost, and paid subscription based: http://sketchucation.com/shop

Google Earth: https://www.google.com/earth/index.html

Exercises 1. Model your house. Measure or estimate room size. 2. Do a Google image search for floor plans. Right-­click and save one to your computer.

Import and scale to a known dimension (e.g., 24″ deep cabinets or a 3′ 0″ door). 3. Import an AutoCAD plan that you’ve done for work or school and model it. Add tags and

geo-­location. 4. Download some Warehouse models from the Components browser. Edit them and save

them under different names. Make one unique. 5. Make a collections folder and link it to the materials browser.

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CHAPTER

Model a Two-­story Interior

I

n this chapter we will model the interior of a two-­story house from an imported DWG file (Figure 6‑1). Such a model enables the study of space, proportion, scale, colors, and textiles. We’ll also explore Warehouse features, tags, and the Outliner. In Chapter 5 we discussed how to prepare a DWG file for import. Figure 6‑2 shows the imported file. It consists of two floor plans.

Figure 6-­1:  Floor plans of a two-­story house.

6

Objective: This chapter shows how to model a two-­story interior. Tools: Follow Me, Axis, Intersect Faces, Outliner, 3-­Point Rectangle, Scale, Tape Measure Concepts and Functions: 3D Warehouse, tags, model a staircase, model a mansard roof, change endpoint appearance, nesting, divide a line, autofold, weld, smooth, mirror, orient faces, change a component axis, face color, face style, field of view, make multiple copies, create faces on an imported AutoCAD plan, flip along, cone of vision

Figure 6-­2:  The imported DWG file.

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Explode and Clean Up the Imported DWG File Select the imported file, right-­click, and choose Explode. Then select and delete all unneeded 2D items, such as door and window symbols, a kitchen cabinet outline, stairs break line, and artifacts on the stairs that imported with this file (Figure 6‑3).

Create Faces

Figure 6-­3:  Delete unneeded 2D items.

The imported plans have no faces, so you’ll have to make them yourself. I drew a rectangle over the whole plan, which created faces in some areas. In areas where it didn’t, I drew small, individual rectangles within both walls and rooms to create faces (Figure 6‑4).

Intersection

Figure 6-­4:  You may need to draw rectangles inside walls, corners, and rooms to create faces throughout the plan.

Some areas on the plan required multiple rectangles to create faces (Figure 6‑5). After­ wards, I deleted all extra lines, cleaned up intersections, and ensured that the walls and floors highlighted separately (Figure 6‑6). If they don’t highlight separately, retrace individual rooms and spaces. The floors and walls must highlight separately before continuing. Select and group the first-­floor stairs separately from the walls. During this process I found artifacts, double lines, and extra lines that prevented faces from forming. Zoom in and examine the plan carefully for such items. After I push/pulled the

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Figure 6-­5:  Multiple rectangles were needed to fill this floor plan.

Figure 6-­6:  Delete extra lines and ensure the walls and floors highlight separately.

walls up, vertical lines were created (Figure 6‑7). While some of those vertical lines may be easily erased, others may take wall planes with them. It’s important to model as cleanly as possible from the beginning because little problems cause bigger problems when developing the model. If a model is too damaged, it’s easier to just rebuild than fix. So, delete extraneous lines as you see them, and fix whatever problem is causing you to not be able to delete them. Some of the wall lines turned out to be a bunch of short line segments. I deleted those short segments and redrew the walls as continuous lines from one corner to another.

Figure 6-­7:  Lines and artifacts in the plan create vertical lines in the model.

Model the Plan We’ll use double-­plane walls. Such walls require manually cutting holes behind window and door components. When you model with single-­plane walls, component doors and windows automatically cut holes in the walls. If you prefer that convenience and your purpose for the

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Figure 6-­8:  Trace a raster plan with single-­ plane walls.

Figure 6-­9:  Separate the interior and exterior walls in the plan with short lines.

model doesn’t require double-­plane walls, just import a raster file, trace a single line in the center of the plan walls, and model as per Figure 6‑8.

Model and Group the First Floor’s Walls and Floor Put the exterior and interior walls, and the floors, on different tags. To facilitate this, I drew lines at the intersections of interior and exterior walls to separate them (Figure 6‑9). I temporarily moved the stairs group outside the plan. Then I push/pulled the exterior walls up 9ʹ and grouped them (Figure 6‑10). Inside the plan, push/pull the floor up 5ʺ and add 2ʹ tall headers over the doors. Faces may form on top of the walls during the modeling process; just select and delete them. Push/pull the walls up. I selected all the interior walls and floors and grouped them together (Figure 6‑11). However, you might want to select and group the floors separately.

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Figure 6-­10:  Select and group the exterior walls.

Figure 6-­11:  Select and group the interior walls/floors.

Figure 6-­12:  Move the interior walls to the Interior Walls tag.

Make Tags and Move Groups to Them In the Tags tray, click the plus sign twice to make two new tags. Name them Exterior Walls and Interior Walls. Select the exterior walls. In the Entity Info box, click the dropdown arrow to find the Interior Walls tag, and then click on that tag to move the walls to it (Figure 6‑12). Then do the same for the exterior walls. Verify the tag change by reselecting the group/component and viewing its Entity Info box again.

More About Tags All geometry remains on the tag it was created on, and you should always create it on the Untagged layer. To move geometry—­which should always just be groups or components—­to a different layer, select it, find its tag in the Entity Info box, and click on that tag. That action moves the group/component to that layer. Know that the group/component moves to another tag but the loose geometry inside it remains on the Untagged tag. You’re just moving the group or component’s bounding box. Leave all loose geometry on Untagged because tags are just for visibility and moving the bounding box achieves that. However, if you ever do need to move some interior pieces, open their group’s bounding box, select those pieces, right-­click to access the Entity Info tray, and scroll to the appropriate tag. Be aware that when a group/component is on one tag and its geometry is on Untagged, exploding the group moves the geometry to the same tag as the group/component. It will all be selected, however, so immediately move it all back to Untagged. Delete a tag by right-­clicking it and choosing Delete. Put other features of the house in their own groups and tags, such as stairs, furniture, and fixtures. If you import a JPG, put it on its own tag so it can be turned off instead of erased in case you need it later. When a tag is turned off, SketchUp doesn’t calculate it in the Zoom, Pan, and Orbit functions, which makes regeneration faster. Merely hiding geometry keeps it in the calculations.

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Finally, make sure Untagged is the active tag before you resume modeling. If you inadvertently draw on another tag, select what you drew and move it to Untagged via the Entity Info box.

Add a Component Door Click on the Components tray. Then click on the dropdown arrow and click on the Construction folder. Scroll to Doors Low Poly. You’ll be taken to the Warehouse, where you can choose a door. I chose the framed half door in Figure 6‑13.

Figure 6-­13:  Choose a Warehouse door.

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Open the Exterior Walls group and download the door into it. You cannot place the door outside the group; it must be inside it. If you have nested groups (groups inside groups), open all groups until you reach the loose geometry. Place the back of the doorframe on the wall (Figure 6‑14). A component door does not cut through a double-­plane wall. It only cuts through the first plane. Therefore, you can’t see through the door’s glass into the house. We need to manually cut a hole through the wall. Click the rectangle onto the Figure 6-­14:  Place the door inside door’s corners (not on the frame’s corners). If done the group. correctly, the plane created by the rectangle will partially obscure the door (Figure 6‑15). Push/pull the rectangle plane into the wall and click the cursor onto the wall’s back plane to make a clean cut (Figure 6‑16). If you still can’t see through the door’s glass, a plane might have been created on the back wall. Just select and delete it (Figure 6‑17). Back corner

1.

2.

3. Back corner

Figure 6-­15:  Click the rectangle onto the door.

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Click on back edge

Figure 6-­16:  Push/pull and click on the back edge of the wall.

Figure 6-­17:  If a plane forms on the back wall, delete it.

Nesting and Organization As you develop the model, you’ll likely make multiple groups and components, and group some of them into larger groups. That’s called nesting. For example, if we made a group around the whole house, the walls, floors, and stairs groups would be nested inside it. Nesting is an organizational strategy that is helpful with complicated models. When you create a model, consider its organization as you work. Make decisions early in the process. Which parts should be separate? Which parts should be nested? Which should be moved together? Which will need to be frequently copied? What should be a component, rather than a group? Ultimately, this will make the modeling process more productive and make editing the model easier.

The Outliner The Outliner is in a tray on the right side of the screen. It’s turned off by default. Turn it on at Window>Manage Trays. Click Default Tray and then check the Outliner box (Figure 6‑18). It contains a hierarchical order of all groups and components. Click on the dropdown arrow to expand the hierarchy tree. All groups and components in the model are displayed. Groups have a square in front of them; components have a grid. Double-­click on any of those entries to rename them. Single-­clicking on one selects it in the model. To drill down quickly to a group or component that is nested deeply inside others, just click its entry in the Outliner and that group or component will highlight. Typing a name in the

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Figure 6-­18:  The Outliner.

filter field on top makes every group or component with that name appear. Delete the name from the filter field to restore the hierarchy list. Through the Outliner you can name, rename, hide, and edit groups and components. You can also reorganize them by dragging their names to different nested locations. Editing and hiding may be easier to do through the Outliner than on the model itself. Figure 6‑19 shows a group selected both in the Outliner and in the model. When you select it in one, it highlights in the other. Right-­click on a group’s name in the Outliner to access the same context menu obtained by clicking on the model itself, with the addition of a Rename option.

Figure 6-­19:  The Outliner hierarchy tree. Right-­click on an entry to access a context menu for easy editing.

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Figure 6-­20:  Create and group a platform on top of the exterior walls.

Make a Second Floor Platform We need a platform to place the house’s second floor on. With the Rectangle, trace the perimeter of the exterior walls. Group the rectangle. Open the group’s bounding box and push/pull the rectangle up 5ʺ (Figure 6‑20). Put this platform on its own tag called Second Floor.

Cut a Stairwell on the Second Floor To reach the second floor, we need 14 risers that are 7 1/4ʺ tall each, and 13 treads that are 10 1/4ʺ deep. Turn off the second-­floor platform and then draw all treads, keeping them in their own group. Turn the platform back on. At View>Face Style>X-­ray make the model transparent. Next, mark endpoints for the well, which is the hole in the ceiling through which you enter the second floor. Drag the Tape Measure from a vertical wall to each corner of the stairs (Figure 6‑21). Then open the stairs’ group bounding box, draw a rectangle through the guidelines, and push/pull it down (Figure 6‑22). You might need to select and delete a couple more random planes that form to expose the stairs.

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Figure 6-­21:  Draw vertical guidelines at the stairs’ corners.

Figure 6-­22:  Draw a rectangle and push/pull it down.

Draw the Staircase Turn off the second-­floor platform tag to expose the first floor below. We want to draw inside the stairs’ group. Double-­click the interior walls groups and then double-­click the stairs group that is nested inside. Alternatively, just double-­click the stairs group entry in the Outliner.

Draw and Divide a Vertical Riser Line Draw a vertical line from the first step to the top of the wall as shown in Figure 6‑23. We’ll place markers for the stair risers on it. Select the line you just drew, right-­click, and choose Divide. We’ll mark the risers on this line by dividing it into 13 line segments.

Figure 6-­23:  Draw and divide a vertical line.

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When you choose Divide, dots appear on the line. Move the cursor until 13 line segments appear and click to finish (Figure 6‑24). If you can’t see the line segment divisions, click on Styles>Edit and check the Endpoints box (Figure 6‑25). You can see how many segments any divided line has by selecting the whole line and looking in its Entity Info box.

Copy the Steps with a Linear Array Time to make multiple copies of the stairs. With the Tape Measure, draw vertical and horizontal guidelines as shown in Figure 6‑26 and trace one step with the Pencil. Select the riser and tread, activate the Move tool, press and release the Ctrl key, and copy and place the selected lines as shown in Figure 6‑27. The Measurements box will now say Distance.

Figure 6-­25:  Check Endpoints to see the divisions.

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Figure 6-­24:  Divide the line.

Figure 6-­26:  Draw guidelines and one step.

Figure 6-­27:  Copy one stair step.

Figure 6-­28:  Type 12x for 13 total risers.

Type x12 and the rest of the staircase will appear (Figure 6‑28). Don’t click anything or move the cursor between copying the first stair and typing x12, or this action won’t work. At Style>Edit uncheck the Endpoints box.

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Add Volume to the Staircase Push/pull the staircase forward to match the width of the stairs in plan (Figure 6‑29). If the staircase is grayed out and you can’t select it, it may be in a different group. A quick fix is to trace the stairs with the Pencil inside whatever group you’ve got open and push/pull. You might also need to trace the staircase’s horizontal and edges to complete the face. Figure 6‑30 shows the staircase and Figure 6-­29:  Push/pull the staircase out. Figure 6‑31 shows the staircase through the second-­floor platform. Finally, erase the divided vertical line by sliding the Eraser continuously over it (hold the cursor down) (Figure 6‑32). You may need to orbit to another position to avoid erasing other geometry.

Figure 6-­30:  The staircase.

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Figure 6-­32:  Drag the eraser to remove the line segments.

Figure 6-­31:  The stairwell.

Model the Second Floor Figure 6‑33 shows the plan after edits were made from the imported AutoCAD plan. I erased the stairs because there is no need for them. I also drew lines dividing the interior from exterior walls so they can be grouped separately.

Push/Pull the Walls Up After push/pulling the walls up, erase any unneeded vertical lines. Note on Figure 6‑34 there are some thick and thin vertical lines. Thick lines are only connected to one face; thin lines are connected to two faces. When I erased the thick lines, they took wall planes with them. This must be fixed before continuing. Look for any hidden geometry causing the lines. Turn on View>Face Style>X-­ray and View>Hidden Geometry, then zoom in and examine the model carefully for leftover bits, pieces, and artifacts. I also erased and redrew any thick lines that appeared in the imported floor plan (Figure 6‑35). Redrawing them made them thin.

Figure 6-­33:  The edited plan.

Thin lines

Thick lines

Figure 6-­34:  Thick and thin vertical lines appeared after push/pulling the walls up.

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Thick lines

Figure 6-­35:  Thick lines that appeared in the imported AutoCAD plan.

Create Edges with Intersect Faces with Model After adjustments, the walls push/pulled cleanly up. Next, I push/pulled the floor up 5ʺ. The floor touched the walls but didn’t intersect with them; that is, no edges between them were formed. Adjacent geometry doesn’t always intersect. So, I selected the floor, right-­clicked, and chose Intersect Faces >With Model. This forces lines at each wall and floor intersection (Figure 6‑36). Groups and components can be intersected with this tool, but their editing boxes must be open. The resultant edges will become a part of that group or component. No intersection edge

Intersection edges

Figure 6-­36:  Intersect with Model creates intersections between faces.

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Figure 6-­37:  Move the second floor onto the first.

Figure 6-­38:  Hide overlapping lines.

Move the Second Floor onto the First Select and group the entire second floor together. Grab one corner with the Move tool and click it into place onto the first floor (Figure 6‑37). Hide any overlapping lines (Figure 6‑38).

How to Click Two Corners Together Sometimes it’s difficult to get a corner on one group to click onto a corner of the other, especially if they’re separated by a lot of space. Here’s a trick. Click a corner on the first group and then press and release the Up arrow. Next, hover (don’t click) the mouse on the second corner and press and release the Up arrow again. The corners will click together.

Modeling Tips ▶▶

Nested groups and components require opening multiple editing boxes to reach the geometry that needs editing. When editing a group or component, if geometry you want to select is grayed out, it means the geometry isn’t in that group. If it’s currently in the same spot outside the group, relocate it in the same spot inside the group by clicking File>Edit>Cut, opening the group editing box, and clicking File>Edit>Paste in Place. Otherwise, close the editing box, erase that piece, and redraw it inside the group.

▶▶

It’s easy to inadvertently put a group’s geometry on multiple tags, or to group walls and leave their edges out. When grouping, be mindful of what’s on hidden tags. Double-­click faces to select them plus their edges. Orbit before grouping to ensure everything you want to group is selected.

▶▶

Create separate tags for groups, components, and different kinds of components. Name all tags recognizably.

▶▶

Change the face style to hidden line or wireframe to find hidden geometry or other issues causing problems. Turn on hidden geometry.

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▶▶

Keep your model clean, organized, and as small a file as possible to make working on it easier both for you and others. Commercial designers often send their SketchUp models to professional renderers, who import it into their own programs. If a file is sloppy and bloated, they’ll have to edit or rebuild parts of it. If it’s too large, they may not even be able to import it. Go to Window>Model Info>Statistics and click Purge Unused to remove unneeded items.

Make a Mansard Roof with Autofold A mansard roof is four sided with two differently angled slopes on each side. Trace the perimeter of the roof with the Pencil tool. Push/pull it up a little bit, and then offset it 6ʹ (Figure 6‑39). SketchUp only lets you move planes horizontally or vertically, as this keeps them coplanar. You can override this by activating the Move tool and pressing and releasing the Alt key (Command on the Mac). The plane will then freely move in any direction. However, to create a nonplanar face, SketchUp must create additional edges and faces. That creation of additional edges and faces is done with an autofold operation.

Figure 6-­39:  Make a roof face, push/pull it up, and then offset it.

Activate Move and press and release the Alt key. Then lift the roof straight up along the blue axis. The perimeter of the roof will fold, or bevel in (Figure 6‑40). Group the roof. Figure 6‑41 shows a cut through the house with the Section tool. The resultant view is useful for scale and proportion studies.

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Figure 6-­4 0:  Autofold the roof.

Figure 6-­41:  A section through the house.

Field of View The field of view (FOV) is how much of the model you can see at one time. In perspective drawing it’s called the cone of vision. The wider the field of view, the more of the model you see. You may find it easier to work with a wider view of the space than SketchUp’s 35° default. That angle is quite narrow, especially since the human eye sees the world through a 60° cone of vision. Go to Camera>Field of View (Figure 6‑42). The default FOV will appear in the Measurements box. Type 60 and press Enter. This results in a wider view of the space, at the price of some distortion (Figure 6‑43). The FOV can be set up to 120°, but when it’s very wide, clipping (disappearing faces) may occur. Change the FOV by pressing and releasing Shift while zooming in or out. The FOV can be set in inches or millimeters as well as degrees; type the number and include the inch (ʺ) sign or mm. A 60° view is equivalent to 2.2ʺ or 57 mm. Return to degrees by typing the number and deg after it (no space). Figure 6-­42:  Accessing the Field of View

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Figure 6-­43:  35° vs 60° field of view.

Model Cabinets with Guidelines and the 3-­Point Rectangle While you can bring Warehouse cabinetry into the house, sometimes it’s quicker to just draw what you want, especially if the purpose is for scale and proportion studies. You can draw a simple form that’s the exact dimensions of your room. In Figure 6‑44 I placed guidelines 36ʺ high and 24ʺ deep (typical kitchen cabinet size) and used the 3-­point rectangle to draw a rectangle. With the Pencil, I sketched a cabinet profile. Then I push/pulled the profile the length of the room. Press and release the Ctrl key before doing push/pulling to preserve the plane on the backside of the cabinet; otherwise, it will get extruded. If you push/pull along a group, losing the backside doesn’t happen. Use the Divide function to split up the cabinets horizontally if you want to add doors, and then autofold the doors to add panels.

▶▶Tip: Typical cabinet dimensions: Base (bottom) cabinets are 24” wide and 34 1/2” high. The countertop adds another 1 1/2” in height and has a 1” overhang. The toe kick is 3” deep x 4” high. There is 18” between the countertop and bottom of the wall (upper) cabinets. Wall cabinets are 12–18” deep and 12–36” tall.

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Figure 6-­4 4:  Modeling a simple base cabinet.

Make Crown Molding with Follow Me Crown molding, which is the trim at the top of the wall, is easily made with the Follow Me tool (Figure 6‑45). It extrudes (stretches) a face along a perpendicular path or along multiple, connected paths (Figure 6‑46). Draw a profile (face) at one end of the wall with the Pencil and 3-­Point Arc. If the profile is elaborate, trace an imported file and weld all arcs and lines together by selecting them, right-­clicking, and choosing Weld. Scale to size after tracing Figure 6-­45:  The Follow Me tool. (a 4ʺ to 9ʺ height is typical) and move the profile onto the wall. Don’t group the profile because Follow Me won’t stretch along grouped geometry. However, using Follow Me inside a group may adversely affect surrounding geometry. A workaround is to open the group, use Edit>Copy on the geometry chosen as the path, close the editing box, and then Edit>Paste in Place the geometry in the same place outside the group. Apply Follow Me on that copy. There are two ways to use Follow Me: ▶▶

Manually drag the tool along the wall by holding the cursor down. Stopping along the path while manually dragging creates an edge at each stop. That may be what you want, to show the molding in pieces.

▶▶

Select a path and then click Follow Me onto the profile. The profile will select, and the path will appear to deselect. The profile will extrude down the path (Figure 6‑46). This yields a continuous result.

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Figure 6-­46:  Follow Me extrudes a profile.

Follow Me extrudes the face behind it (Figure 6‑47). To avoid this, press and release the Ctrl key (look for the plus sign) right before extruding. That will leave the original face in place.

Figure 6-­47:  Follow Me extruded the wall behind the crown molding.

The Weld Function Circles and arcs are composed of a bunch of short lines that select together. But when exploded, they revert to individual short lines. To fix, select all the edges, right-­click, and choose Weld Edges (Figure 6‑48). Weld was suggested earlier on the crown molding profile to join its individually drawn lines and arcs. Welding them avoids extraneous lines appearing on the molding after the Follow Me operation is performed.

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Line

Figure 6-­4 8:  Weld Edges restores circles and arcs. Smoothed line

Hidden line

Figure 6-­49:  A smoothed edge.

Figure 6-­50:  Hiding vs. smoothing.

Soften and Smooth Right-­click on an edge to soften it, meaning the line becomes hidden. Run the Eraser plus the Ctrl key over an edge to smooth it (Figure 6‑49), which creates a deeper, softened edge. Smoothing has another use. Some lines can’t be deleted, such as the lines that connect an arc to a straight line (Figure 6‑50), because deleting them will remove the face. Smooth the line to make it invisible. This is different to hiding it because smoothing enables the adjacent faces to be selected as one. If the line is simply hidden, the straight and curved parts will select separately (Figure 6‑49). Smoothing works best on aligned surfaces. On perpendicular surfaces, results may be uneven.

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Figure 6-­51:  Outline the rail.

Model a Handrail Figures 6‑51 and 6‑52 show the modeling process for adding a simple handrail to stairs. Use the Pencil to draw the top rail first. Add the bottom rail by clicking the bottom rail’s first endpoint and then touching the Pencil to the top rail. This tells the inference engine to place the second line parallel to the first. Slowly move the Pencil back down. The line will turn magenta when it’s parallel to the top rail. Then push/pull the rail out a few inches to give it volume.

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Figure 6-­52:  Push/pull the rail.

Figure 6-­53:  The Warehouse home page.

How to Search the 3D Warehouse Access this library of models through the SketchUp software or directly at https:// 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com. Everything is there! Furniture, finishes, appliances, moldings, cabinets, countertops, whole buildings, cities, and interiors. Figure 6‑53 shows the home page. Note the Categories field at the top of the page and the View all brands button at the bottom. The brands button shows you thousands of companies who have product models in the Warehouse. The checkmark indicates a verified company site. Many downloads consist of multiple components, so it’s easy to delete what you don’t need. Type a search word at the top of the screen. Pay attention to what category you’re searching: Products, Models, Collections, or Catalogs. If you’re not getting any results, you might be searching in the wrong category. The Products search returns files of real-­world products from verified companies. The Models search returns all models. After doing a models search, a panel will appear on the left of the screen that appears with options for refining a search (Figure 6‑54). The Advanced button offers even more search options. Anyone can upload to the Warehouse. Nothing is vetted and quality varies. Models can be publicly liked, and that can be an indication of quality, but the best models are usually uploaded by companies who professionally model their products and by the SketchUp team.

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Searchable categories

Figure 6-­54:  Refine a model search with the panel on the left.

Viewing Components In Model When you download a component, it, along with all the other components, shows up in a list when you click the In Model icon (the house) inside the Components tray (Figure 6‑55). You can choose different ways to view the components (e.g., list, thumbnail) by clicking the list icon left of the house. You can also copy any component and make it unique by right-­clicking on it in the model and choosing Make Unique (Figure 6‑56). Its thumbnail will appear In Model, and you can edit it without affecting the definition (original) component.

Figure 6-­55:  All components in the model are shown here.

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Figure 6-­56:  Make a component unique so it can be edited separate from the others.

Figure 6-­57:  A downloaded staircase.

Download and Edit a Warehouse Staircase Do you want an already made, fancier staircase than the one we modeled? The Warehouse has many, but all will probably require editing to suit your project. Figure 6‑57 shows a Warehouse staircase. It’s best to download a component into its own file and edit it there before importing it into your file, since everything it holds—­tags, raster files, components and more—­will also import. Then delete and purge everything not needed. But before purging, browse the In Model components and materials to see what unused ones the modeler left. Some might be useful for your current or other projects! You can export those components and materials to store in a local file folder.

Mirror with Flip Along We want this rail on the staircase’s opposite side. Select the whole staircase outside the bounding box, right-­click, and choose Flip Along/Red Direction (Figure 6‑58).

Figure 6-­58:  Mirror the stairs by flipping it along the red axis.

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▶▶Tip: Before using Flip Along on a curve, you might have to right-­click and explode the curve first. Afterwards, right-­click and choose Weld Edges to restore.

Mirror with the Scale Tool We can also mirror with the Scale tool. Select the stairs (outside the bounding box) and then activate Scale. Grab the red grip shown in Figure 6‑59 and push it to the right until the grip is on the other side. Stop when the numbers in the Measurements Box read –1,1; that means the stairs are now mirrored. Alternatively, push the grip a little to the right and type –1,1. The stairs will snap to that.

Figure 6-­59:  Mirroring the stairs with the Scale tool.

Change the Staircase’s Height and Width with a Reference Line You can make the stairs taller and wider by grabbing the appropriate grips and stretching. But to scale precisely, draw a line the stairs’ length; two aligned endpoints are needed (Figure 6‑60). Click on the endpoints. A tooltip shows the current length. Type a different length and click Yes when asked to resize the model. If you’re outside the stairs’ bounding box the whole file will scale proportionately; if you’re inside the stairs’ bounding box, just the stairs will scale.

Troublesome Components If a downloaded model isn’t working, don’t spend hours trying to fix it. Just abandon it and find another. If it has a part you really want, cut it out and paste into another component. Some troublesome components work after minor edits. Cutting and pasting a component into

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Figure 6-­60:  Scaling the stairs precisely.

a brand-­new file may fix it, as this removes stale metadata. Maybe you imported the model but can’t find it? The model might be far from the origin, causing it to import out of camera view. Click Zoom Extents to find it, and then move it to the origin. A quick way to move it is to select it and type [0,0,0] (include the square brackets) and Enter.

Change a Component Axis with the Axis Tool Just as each model has a global axis, each component has one, called the component or local axis. The local axis is the “handle” grabbed when a component is imported into another model. It’s typically in the lower left-­hand corner, but it can be changed for easier import, or adjusted if skewed from the rest of the model. A local axis misaligned with the global axis will cause problems when you try to paint, scale, or otherwise edit it. The Axis tool (Figure 6‑61) relocates the component axis or changes its angle. Click it onto one of the component’s corners. You can also click it onto a face. That sets the new local origin.

Figure 6-­61:  The Axis tool.

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Now set the axes themselves. Move the cursor along the red axis (look for the On Red Axis inference). Click to place. Do the same with the green axis. The blue axis should remain right-­side up (Figure 6‑62). Alternatively, draw guidelines parallel to the axes, with their intersection at the local origin. Right-­click on the component and choose Change Axes. Click the origin on the guidelines’ intersection. Drag the red axis along the red-­parallel guideline Figure 6-­62:  Moving a local axis into place. and click to set. Drag the green axis along the green-­parallel guide and click to set (Figure 6‑63). Changing the axis is useful when you have a part of a floor plan that is angled to the rest of the plan. You can change the plan’s axis temporarily to make drawing within that part easier. When finished, right-­click on the model and choose Align Axes to reset.

Figure 6-­63:  Changing the component axes.

Change Orientation of Multiple Faces at Once Every face has a white front (the normal) and a blue back. The white should face out and the blue should face in. It’s good modeling practice to maintain that. One reason is to export the SketchUp file into another file format correctly. Some file formats, such as DWG and DXF, only recognize one face. If the front face isn’t out, the resulting export will not look like you wanted it to. Another reason is to tell third-­party software the correct face to work with.

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Some software, like the popular rendering extension V-­ray or the digital imaging program Photoshop, can only render the front face. But sometimes the faces get reversed during construction or maybe SketchUp just created it reversed. To fix, select the reversed face, right-­click, and choose Reverse Faces. If multiple reversed faces are scattered across the model, select one oriented correctly, right-­click, and choose Orient Faces. All faces will usually flip to the orientation of the selected one. This doesn’t always work when an edge of a face bounds three or more other faces. In that case, hold the Shift key down to select multiple faces, right-­click, and choose Reverse Faces.

Change the Default Face Color Since SketchUp shades the faces as you orbit around the model, it can be difficult to tell which side is the front or the back. Go to View>Face Style>Monochrome (Figure 6‑64). This setting shows the model without textures; they’re still there, just not displayed. The white and blue sides will be obvious. If you can’t see textures and want to see them, Monochrome may be set; change the setting to Shaded with Textures. If telling face color apart is difficult, you can change the default white/blue colors. Go to Window>Styles, click on the Edit tab, and then click on the second box (Figure 6‑65). Then click on the Front Color and Back Color boxes to bring up a color wheel. Assigning a bright color to the back face makes it easier to tell it from the front.

Edit tab Face settings

Front color Back color

Figure 6-­64:  Change the face style to Monochrome to see the faces’ orientation.

Figure 6-­65:  Change the default front and back face colors in the Styles box.

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So, are you ready to apply color and material textures to the living room now? Join me in Chapter 7, and we’ll do just that.

Summary In this chapter we modeled a two-­story house with a staircase. We edited an imported AutoCAD plan, imported a Warehouse staircase, mirrored it, and edited it. We applied some Styles menu options, divided a line, and learned why faces should have their front side out. We discussed how to smooth, soften, and weld. We also made tags, moved geometry to them, and examined the Outliner.

Exercises 1. Import a floor plan and scale it to a known dimension (e.g., 24ʺ deep cabinets). Then

trace and model it. 2. Model a staircase from a photo. 3. Import a profile of base and wall cabinets and then model it. 4. Sketch and import a picture of crown molding profile, trace, and model it.

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Painting with Colors, Materials, and Match Photo

I

7

n this chapter we’ll paint color and materials onto SketchUp models, using built-­in and imported swatches. We’ll also edit them.

Objective: This chapter discusses how to apply, and edit, color and patterns to a model.

What Is Painting?

Tools: Paint Bucket, Sampler, Fixed Pins, Free Pins, Follow Me, Tape Measure, Entity Info

Painting is the application of color and texture files to a model. Colors are files of solid pigment. Textures are files that have color and pattern, the pattern being a photo of a material that tiles (repeats) to cover a face. Color and texture files are in product-­ specific folders in the Materials tray.

Paint with Built-­in SketchUp Materials In the Materials tray (PC) or at Window>Materials (Mac), there are folders of colors and materials (Figure 7‑1). On the Mac, click on the brick icon to see them. On the PC these folders are called collections; on the Mac these folders are called lists. Then scroll to the Colors-­Named folder. This has descriptive names that appear in a tooltip when the mouse hovers over a swatch, unlike the Colors folder, where swatches are just described with a letter and number. There are dozens of swatches. The Mac has an icon of crayons left of the brick, which accesses a separate, smaller palette of standard Apple colors. On the PC, click the Details arrow for a list view option of those names, helpful when multiple colors and materials are applied (Figure 7‑2). The Mac does not have a list view option.

Concepts and Functions: materials tray, painting, tile square, tiling, collections, create materials, adjust a material, color wheel/slider, colors in model, sample, import colors and textures, check face orientation, face style, enter RGB values, translucency, import as texture, import as image, import as match photo, purge unused material, repeating pattern, seamless pattern, map to a digital imaging program, model a picture frame, straighten a skewed raster image, project a material onto a curved face

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Brick

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Figure 7-­1:  Color and Materials folders.

Figure 7-­2:  Click the Details arrow for view options.

Painting on Groups versus Loose Geometry Painting works differently on groups and components versus loose geometry. To paint a group or component, just select it; you don’t have to open the bounding box. The paint covers all unpainted surfaces with one click. Nested groups and components get painted, too. However, any faces inside a group or component that have already been painted won’t be repainted. The bounding box must be opened and paint applied inside it (Figure 7‑3).

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Figure 7-­3:  A group’s open editing box.

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The Paint Bucket Tool The Paint Bucket (Figure 7‑4) assigns colors and materials to geometry. It paints single faces, multiple connected faces, and replaces one Figure 7-­4:  The Paint Bucket. material with another. It only paints faces; it cannot fill an outline. We will mostly paint loose geometry or geometry inside a group/component editing box, as this offers more control than painting outside a group or component. Click on the Paint Bucket tool, click on a color swatch, and click on a face to apply the color. Or just click on a color swatch—­that activates the Paint Bucket—­and click on a face (Figure 7‑5). Both sides of the face can be painted independently. On the PC, the active color appears at the top of the Materials box and the default color is in the lower-­right corner. To restore the default color, click on the default color and then on the faces to restore the default. On the Mac, restore the default color by clicking on the In Model icon (the house) and then apply the default color to the faces. If you’re having trouble repainting a face with the default color on either operating system, click on In Model and just delete the color you don’t want. The Paint Bucket paints faces and edges. If you want the edges to remain the default color, go to Styles>Edit, click the Edge Settings box, and scroll to All Same in the Color text field (Figure 7‑6). If you want the edges to match the paint color, keep the default setting By material.

All same

Figure 7-­5:  Click on a color swatch and then click on a face to apply.

Figure 7-­6:  Change the style to keep edges from getting painted.

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Painting Shortcuts ▶▶

To select multiple faces quickly, drag a selection box around them all and then click the Paint Bucket on one face (Figure 7‑7). All selected faces and edges will get painted.

▶▶

To match a paint color, activate the Paint Bucket and click on the eye-­dropper icon (sampler). The mouse turns into an eye dropper. Click on a face that has the color you want and then click on other faces to match it (Figure 7‑8). The Mac’s eye dropper has a magnifying window that offers more clicking precision (Figure 7‑9).

▶▶

To repaint multiple, unconnected faces that are painted the same color, hold the Shift key down and paint one face. Every face that is the same color will change to the new color. Figure 7-­7:  Select all faces and click the Paint Bucket on one of them.

Click first Eye dropper

Click second

Figure 7-­8:  The PC sampler.

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Eye dropper

Figure 7-­9:  The Mac sampler’s magnifying window. ▶▶

To repaint multiple connected faces, hold the Ctrl key down and paint one face. All connected faces that are the same color will change to the new color (Figure 7‑10).

▶▶

To paint one side of multiple faces, select all those faces. Paint the front of one; the fronts of all will get painted. Paint the back of one; all back faces will get painted.

▶▶

On the Mac, you can drag a swatch from the color folder onto a face (Figure 7‑11).

Drag

Figure 7-­10:  Paint-connected faces with the Ctrl key.

Figure 7-­11:  Drag a swatch to a face.

▶▶Tip: If you can’t see colors, make sure your setting is on View>Face Style>Shaded with Textures

or View Face Style>Shaded. If you still can’t see them, there might be a problem with your computer’s graphics card. Go to Window> Preferences>OpenGL and uncheck the Use fast feedback box.

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Adjust a Color All colors can be value-­adjusted, meaning made lighter or darker. On the PC, in the Colors folder (you can be In Model or in the general folder), click the box with the plus sign. This opens the Create Materials dialog box and duplicates the active swatch. Rename the swatch and move the slider next to the color wheel up or down. The swatch adjusts accordingly. Click and the new swatch will appear with the rest (Figure 7‑12). On the Mac, right-­click on a color swatch, choose Duplicate, and name the duplicate. The new swatch will appear with the others (Figure 7‑13). Then right-­click on the new swatch and choose Edit. Click the small color wheel in the upper-­left corner to open a large color wheel, then move the slider to adjust the duplicate swatch’s color (Figure 7‑14). You can also change the color of the whole swatch by clicking somewhere on the color wheel and then clicking ok.

Figure 7-­12:  Creating a new color swatch on the PC.

Figure 7-­13:  Creating a new color swatch on the Mac.

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Color wheel

Figure 7-­14:  Changing the color of a swatch on the Mac.

PC users can change an adjusted color back to the original by clicking Reset Color at the bottom of the Edit panel (Figure 7‑15). This works even after closing the file and reopening.

Enter RGB Values The RGB (Red Green Blue) option lets you add numbers for specific paint colors to recreate a brand’s paint. Some brands make this information public; see this Sherwin Williams link: https:// images.sherwin-­williams.com/content_images/sw-­ pdf-­sherwin-­williams- ­color.pdf. Duplicate a swatch

first. On the PC click the Picker dropdown menu; on the Mac click the slider icon (Figure 7‑16). On the PC, select a face and move the sliders. The face color will adjust accordingly. On the Mac you’ll need to click the new color onto the face.

Rest color

Figure 7-­15:  Reset a color on the PC.

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Figure 7-­16:  Enter RGB values.

Sample, Save As, and Export on the PC PC users have two sampler icons next to the Picker. The first lets you match the color of anything in the model. The second lets you match the color of anything on your computer screen. PC users can save In Model color swatch SKM files (SketchUp Materials, discussed later in this chapter) to their computer by right-­clicking on them and choosing Save As (Figure 7‑17). You might want to save new colors to a local color folder and then link it to SketchUp for use on other projects.

Translucency The swatches in the Glass and Mirrors folder have translucency (semi-transparency) built in. Those Figure 7-­17:  Save a swatch to the swatches show two colors; one represents paint, the desktop. other represents translucency. However, any paint or material can be made translucent. At the bottom of both the PC and Mac’s editing boxes is an opacity (translucence) slider. Select a swatch and set the level with the slider. Then click the Paint Bucket onto a face. If only the paint color, not the translucency, appears, click the face’s other side, too. Setting the opacity level to zero makes

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a face invisible. Both sides of a face can be painted independently, so it’s possible to make one side translucent and the other opaque, like a one-­way mirror. Figure 7‑18 shows the use of opacity with imported images.

Figure 7-­18:  Imported images and opacity settings. Courtesy Matthew Kerr, mkerrdesign.com.

Purge Unused Colors and Materials Every color and material applied to the model remains in the file after being erased or replaced. You can see them all by clicking on the house icon (In Model). Mac users, remember to click on the brick icon once you’re In Model. On the PC, palette swatches in active use have a white triangle in their lower-right corners (Figure 7‑19). Purge colors and materials that you aren’t using to keep the file size down (Figure 7‑20). On the PC, click the Details arrow and choose Purge Unused. On the Mac, click on the List field under the color swatches and choose Purge Unused.

Figure 7-­19:  Active colors have a white triangle (PC).

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Figure 7-­20:  Purge unused colors.

Purge versus Delete Purging removes unused files from the model. Those files remain in the SketchUp software, available for later use. Deleting a file (right-­click on its swatch, choose Delete) removes the file from the SketchUp software entirely. This makes it unavailable to the model it is in and to other models.

Paint with Materials All the other folders in the Materials tray contain patterns, such as for stone, wood, tile, and carpet. Materials are applied the same way as paint. Let’s apply tile to a floor. Scroll to the Tile folder and choose white square tile. Then paint it on the floor (Figure 7‑21).

Figure 7-­21:  Paint a tile texture on the floor.

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Edit a Material Materials have more editing options than do solid colors. First, duplicate the material (on the PC, click the Create Material icon; on the Mac, right-­click on the texture and choose Duplicate). Then select the swatch. On the PC, click on the Edit tab. On the Mac, right-­click on the duplicate swatch and choose Edit. This brings up the editing box (Figure 7‑22). Here you can adjust the pattern’s color and scale. Let’s look at some of the editing options (Figure 7‑23).

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Figure 7-­22:  The Editing boxes.

Use texture image. Uncheck this box to toggle off the material and replace it with a solid color. Know that the new solid color will keep the original texture name. You can also browse your own texture images for import. Linked numbers. Change the numbers in the text fields to change the size of the tile squares. The link means that when you change one dimension, the other will change proportionately. Click the link to break that relationship. Then you can change the proportions of the tile squares. Figure 7‑23 shows 1ʹ as the width. The size of a tile square is 1ʹ, meaning the square area the pattern covers. It’s not the size of the tiles in the pattern. This tile will repeat when applied to areas

Figure 7-­23:  Editing options.

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larger than 1ʹ square. When you change the size, you aren’t altering the texture itself, just the repeat size. On the PC, the Paint Brush is already activated, and you can click it onto the floor. On the Mac, you need to activate the Paint Brush, click it on the swatch, and then click it onto the floor. If a material is painted on multiple faces and you only want to change its look on one, right-­ click on that face and choose Make unique texture. This creates a separate swatch that can be edited without affecting the other faces. Then edit it in digital imaging software or in the Editing panel.

Map SketchUp to a Digital Imaging Program There’s an Edit texture image graphic in the Edit panel. Click this to open the texture in a digital editing program. You can map this icon to whatever digital editing program you want via Window>Preferences>Applications (Figure 7‑24). Navigate to the .exe file of whatever program you want the texture to open in; it will be in your computer’s Program Files area. After editing, flatten and save. The file saves to a temporary folder in SketchUp and automatically updates within the model, saving you the trouble of deleting and reimporting the new file.

Figure 7-­24:  Map a digital editing program to SketchUp.

Import Materials from Other Models If another model has a color or texture you want, three ways to get it are:

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▶▶

Copy and paste a face painted with that swatch into your current model (select it, and then Edit>Copy, Edit>Paste or Ctrl C, Ctrl V).

▶▶

Open both files, make the other model active, and drag the swatch from its materials folder onto a face in your model.

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▶▶

Copy and paste the whole other model into your model. When a file is large, there may be some lag time between copying and pasting. However, very large files may freeze the software. In that case, go to File>Import, scroll to SketchUp in the field next to File Name, and try importing it that way. Remember that all its tags and files will get pasted into yours.

Make New Materials Available to All of Your SketchUp Files Adjusted and imported materials only live in the SketchUp files in which they were created. To make them available to all your SketchUp files on the PC, create a local folder and link it to the Materials menu. How to do this was discussed in Chapter 5. Then, in the Material tray’s bottom pane, navigate to the local folder in which you want to keep the swatch and drag the swatch from the top pane down into it. It’s now part of that collection, available each time you open SketchUp. On the Mac, the process for making a materials collection is different (Figure 7‑25). You make the collection and drag the new swatches into it via color wells. Click on In Model. Drag the swatches you want into the color wells at the bottom. In the List field, scroll to New. Type a name for the collection: I called it My Materials. That collection now lists with all the others in the menu and is open. Drag the swatches from the color wells up into it. If you want to eventually delete that collection, select it, go back to the List field, and click Remove. You could also open an existing collection in the top pane and drag the swatches from the color wells into it. Use the Mac’s color wells to park often-­used swatches. No matter which collection is open, the swatches will remain accessible there.

Drag

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Figure 7-­25:  Making a materials list on the Mac.

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Figure 7-­26:  Front and back colors are displayed in the Entity Info box.

Check Face Orientation on Painted Surfaces with Entity Info and Face Style Correct face orientation (white side out, blue side in) is important, but after painting, it’s impossible to visually tell front from back. Here are two ways to check. Select the face and open its Entity Info box. At top are two panels (Figure 7‑26). The top panel is the back face, and the bottom panel is the front face. Alternatively, go to View>Face Style>Monochrome (Figure 7‑27). This displays the model with the default front and back face colors. The paint is still there, just not displayed. As a reminder, if you paint the model but the paint doesn’t appear, change the face style setting to Shaded with Textures.

Figure 7-­27:  Display a monochrome face style to check face orientation.

Modeling Workflow If you plan to apply patterned textures to a room that has a lot of built-­in casework (e.g., cabinets, bookcases), here’s a suggested modeling workflow:

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Model the walls and floor.

▶▶

Apply the floor texture, and then group the floor (Figure 7‑28).

▶▶

Apply the wall textures and then group the walls.

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Model all built-­ins off to the side, group, and then move into the space.

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Figure 7-­28:  When importing a texture, check Use as texture.

Modeling all built-­ins first and applying textures afterwards may result in blank spots on the floor and walls when the built-­ins are moved. Textures can sometimes be tricky to apply to a wall that already has geometry attached to it. Importing textures typically requires adjusting the pattern’s scale upon import.

Photograph a Material for Import Turn physical samples into files by scanning or photographing them. Flat items like wallpaper can be scanned. Photograph all others by holding a camera directly above them, looking straight down; ensure the sample is well lit with no shadows. Avoid photographing materials with irregular features such as wood knots, as they will be visually distracting when tiled.

Import a Material When files are imported, they are a permanent part of the model. SketchUp doesn’t search for them on the computer each time the model loads. Know that multiple textures slow down a model, and

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large-­size files slow it down even more. Unless close, high-­resolution views are needed, use the smallest size possible that will show the texture, in both resolution (number of pixels) and file size. As little as 15 KB or 512 × 512 pixels may be enough. Click on File>Import. A browser window appears; set the field next to File name to All Supported Types. Locate the file, click once to select it, select Use as texture and Ok (Figure 7‑28). Then click the texture onto two corners of a face. The texture will fill the face (Figure 7‑29). Materials must be applied to faces; they cannot be randomly placed anywhere on the screen like images can.

Figure 7-­29:  Click the texture onto two corners of a face.

The pattern covers the wall but is out of scale. Find its swatch In Model and double-­click it to access the editing box. This pattern came in with a 20ʹ horizontal repeat. I changed it to 8ʹ. The vertical repeat adjusted accordingly (Figure 7‑30). It takes some experimentation to get a tile appearance that looks right. If you have the pattern’s actual sizes, you can enter that. Materials can also be imported directly from the Edit panel. On the PC, click the folder icon. On the Mac, scroll to Colors in Model and in the Color field, scroll to New Texture (Figure 7‑31). A navigation browser appears; locate the file. Upon import, enter sizes in the tile fields. Then click on the resultant In Model swatch with the Paint Bucket and onto the wall. Entering different tile sizes makes the pattern adjust automatically, which is useful for experimenting with scale.

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Figure 7-­30:  Adjust the tile size.

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Figure 7-­31:  Navigate to a file to import.

Repeating and Seamless Materials Wallpaper patterns have repeats—­the vertical distance between where the pattern is identical. When glued onto a physical wall, pattern repeats are matched across sheets. This action ranges from easy to impossible to replicate in SketchUp. A seamless, or random, pattern has edges that blend when tiled, and hence is easy to apply because it requires no matching. Stripes, brick, stone, and carpet are examples of seamless patterns. A straight-­across pattern just repeats at the ceiling line, so it can be easily positioned (we’ll discuss positioning later in this chapter). A drop pattern, however, needs to be aligned both horizontally and vertically Figure 7-­32:  A drop pattern. (Figure 7‑32). For that, manipulation inside digital imaging software is needed.

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Import an Image When you imported the texture files, you clicked Use as texture. Another import option is Use as image. This is for when only one instance of that file is needed, such as for wall art, a landscape photo behind a window, or a drawing to trace. Images don’t tile and can be clicked onto blank space (a reversed image will show on the backside). Figures 7‑33, 7-­34, and 7‑35 show how images can make a model pop. Images don’t appear in the Materials tray because they’re not materials until exploded. Once exploded, their swatch appears. Click the Scale tool on an imported image to adjust its proportions to the face it is clicked on.

Figure 7-­33:  A lakeside city photo was applied to this model. Courtesy Matthew Kerr, mkerrdesign.com.

Figure 7-­34:  The tablecloth was made by drawing three faces and clicking the texture on top of each one separately. Some experimentation with tiling may be needed to get the pattern to line up on each face. Courtesy Cooper Walters.

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Figure 7-­35:  The photos in this jewelry box model add realism.

▶▶Tip: When you explode an image, sometimes part of it “disappears,” leaving a blank face and a little bit of the image. Just click the sampler (eye dropper) onto that bit of image and then onto the blank face.

Erase an Image To erase an image, select it. Just the edges will select; you won’t see dots on its face. Right-­click and choose Erase (or hit the Delete key). Erasing images on faces can be tricky because even though the image is completely visible, it may really be partly buried in that face. Solve by zooming in closely to find an edge of the image, and then select that edge for erasing. Scaling the face down a bit will help in finding an image edge.

Model Wall Art with an Imported Image In Figure 7‑36 an image is imported for wall art. The steps are: 1. Import as image. 2. Click on two corners to size and place. 3. Click the Scale tool on it and adjust its size, if needed. 4. Draw a rectangle around it. 5. Push/pull the image forward to give it thickness.

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5. 4.

Figure 7-­36:  Modeling wall art with an imported image.

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The thickness will take on the color of the wall it was push/pulled from but can be painted a different color. Exploding the image (select, right-­click, choose Explode) turns it into a texture, and its swatch will appear In Model. It will also tile and may need some adjusting in the Edit panel for correct scaling. It may also need positioning to display the desired part, which is done with fixed pins, discussed later in this chapter.

Model a Picture Frame with Follow Me Just for fun, let’s put a frame around that art. Right-­click on the image and explode it. Then draw a profile—­I drew a simple one with the 3-­point rectangle. Click on the front face to select it, click Follow Me on the profile, and watch it extrude around the whole front face (Figure 7‑37).

Figure 7-­37:  Modeling a picture frame.

Image Placement Tips Placing images on faces can be challenging. Sometimes SketchUp gets confused about which to display, the image or the face, causing the image to disappear into the face and display on the other side. Or the image flashes on the face. Ways to deal with this are: ▶▶

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Explode the image and make it a component, specifying the face it should glue to (horizontal or vertical).

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Draw a rectangle on the face, import the image as a texture, and fill the rectangle with it.

▶▶

Group the face before painting the image on it.

▶▶

Import the image somewhere off the model, work on it there, and then move it into place.

Figure 7‑38 shows a rug photo imported as an image, exploded, and turned into a component. It was then moved to the floor, where it flashed (top graphic). The editing box was opened, and the rug push/pulled up a bit to stop the flashing.

Figure 7-­38:  Solve flashing by giving the face volume.

Make and Link a Local Materials Collection on the PC On the PC (but not the Mac), you can create and link to a local materials collection. Make a folder on your desktop called Wallpaper and Draperies and put some files in it. Open the Materials tray, click open the bottom pane, click on the Details arrow, and scroll to Add Collection to Favorites. Click Select Folder and the Wallpaper and Draperies collection will be listed at the bottom of the other collections (Figure 7‑39). The collection folder is empty; each texture must be imported. Go to File>Import, paint a texture onto a face (Figure 7‑40), and open the top pane to In Model. Next, open the bottom pane, scroll to the Wallpaper and Draperies folder, and drag the texture down into it (Figure 7‑40).

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Figure 7-­39:  Make and link a materials collection.

Figure 7-­4 0:  Import and drag swatches into the new folder.

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After you add each texture, a SKM (SketchUp Materials) file gets created for that swatch inside the desktop folder. Don’t delete the SKM file, as it is the link between the local collection and the SketchUp software. Earlier in this chapter a Reset button was mentioned to restore an altered color or texture swatch on the PC. There is no reset button for the Mac, but you can restore its swatches by clicking on the SKM file.

Import and Replace a Color or Texture on the Mac with Load The Mac has a feature on its Edit panel called Load. Click on a color or texture you want to replace. In the Texture field, scroll to Load (Figure 7‑41). A navigation browser appears. Find the new file and click Open. That file will import and replace the current one. Load also remembers from where it last retrieved a texture.

Drag Materials into the Model An alternative way to import materials on both the PC and Mac is to drag a material from the local collection folder right into the model (Figure 7‑42).

Figure 7-­41:  Use Load to import and replace a file in one step.

Figure 7-­42:  Drag materials from a local collection folder onto the model.

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On the PC, it enters attached to the Scale tool, and its proportions can be changed to match the face it is applied to. Just click it onto a face and adjust the top and side grips to fit the face. This often results in the tile size defaulting to the height and width of the face (but not always; file size and resolution also impact). The material enters as an image and must be exploded to become a texture. On the PC, if you import a texture from another model and want to save that texture to your local collection, right-­click on its In Model swatch and choose Export texture image (Figure 7‑43). It will Figure 7-­43:  Export a texture to a local export as a JPG at the resolution it was imported in. collection.

Position a Material with Fixed and Free Pins You can change noncolor aspects of materials, such as rotating and distorting them, with tools called fixed and free pins.

Fixed Pins Select a texture on the model, right-­click, and choose Texture>Position. Four fixed pins appear. Drag each pin to move, scale/shear, scale/rotate, or distort. The texture changes around the pin’s location. Figure 7‑44 shows changes made to a tile pattern floor by holding

Figure 7-­4 4:  Use fixed pins to change a material’s position.

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down the green pin and dragging the mouse. Rotate the pattern randomly or incrementally along the protractor and move the cursor up and down to enlarge or reduce it. Drag the blue pin to scale/shear the pattern; drag the yellow pin to distort it. Drag the red pin to reposition the texture, useful for a design that will display behind a smaller window. Relocate a pin by clicking on it, moving the cursor (don’t drag, just move), and clicking again to place. Drawing a rectangle or circle on the floor will Figure 7-­45:  Draw a rectangle or circle to protect the area inside from the pattern change, preserve an area from being repositioned. useful for something like preserving a medallion in the middle (Figure 7‑45). The swatch in the Materials tray doesn’t change, just its appearance in the model. Pins only work on textures, not images. Figure 7‑46 shows a material imported and painted onto a wall that has different proportions from the design. When the second endpoint is clicked, the portion of the design above the ceiling disappears. It’s still there; it just doesn’t have a face to display on. Right-­click, choose Texture>Position, drag the design into the desired position and click somewhere off the model to finish. Figure 7‑47 shows how to make the material into a piece of wall art. Draw a rectangle the art’s size. Paint the perimeter outside the rectangle and reposition the image if needed, and then push/pull the rectangle forward. Want the built-­in wood grain material to go in a different direction? Right-­c lick, choose Figure 7-­46:  Import and position a material. Texture>Position, and drag the green pin (Figure 7‑48). .

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Figure 7-­47:  Turn a material into wall art.

Figure 7-­4 8:  Rotate the wood grain.

Free Pins Click the fixed pins entry. This toggles to free pins mode, in which you can stretch the texture between four clear pins (Figure 7‑49). Click and release a pin to select, and then just move by moving the cursor; don’t drag it. Free pins enable you to straighten a skewed image or stretch one instance of a repeating pattern (Figure 7‑50). Of course, you can make one repetition larger by enlarging the tile size, but finding the right size takes trial and error.

Figure 7-­49:  Toggle to Free Pins mode.

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Figure 7-­50:  Free Pins enable you to adjust tile sizes without typing in values.

Generally, fixed pins work well on tiled textures and free pins work well on skewed images. Multiple toggles between both modes may be needed to achieve a desired result.

Straighten a Skewed Image with Free Pins Figures 7‑51, 7-­52, and 7‑53 show how an angled photo of a wall was straightened. I drew a rectangle around the imported image and exploded it. Then I stretched it with the free pins and dragged it some more with the yellow fixed pin to straighten. I made the material unique (right-­click on it and choose Make Unique Texture). Then I painted it on a rectangular face and adjusted its tile in the Edit panel so that one tile filled the face (I could have used the free pins, too). If the design or text shows up backwards after being painted onto a face, fix by reversing the face orientation and/or flipping along the axis.

Figure 7-­51:  Manipulate the material with free and fixed pins.

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Figure 7-­52:  Make the material unique and adjust the tiling.

Figure 7-­53:  The straightened image as wall art.

Paint on a Curved Surface So far, we’ve only painted textures onto flat surfaces. Painting textures on curves is a technique useful for applications like adding a logo to a curved sign or a pattern to draperies. We’ll do both now.

Paint on Draperies with Texture/Project Figure 7‑54 shows how to paint a fabric swatch onto draperies. The draperies were downloaded from the Warehouse and had multiple nested components. I exploded all and replaced the existing color with the default color. Then I made three groups: one for the rod and one for

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each drapery panel. This enables new color to be easily applied. Remember, paint can be applied to a closed group, but if anything in the group is already painted, the group’s editing box must be opened.

Figure 7-­54:  Painting draperies.

Make a face—­it can be any size—­and paint the texture onto it. Adjust the texture size in the Materials editing box, if needed. Select the texture, right-­click, and choose Texture>Projected. This is SketchUp’s texture (also called UV) mapping function. Sample the texture by clicking on the eye dropper and then clicking on the material. Alternatively, click the Paint Bucket and then press and release the Alt key on the PC, and the Command key on the Mac. Click the eye dropper onto the drapery panels (the cursor will turn into the Paint Bucket on the receiving geometry).

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Paint Letters on a Cylinder with Texture/Project In Figure 7‑55, a raster image of letters is projected onto a cylinder; the letters could represent a corporate logo, and the cylinder a curved sign or desk. The difference between this example and the draperies is that the face that this material is initially painted onto must be the same size and shape as the item it will be projected to. To create that face, project lines from the item forward, and then draw a face between those lines. The face doesn’t have to be right in front of the item, just the same size. Then adjust the tile size in the material’s Edit panel until the desired appearance is achieved.

Eye dropper

2.

1.

Paint bucket

3.

Figure 7-­55:  Sample the material on the flat face and click it onto the cylinder.

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Match Photo on an Interior Space So far, we’ve imported images as textures and images. Images can also be imported as a Match Photo. This lets you create a model from a photo and paint that photo onto two walls, the ceiling, and floor instead of just on one face. This is useful for studying existing conditions.

Use an Appropriate Photo Match Photo works best with right-­angle rooms. Take a 2-­point perspective photo at a 45° angle showing a corner where two perpendicular rooms meet (Figure 7‑56). Don’t crop the photo and don’t use warped, distorted, or panoramic views. Avoid photos with foreground features.

Figure 7-­56:  A match photo must have a corner centered between two perpendicular walls.

Import the Photo At File>Import, navigate to the photo, and click the New Matched Photo button. The photo will import with red and green vanishing point bars on it and an open Match Photo dialog box (Figure 7‑57).

Choose the Dialog Box Settings Select the first graphic under Style. This tells SketchUp to match photo an interior space. The middle graphic is for an aerial view and the last one is for an exterior view. If your match doesn’t work, you may have selected the wrong grid. The Planes graphics options let you show the red/green, red/blue, or green/blue planes. We’ll use the first graphic. The Spacing text field sets the size of the grid spacing, which can help you scale the model to a multiple of the room’s actual size. We’ll use its 5ʹ default. If you inadvertently close the Match Photo dialog box, get it back at Window>Default Tray>Match Photo. If you lose the red and green bars, click the settings gear to bring them back. To finish, start over, or cancel, right-­click on a red or green bar to access a context menu (Figure 7‑58). To exit Match Photo mode, right-­click the tab that appears in the upper-­left

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Figure 7-­57:  Import the match photo.

Figure 7-­58:  The settings gear and a context menu.

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of the workspace when the photo is imported (it has the photo’s name) and choose Delete (Figure 7‑59).

Align the Photo’s Perspective to SketchUp’s Camera Grab the bars by their end grips and move the red bars onto two converging lines on one wall and the green bars onto two converging lines on a perpendicular wall (Figure 7‑60). Long walls, windows, and door lines are best for aligning the vanishing point bars. The longer the vanishing Figure 7-­59:  Delete the tab to exit Match point bar extends, the better the results. Grab the Photo model. grip at the scale figure’s feet and move the figure to the origin. This should be the back corner where the two walls and the floor meet. Click the Done button. Then select and delete the scale figure. We’ll scale the room at the end of this exercise.

Figure 7-­60:  Align the photo’s perspective with SketchUp’s perspective.

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Trace the Photo. Activate the Pencil and draw the faces onto which the photo will be projected (Figure 7‑61). Trace walls, floor, and ceiling. You aren’t likely to trace the photo exactly due to the difference in the photo’s and SketchUp’s perspective, and that’s ok. When the surface looks filmy, you’ll know that faces have formed (Figure 7‑61).

Figure 7-­61:  Trace the photo.

Tracing the model can be tricky and take multiple attempts. Press the mouse’s scroll wheel down. This activates Orbit and makes the photo disappear, so you can study the model for problems and redraw (Figure 7‑62). If a face hasn’t formed, the edges aren’t coplanar. Draw parallel to the axes, watch for inferences, erase bad lines, and redraw lines as necessary. Then restore the photo by clicking the tab mentioned earlier that is in the work space’s upper-­left corner.

Figure 7-­62:  Turn the photo off to fix model problems.

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Project the Photo Click the Project textures from photo button (Figure 7‑63). If your model already has materials, SketchUp asks if you want to replace them (click yes). It also asks if you want to trim partially visible faces. Click yes and it will apply photo textures only to the visible parts of faces in the model. Click no and it will apply textures to the whole face, even if only part of the face is visible.

Scale the Model with the Tape Measure Click the Tape Measure onto the corner’s top and bottom (Figure 7‑64). Then type the desired height. You’ll be asked if you want to resize the model. Click yes and—­voila! The finished model.

Figure 7-­63:  Project the photo onto the model.

Figure 7-­64:  Scale the model with the Tape Measure.

Summary In this chapter we used the Materials tray and learned painting techniques. Along with applying built-­in colors and textures, we imported photos as images, textures, and match photos, and manipulated them with editing and positioning tools. Such techniques add visual interest and realism to a SketchUp model.

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Now that we’ve learned In Chapters 1 to 7 how to make and embellish a model, let’s go to Chapter 8, where we’ll learn ways to present it.

Further Resources Find lots of materials here to apply to your models: https://www.sketchuptextureclub.com/ Download a free digital imaging program here: http://www.irfanview.com/ Website with a free Photoshop-­like application. Google “portable gimp” to find places to download a GIMP app: http://www.gimp.org/

Exercises These exercises reference files on the Wiley site for this book. 1. Import the paperback books file and paint it on a face. Then use Push/pull and the Pencil

to model a stack of books. Paint their tops with plain colors. 2. Open the kitchen file. Import finishes from the Materials folder and paint them on the

model. Rotate, enlarge, and make other modifications of your choice to those materials. Alternatively, take photos of your kitchen cabinet doors and import as images. Then paint them onto the model’s cabinet doors. 3. Import the wall photo used in this chapter and straighten it. 4. Import the graffiti image and position it behind a window with different proportions. 5. Open the draperies and cylinder files and project different textures from the Materials

folder onto them. 6. Import the wallpaper and drapery files and edit their colors and tiling properties. 7. Import one of the Match Photo images and make a model from it. 8. Model a room in your home: include windows, doors, trim (base, crown molding),

and built-­in’s (cabinets, fireplace). Paint the model using imported photo files of the room’s finishes.

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CHAPTER

Enhancing and Presenting the Model

I

8

n Chapters 1 to 7 we learned how to create a SketchUp model. Here we’ll discuss enhancements and creative ways to display the model.

Objective: This chapter discusses tools and techniques for augmenting and showing a SketchUp model.

Annotate the Model

Tools: Dimension, Text, 3D Text, Walk, Position Camera, Look Around, screen text, leader text

Most drawings have annotations, which are notes and dimensions. Place annotations on their own tag so they can be hidden as needed. Make a tag for them—­ click the plus sign in the Tags tray and name it Annotations (Figure 8‑1). Click the pencil on that tag to make it current, Figure 8-­1:  Make an annotation tag. meaning all annotations created will go on it until another tag is activated. The Dimension and Text tools (Figure 8‑2) make annotations.

Concepts and Functions: annotations, stringer, dimension stringers, points, height, styles, leader line, pushpin, view based, shadow settings, make a watermark, create scenes and animations, present different design schemes, export to 2D and 3D formats, dynamic components, live components, Collada, IFC, Google Earth, workflow with other software and hand rendering

Figure 8-­2:  The Dimension and Text tools.

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The Dimension Tool Click on Dimension. To dimension an edge, click somewhere along its length (not on a midpoint or endpoint) and drag it up or out. A stringer, which is a dimension line with visible endpoints and a number describing the line’s length, appears (Figure 8‑3). Move the stringer up or out along an axis to the desired location and click to place (Figure 8‑3). Make another stringer by clicking onto the first stringer’s endpoint to match height (Figure 8‑4). If a stringer won’t move along the axis you want, orbit around the model to Figure 8-­3:  Click a line’s edge dimension it from another angle. and move the resultant stringer You can also dimension an edge by clicking on two sep‑ into place. arate points: endpoints, midpoints, and intersections. The second click must be on a point, as the Dimension tool won’t click a second time on a random place along the line. If a random place is what you want, use the Tape Measure to put a guide point or guide‑ line there. Clicking Dimension on an arc yields a dimension note prefaced with R for radius (Figure 8‑5). Clicking on a circle yields a dimension note prefaced with DIA for diameter. To notate an arc with DIA, or a circle with R, right-­click on the note (not on the arc or circle) and choose Type (Figure 8‑6). Exploded arcs and circles don’t show size information. Right-­click and choose Weld Edges to restore them. Edit dimension notes by double-­clicking on them and

Figure 8-­4:  Click the second stringer on an endpoint of the first to align them.

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Figure 8-­5:  Click on an arc for a radius dimension.

Figure 8-­6:  Change arc notation with Type.

overtyping. Erase stringers with the Eraser or select and hit Delete.

Edit the Dimension Stringer To edit the stringer, select it, right-­click, and open its Entity Info box (Figure 8‑7). Click the arrow in the lower-­r ight corner to access advanced attributes. Here you can change text position, alignment, and endpoint style. Click the Change Font button to choose font style, color, and size. Change units at Window>Model Info>Units and scroll through the Format field (Figure 8‑8). The Display Precision field lets you change how many numbers are after the decimal. These settings affect all annotations on the model.

Figure 8-­7:  The stringer’s Entity Info box.

Figure 8-­8:  Change units at Window>Model>Units.

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Figure 8-­9:  Font dimension options.

Font Size: Points versus Height The Change Font box offers two size options: points and height (Figure 8‑9). Points describe a font’s physical size. Choosing points sets the text’s on-­screen size, and that size never changes even when zoomed in or out. Height lets you choose the size in inches, and its appearance scales with the model. That is, zooming in and out makes it appear larger and smaller. Since this size is true scale like the rest of the model, you might have to set a number like 10′ to make it readable on a large floor plan. If text continues to appear tiny, you may have inadvertently checked some settings causing that. Go to Window>Model Info>Dimensions and click on Expert Dimension Settings (Figure 8‑10). Is Hide when foreshortened or Hide when too small selected? If so, deselect. Those options should only be clicked if the text appears cluttered.

Figure 8-­10:  Options for dimension settings.

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The Text Tool The Text tool creates free-­standing notes. These notes have the same font, color, and size options as dimension text. There are two types of text: screen and leader (Figure 8‑11).

Screen Text versus Leader Text Screen Text

Figure 8-­11:  Screen and leader text.

Screen text is a note placed on a specific location anywhere on the screen and stays there. No matter how much you pan, zoom, or orbit, it stays fixed in place. It is only set with height, not points, and can be relocated with the Move tool. Double-­clicking the Text tool on any face creates screen text that reveals the face’s area (Figure 8‑12).

Leader Text Leader text has a leader line, which is a line with an arrow at one end and note at the other. It points to, and is attached to, a face and moves with the model. Leaders are automatically created when the Text tool is clicked onto a face, and the text can be set in height or points. Depending on the geometry clicked, a different default note will appear. Clicking on a point reveals its coordinates; clicking on a face reveals its area; clicking on a line reveals its

Figure 8-­12:  Double-­click the Text tool onto a face to reveal its square footage.

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Figure 8-­13:  Check a face’s coplanarity by viewing its endpoint coordinates. A face is coplanar when all its z coordinates are the same.

length; clicking on a component reveals its name. The note changes when what it’s attached to changes. Double-­click to overtype your own note. Exit by clicking outside the text field or by hitting Enter twice. An easy way to verify if a face is coplanar is by clicking leader text onto all its endpoints to see the coordinates. The last coordinate—­the z (blue) axis—­must be the same on all end‑ points. If one or more are different, the face is not coplanar (Figure 8‑13).

Pushpin versus View Based Leaders Leaders are either pushpin or view based. Pushpin leaders rotate and orbit with the model. This is useful for presentations that use animated fly-­bys. View-­ based leaders always face the camera, just like the scale figure. This is useful for slideshows. Choose through the leader’s Entity Info box (Figure 8‑14) or by right-­clicking on the leader, selecting Leader from the context menu, and then clicking pushpin or view based. There’s also an option to hide the leader line and just show its note. Change the text’s color, font, and size at Window>Model Info>Text (Figure 8‑15) or Window>Model Info>Dimensions. There are but‑ tons to select some or all text. Select all is handy for changing all text at once and for moving to an annota‑ tion tag. If you want these changes to apply to all your SketchUp files, include them in a custom template.

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Figure 8-­14:  Leader line options are in the Entity Info box.

Figure 8-­15:  Make changes to all text and dimensions through the Model Info window.

Dimension a Floor Plan The annotations in Figure 8‑16 were made by clicking on the plan view in the Views toolbar, setting the Camera to Parallel Projection, setting the numbers precision to 1/2ʺ, the endpoints to slashes, and the text aligned outside the stringers. Use the Tape Measure to make guidelines where needed, such as at the center of openings, and click on those. SketchUp is not ideal for detailed dimensioning. For instance, I had to add the hyphen between the feet and inch numbers manually, and dimensions in tight areas display poorly. Adding different line types via the Tags tool can be time consuming.

Figure 8-­16:  Dimensions added in SketchUp.

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To create construction documents, many designers import their SketchUp models into AutoCAD or Revit when going from the design to construction document phase. Plans, eleva‑ tions, and sections import at a 1:1 scale; line types and dimension stringers are easily added; and components and layers are preserved. You can also create robust construction documents in LayOut, a program that installed with SketchUp, and is discussed in Chapter 10.

3D Text The 3D Text tool (Figure 8‑17) makes text components. You can edit and manipulate them like any other component. Click the 3D Text tool onto the screen. A dialog box appears; type the text and choose the settings. The Extruded option controls the letters’ thickness. Click Place and move the 3D text where desired (Figure 8‑18). To edit, double-­click on the text component to open its bounding box.

Figure 8-­17:  The 3D Text tool.

1.

2.

3.

Figure 8-­18:  Type, place, and extrude 3D text.

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Placing 3D text on a face is the easiest way to align it with the axis you want. Alternatively, click the text onto the screen and use the Rotate tool to align it.

▶▶Tip: SketchUp uses fonts from your operating system. If you download and install new fonts on your computer, they will also be available in SketchUp.

Styles Styles are display settings that change the model’s aesthetic. Open the Styles tray (Figure 8‑19), click on the Select tab, and then click on each entry to see all the style options. The Default Styles/Architectural Design Style is SketchUp’s default. Click on another style’s thumbnail and the model will update (Figure 8‑20). Some styles show the model in black and white, useful for underlays. Other styles have plain white backgrounds or show the model with sketchy lines. It’s best to use a plain default style for modeling because the others take up more file space. Add a new style after you have finished with the model. To return to the default style, click on its thumbnail.

Figure 8-­19:  Styles options.

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Figure 8-­20:  Click on a style’s thumbnail to apply.

You can edit characteristics such as endpoints and profiles under the Edit tab (Figure 8‑21). You can also make your own style by clicking on the Create New Style button, which will create a new thumbnail In Model, and then click on the Mix tab (Figure 8‑22) Drag the new style’s thumbnail to the bottom pane to put it in the SketchUp software. Or save it in a col‑ lection on your computer and link to it; the process is the same as with components and textures. And as with components and textures, every style clicked onto the model remains in it, increasing the file size. With the text field set to In Model, click the Details arrow and choose Purge Unused (Figure 8‑23).

Figure 8-­21:  Edit style characteristics.

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Figure 8-­22:  Make your own style.

Figure 8-­23:  Purge unused styles.

Make a Shortcut to the Default Style When experimenting with styles, navigating back to the default all the time is tedious. To make a shortcut, click the style that you want. Then open the Scenes tray, click on the plus sign to add a scene, right-­click, and rename that scene. A tab will appear in the upper left of the workspace (Figure 8‑24). This is a shortcut to a view with preserved properties, and clicking on it returns the default setting. We’ll talk more about scene tabs later in this chapter.

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3.

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Figure 8-­24:  Creating a shortcut to the default style.

Remove the Sky SketchUp models appear to have a ground and sky. What you’re seeing, however, is a blue sky on top of a background color. The ground color is disabled by default. This is an issue when printing the model because background colors don’t print. Hence, you’ll get a blue sky on top of a white “ground.” Click the Edit tab of the Styles browser. The five cubes at the top each access a different dialog box. We’ve used the Figure 8-­25:  Uncheck the sky to first two in past chapters to adjust edge settings and face remove it from the model. colors. The third cube lets you remove the sky from the model’s background (Figure 8‑25). To print the ground color, check its box. Change the sky and ground colors by clicking the color boxes next to their names.

Watermark the File The fourth cube in the Edit tab creates watermarks (Figure 8‑26). Click on the plus sign to add a watermark. A navigation browser will appear; choose the image you want to use as the watermark.

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Figure 8-­26:  The Styles/fourth cube edit tab to access the watermark dialog box.

Figure 8‑27 shows how to import a title block as a watermark. Navigate to the title block. Choose options from the three dialog boxes that appear, such as opacity, size, and position. When finished, the watermark will be fixed in place and won’t pan, orbit, or zoom.

Figure 8-­27:  Creating a title block watermark.

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To delete the watermark, select it and click the minus sign (Figure 8‑28). To edit it, click on the gears. To hide it, uncheck Display watermarks.

Shadows and Shadow Settings Splash some sunlight onto the model by clicking View>Shadows (Figure 8‑29). Finesse the result with month, time of day, and light/dark settings in the Shadows tray (Figure 8‑30). That tray is off by default; turn it on at Window>Default Tray>Shadow. Know that SketchUp lights interior spaces by artificial light, not sunlight. If you want sunlight, you’ll need a third-­party rendering program such as V-­R ay or SU Podium. A workaround for simulating interior light is to select the ceiling, open its Entity Info box, and uncheck Cast Shadows. That brings sunlight into the space. Animated shadow studies can even be made with the Scenes function discussed next.

Figure 8-­28:  Delete, edit, or hide a watermark.

Scenes Earlier in this chapter we made a scene tab as a shortcut to the default style. Scenes are saved views of a model. Scene tabs are the links that take you to the scene. They preserve display changes. Specifically, scenes preserve: ▶▶

camera settings (viewer position, angle, zoom, type of perspective)

▶▶

shadows

▶▶

hidden settings

▶▶

layers

▶▶

section planes

▶▶

styles

▶▶

global axes visibility

Figure 8-­29:  Add shadows to the model.

Geometry, color, and texture changes are not preserved, since they are model changes, and all scenes show the same model. Therefore, changes made to those characteristics will appear in all scenes.

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Figure 8-­30:  Shadow settings and a black-­and-­white style make this image pop. Courtesy mkerrdesign.com.

To show different geometry, colors, and textures, combine scenes with tags. You can then make scenes of different models. The result will be multiple scene tabs that, instead of all linking to one model, link to different models. This technique enables studying and viewing different pictures by just clicking their tabs. Let’s do that now.

Make Scenes of Different Designs You have three different designs and want to show two different views of each (six scenes total). Here’s how. Make three tags, called Design 1, Design 2, and Design 3 (Figure 8‑31).

Figure 8-­31:  Make a tag for each design.

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Group each design, open their Entity Info boxes, and move them to their respective tags (Figure 8‑32).

Figure 8-­32:  Move each group to its own tag.

Make the first scene tab. Click open the Scenes tray and click on the plus sign. A thumbnail for a scene will appear (Figure 8‑33). Note the options at the bottom; if you can’t see them, click on the arrow to open the bottom pane, and scroll down. Type Design 1 in the Name field. Hide Designs 2 and 3 (right-­click on each and select Hide), click on the Zoom Extents tool (Figure 8‑34), and then right-­click on the thumbnail and choose Update Scene (Figure 8‑35). A window with options to update the scene properties will appear; keep all defaults and click Update. Unhide Designs 2 and 3 by clicking on Edit>Unhide>All. Then make a second scene tab, hide Designs 1 and 3, click Zoom Extents, right-­click on the thumbnail, and choose Update Scene. Then unhide all, hide Designs 1 and 2, and repeat. You might want to make a fourth scene that shows all three designs; unhide all and hit Zoom Extents. Figure 8‑36 shows the scenes’ thumbnails and tabs. Instead of hitting Zoom Extents, you can move each grouped design to the axis origin. Unlike loose geometry, groups can occupy the same space. This might make it a bit easier to orbit/zoom each group to the view desired and make new scene tabs.

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Figure 8-­33:  Make a scene.

Figure 8-­34:  The Zoom Extents tool.

Figure 8-­35:  Rename and update the scene.

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Figure 8-­36:  A scene for each design plus one for all three.

What if you want to show one room with multiple choices for wall colors, cabinets, and furniture? Group the walls, cabinets, or furniture, put them on different tags, and make scenes that hide the tags you don’t want in a scene. Using different tags is the best way to get this to work; simply grouping and hiding on the same tag may cause face flashing. Change a scene by clicking on its tab, adjusting the properties on the model, and then updating the scene tab. If you want another scene to have the same changes, select them both (hold the Shift key down). New tabs default to the right of older ones. Move a tab by right-­clicking it and choosing Move left or Move right (Figure 8‑37). Note the other options, such as delete and rename. Adjust the field of view for specific scenes; a wide-­angle might show the space better. If you want a scene that shows the model as a 2-­point perspective (remember, SketchUp displays it as a 3-­point by default), go to Camera>Two-­Point Perspective. You might do this when you’re ready to print the scene. Orbiting takes you out of 2-­point perspective mode and back into 3-­point. A creative use for scenes is to make step-­by-­step tutorials. Search for tutorials in the Ware‑ house, as many modelers display and upload their techniques (Figure 8‑38). Know that a Ware‑ house model that is downloaded into an open model enters as a component and can’t display its own scenes. To display a downloaded model’s scenes, open it in a new instance of SketchUp instead of inside your file.

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Figure 8-­37:  Right-­click on a tab to reorder or delete it.

Figure 8-­38:  Find tutorials made with scenes in the Warehouse.

Animate with Scenes SketchUp animations are multiple scenes displayed in succession. Right-­click any scene tab and choose Play Animation. The transition between scenes is animated by default. There are editing options at Window>Model Info>Animations (Figure 8‑39). Animated transitions might show parts of the model you don’t want to, such as unfinished areas. So, use still transitions instead of animated ones by unchecking the Enable Scene Transitions box. That way you’ll cut to each image instead of travel to it (that is, make a slideshow versus an animation). Time between transitions and scene delay is also editable. If the viewer travels a large distance between scenes, you might set a longer transition time than the 2-second default to avoid “dizziness.” The time setting applies to all scenes and cannot be adjusted between scenes. Make one scene appear to display longer by making multiple, consecutive copies of it.

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Figure 8-­39:  Animation editing options.

Scene Delay is the time SketchUp pauses on each scene before moving to the next. Set it to zero to create a movie-­like quality, useful for shadow studies or to animate scenes made with the Walk-­Through tools discussed next. Remove scenes from the animation by selecting their thumbnails and unchecking Include in animation (Figure 8‑40). This is useful for excluding parts of the project that are not ready for prime time. Turn the animation into a movie at File>Export>Animation. SketchUp will create an mp4 file of the scenes. Present it to your audi‑ ence on a mobile device.

▶▶Tip: Think like a director when making a movie.

Write a storyboard or outline detailing what should be shown and in what order. How many wide views versus close-­ups? Should the viewer travel between Figure 8-­4 0:  Remove a scene from an transitions or see a slideshow? Which scenes should animation by unchecking the Include in display longer? Which should be rendered or left animation option. black and white? How long should the movie be? Import it into the Movie Maker or iMovie software that comes with PCs and Macs, and add music and pictures.

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The Camera Tools SketchUp’s walk-­through tools display the model as though you were walking inside or around it and swiveling your head. Find them on the Camera toolbar (activate it at View>Toolbars). There are three: Position Camera, Look Around, and Walk (Figure 8‑41). You might want to widen the field of view before using them to see more of the model (go to Camera>Field of View and type a larger angle than the default in the measurements box).

Figure 8-­41:  The Camera tools.

Position Camera Position Camera puts you in a location and height from which you view the space. Activate it and click on the floor (Figure 8‑42). Your eye level defaults to 5′-­6ʺ above the floor; if you want a different height, type it, and hit Enter. Position Camera also lets you look from a specific location (Figure 8‑43). Click Position Camera onto the scale figure’s face and drag it to the location you want to view. Release the mouse. You’ll now see that location from the scale figure’s face!

Camera tool

Figure 8-­42:  Click Position Camera onto the floor. Click second

Click first

Figure 8-­43:  Look from a specific location.

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While inside Position Camera, go to Camera>Field of view and drag the mouse up and down to make the field of view wider or narrower. Releasing the mouse makes the current field of view active.

Look Around After you click Position Camera on the floor, Look Around gets activated (Figure 8‑44). You are now stationary and swiveling your head. Look Around Drag the mouse up, down, left, and right to Figure 8-­ 4 4:  Look Around activates after clickview the space. ing Position Camera onto the floor. Dragging the mouse keeps you at the 5′-­6ʺ eye level set in Position Camera; for example, when climbing stairs, it adjusts to 5-­6ʺ above each tread. But panning or orbiting changes your eye level; look at the measurements box to what the current eye level is. If you do inadvertently pan or orbit, just overtype the new eye level and hit Enter.

Walk The Walk tool lets you walk inside your model at a constant eye level, versus Look Around, where you stand in one place and swivel your head at a constant eye level, and versus pan and orbit, where you constantly change eye level. Walk only works in perspective mode. Activate it and type an eye-­level height if you don’t want the default 6′. Click on the floor. A pair of crosshairs appears, indicating your location (Figure 8‑45). Now walk! Hold the cursor down and drag it up to go forward; down to go backward; left to go left; and right to go right. The farther you move from the cross‑ hairs, the faster you walk; the closer you are to the crosshairs, the slower you walk. There’s a built-­in collision detection so you

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Walk

Figure 8-­45:  The Walk tool.

can walk up stairs and not through walls. If you want to walk through walls, hold the Alt key down while dragging the mouse. Hold the Shift key down to raise or lower eye height. Alter‑ natively, type a new eye height and hit Enter. Hold the scroll wheel down to switch to the Look Around tool. Make a bunch of scenes with Walk, each with an incremental movement, and then export as an animation. The result will be a smooth movie of the viewer walking through the space. Remember to uncheck the Enable Scenes Transition box.

Dynamic Components A Dynamic Component is geometry that has attributes, or special features. Examples of attributes are: ▶▶

stored parts and price numbers;

▶▶

a staircase adding steps when height-­ adjusted with the Scale tool;

▶▶

a closet system showing configurations and calculating price; and

▶▶

a window trim retaining its width when the window is stretched.

Such attributes can make the workflow faster and the presentation more engaging. There’s a Dynamics Components Training folder in the Components tray (Figure 8‑46). Manufacturers create Dynamic Components of their products, the SketchUp team has created some, and casual users have created even more. In the Warehouse, search for is dynamic and many dynamic components will appear, identified by the green symbol shown in Figure 8‑47. Activate the Dynamic Components toolbar (Figure 8‑48) and click its interaction tool onto a Dynamic Component to see if an animation has been programmed into it, such as opening doors, lights turning on, or colors changing. Some Dynamic Components work when you click the Scale tool on them, such as the Framing Floor in the

Figure 8-­46:  The Dynamic Components Training folder.

Figure 8-­47:  The Dynamic Components symbol.

Figure 8-­4 8:  The Dynamic Components toolbar.

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Components Sampler (Figure 8‑49); it adjusts the number of joists. Click the attributes tool onto a highlighted dynamic component to see any tables of information (Figure 8‑50). Click the customization tool to edit a dynamic component. Any component can be made dynamic; the process involves inputting formulas in spreadsheets.

Figure 8-­49:  The Scale tool operates this dynamic component.

Figure 8-­50:  Attributes of this component.

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Download a Dynamic Component into an open file, not directly to the desktop. Its features may not work when directly opened, due to options selected when modeled. If the Dynamic Component is already on your desktop, import it into an open file at File>Import.

Live Components Live Components are a new feature currently under development. They can be shared for others to configure, and can also be imported into SketchUp’s Web version. Read about them here: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-live-components.

Export a SketchUp File into a Different Format Exporting is how SKP files are turned into files that can be printed or imported into other software programs.

▶▶Tip: Saving a file preserves its data in its native format, enabling import or reopening in the program that made it. Exporting a file converts it into a different data format, for example, turning a SketchUp file into a PDF file. It cannot be turned back into the original format or reimported into the software that made it, as the information needed to do that is gone.

To turn the model into a hard copy, decide how you want that hard copy to look. Change its appearance from a 3-­point perspective to a 2-­point at Camera>Two Point Perspective. Choose a style and appearance—­e.g., black-­and-­white, sketchy edges, plain white background—­that is appropriate for what you plan to do with it. To print a saved scene, acti‑ vate that scene. Everything on the screen will print, so hide the axes and any guidelines or geometry you don’t want to show.

Export a Model as a 2D Graphic Click on File>Export>2D graphic and choose the file format (Figure 8‑51). Click on the Options button at the bottom to adjust size and quality (Figure 8‑52). Uncheck Use view size to customize the number of pixels in the image size. A publishable 2D image needs 300 ppi (pixels per inch), but 200 ppi is enough for use as an underlay. A 5ʺ × 7ʺ image needs a pixel size of about 1000 × 1400 ppi. The printout may not look exactly like the screen. Some adjustment of the zoom, text size, and font type may be needed to get the desired print. Once you get all the settings right, save it as a scene to return to it easily. Some adjustments to the paper and scale size in the printer’s Page Setup might also be needed.

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Figure 8-­51:  Exporting a SketchUp file.

Figure 8-­52:  Options for 2D export.

Export as a 3D File Turn the model into a 3D file to import into another modeling program. At File>Export>3D model, see all the formats (Figure 8‑53). Some formats have an Options button with which you can refine the export. Of note are the Collada, IFC, and Google Earth formats.

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Collada is an exchange (go-­ between) program that exports SKP files as DAE files, which can be imported into other 3D programs. In its Options box, check Export 2-­sided faces if you plan to render it in another program. IFC files are for Building Information Modeling (BIM) programs. These files are platform neutral and can be read and edited by any BIM software. Google Earth exports KMZ files, which enable your model to be put on the Google Earth app.

Figure 8-­53:  Options for 3D export.

Enhancing the Model Just as you can workflow SketchUp with other modeling programs for design development, you can also workflow SketchUp for presentation purposes. Designers combine SketchUp with rendering programs and with pens, pencils, and markers.

Enhance with Photoshop You can import JPGs and Collada files into Photoshop to enhance presentation materials. Add light glows, text, arrows, highlights, entourage, paint daubs, color-­correct, clean up, alter, and add a title block. Figure 8‑54 shows a black-­and-­white sketchy line style model exported as a JPG and rendered in Photoshop.

Enhance with Rendering Programs Rendering programs add visual effects. Third-­party programs are available either as extensions (downloadable apps discussed in Chapter 9) or as stand-­alone software. Popular rendering programs for SketchUp models are SU Podium, V-­R ay, Twilight Render, KeyShot, Brighter 3D, and 3DS Max. Figure 8‑55 shows a SketchUp model with shadows and the same model rendered with 3DS Max.

Enhance with Hand Rendering Old-­school pen and paper are often the most engaging presentation materials. Hand drawing also offers more control over focus and visual weight. So, combine the best of both worlds by making fast, accurate line models with software and then tracing or coloring over hard copies for a hand-­drawn look. Presentation images must look good, communicate the design, and get

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Figure 8-­54:  SketchUp model rendered in Photoshop. Courtesy mkerrdesign.com.

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Figure 8-­55:  A SketchUp space with applied shadows (top) and rendered in 3DS Max (bottom). Courtesy mkerrdesign.com and redgraphx.com.

the client emotionally involved in the space; it doesn’t matter how you get there. Generally, perspective drawings are more engaging than orthographic, and color is more engaging than black and white. Figure 8‑56 shows a model made from an imported AutoCAD plan and then colored with pen and marker. Figure 8‑57 shows a model with an imported image hand colored with pen and marker.

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Figure 8-­56:  An imported AutoCAD plan modeled in SketchUp and hand-­rendered with marker. Courtesy mkerrdesign.com

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Figure 8-­57:  A SketchUp model exported as a JPG file and hand-­rendered with marker. Courtesy mkerrdesign.com

Summary Annotate a SketchUp model with text, dimensions, and 3D text. Replace its default appearance with an artsy style. Present different design schemes with scenes and tags. The Camera tools simulate a person viewing the space from a constant eye level. Animations of multiple scenes are a great visualization. Dynamic components can animate, perform programmed tasks, and display attributes. Live components can be shared, configured, and uploaded to SketchUp’s Web version. A model can be exported as a 2D graphic or a 3D model to be further developed in another software program.

Further Resources Making a Dynamic Component: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/ making- ­dynamic- ­component

Live Components: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-­live-­components

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Exercises 1. Design and model a space for a specific activity, such as a lobby, a gym exercise room, a

classroom, or an office lobby. Use components, tags, and entourage. Add a title block. 2. Make scenes of the space in Exercise 1, using the camera set at different heights

and angles. 3. Export a 2D image in a style useful as an underlay or for coloring by hand. 4. Download a living room from the Warehouse. Copy it twice and change the copies’

design schemes. Group each design and make scenes and layers as described in this chapter. 5. Make an animation with multiple scenes that last 1 second each. 6. Download a city from the Warehouse and use the Camera tools to view it.

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Extensions

9

T

Objective: This chapter discusses what extensions are, and how to find and install them.

What’s an Extension?

Tools: Extension, script, plug-­in

An extension, also called a script or plug-­in, is a downloadable tool that installs into SketchUp like a phone app. Extensions perform specific tasks, such as add photorealism (Figure 9‑1); make Bézier curves; project textures to complex objects; perform energy analysis; clean-­up stray geometry; wrap text around a curve; and cut openings through double-­face walls. If you think “I wish there was a tool for. . .” someone has probably written it. Some extensions are written by the SketchUp team, but most are by third-­party developers.

Concepts and Functions: Extension Warehouse, Extension Manager, Developer, Ruby console, install extensions from the Extension Warehouse, install extensions from third-­party sites

his chapter discusses how to extend SketchUp’s capabilities with extensions.

Figure 9-­1:  A SketchUp model rendered with the V-­Ray extension. Courtesy redgraphx.com.

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Figure 9-­2:  The Extensions menu and Extension Manager.

Figure 9-­3:  The Extensions icon.

Click on the Extensions menu (Figure 9‑2). There are entries for the Extension Warehouse (EW), Extension Manager, and Developer. The EW is a library with hundreds of downloadable tools. The Extension Manager is where you enable and uninstall them. The Developer is a built-­in tool for writing extensions.

The Extension Warehouse You can access the EW in three ways: through the link under the Extensions menu; through its icon (Figure 9‑3); or directly at https://extensions.sketchup.com/. Figure 9‑4 shows the EW homepage and categories. There’s also a keyword search field at the top. You need to be logged into your Trimble or Google account to download anything from the EW. Click on a category that interests you—­I clicked on Interior Design—­and scroll through the offerings (Figure 9‑5). Most are free, some have a cost. Let’s download and install one.

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Figure 9-­4:  The Extension Warehouse homepage.

Figure 9-­5:  Interior Design category offerings.

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Download and Install textureMe Figure 9‑6 shows the textureMe extension graphic and homepage. Click the Install button. When you access the Warehouse through the Extensions icon or the Extensions menu link, you can install the extension directly into SketchUp. If you find the extension on another website (for example, some companies provide their own SketchUp extensions for download), you’ll need to install it via the Extension Manager, which we will discuss later. Unlike the 3D Warehouse where anyone can upload models with no constraints, the SketchUp team scrutinizes developers’ extensions before allowing their upload to the EW.

Figure 9-­6:  The textureMe extension.

During the installation process you’ll get a message asking if you’re sure you want to install it (Figure 9‑7). Click Yes and another message should appear saying it has been successfully installed. You may get an intermediate message saying the extension is marked as not being compatible with your operating system. That means the extension hasn’t been updated for the latest SketchUp version. But such files typically work fine, and if they don’t, you can easily uninstall. If you have problems installing extensions, ensure you’re logged in as an admin and that all security permissions on your operating system’s extensions folder are set to allow. Instructions for finding the extensions folder are at the end of this chapter.

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Figure 9-­7:  Installation messages.

Find the Extension Finding installed extensions can be somewhat of a Where’s Waldo? search because they appear in different locations, depending on how the programmers wrote them. textureMe appears under the Extensions menu (Figure 9‑8). But others appear as an entry in the Draw menu (Figure 9‑9) or in the Tools menu (Figure 9‑10). An extension might even appear in a submenu or in a context menu when the appropriate geometry is right-­clicked. Sometimes a toolbar or

Figure 9-­8:  textureMe is in the Extensions menu.

Figure 9-­9:  Bézier Curves is in the Draw menu.

Figure 9-­10:  Solid Inspector is in the Tools menu.

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tool icon will appear in the workspace upon installation; other times the tool must be activated first at View>Toolbars (Figure 9‑11). If you can’t find an installed extension, go back to its EW page and read the information that the developer provided.

Texture Me

Figure 9-­11:  Downloaded tools appear with all the built-­in ones.

Generally, once you download and install an extension, its tool or menu entry will show up right away. But some extensions require that you close and reopen SketchUp first. So, if you can’t find a tool graphic or menu entry after downloading and installing, do that.

How Do Extensions Work? They all work differently! The developer includes instructions on the extension’s page. Be aware that there is no standardization for those instructions. Some developers include videos, some write detailed instructions, while others write cursory instructions. Figure 9‑12 shows the textureMe developer’s information. To use textureMe: 1. Click on the textureMe entry in the Extensions menu. This takes you to the mtextur

page, where you select a texture (Figure 9‑13). I selected bamboo. 2. Click on the CAD & BIM Texture icon to download the bamboo texture into SketchUp. 3. Click on the bamboo thumbnail, found in the In Model section of the Materials tray and

paint it onto a surface (Figure 9‑14). Note that an icon for the textureMe appeared on the screen.

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Figure 9-­12:  Information on the textureMe page.

Bamboo

Download Icon

Figure 9-­13:  Select a texture on the mtextur page.

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Icon

Figure 9-­14:  Paint the bamboo material onto a face.

There are so many interesting extensions. Such as the 3D Text Editor, which lets you edit 3D text; Thru Paint, which performs better texture mapping than the Paint tool; SketchUP STL, which exports SKP files into a 3D printing format; and CleanUp3, which removes stray geometry, flips reversed faces, and fixes other problems (Figure 9‑15).

▶▶Tip: If you’re using a SketchUp legacy version, such

as Make 2017, some extensions require third-­party software to make them work. The most common one is TT Lib, which supports developer Thom Thom’s extensions. Download TT Lib from https:// sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=TT_Lib

or https://bitbucket.org/thomthom/ tt-­library-­2/downloads/. TT Lib needs to be installed before the extensions that use it are installed. If you downloaded the extensions first, uninstall them and install TT Lib first.

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Figure 9-­15:  Four SketchUp extensions.

Sketchucation.com has a lot of extensions for downloads, too, some of which are not

on the EW.

Extension Manager The Extension menu is where you enable/disable, update, and uninstall extensions, and install extensions not obtained directly from the EW. Click on Extensions>Extension Manager. You’ll see a list of all the extensions you have installed (Figure 9‑16). If you want to uninstall one, the Uninstall button is under the Manage tab. If you want to disable one, that button is under the Home tab. SketchUp will send you prompts when a new version of an extension is available; once you update you’ll get a pop-­up verifying the update. If you downloaded an extension from the EW onto the desktop or downloaded one from a third-­party site, click the Install Extension button at the bottom of the screen, and then navi‑ gate to the unzipped file. Extensions are executable files, so you should only install ones from sources you trust. Home

Manage

Update

Uninstall

Install Extension

Figure 9-­16:  The Extension Manager.

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Developer Click on Developer>Ruby Console (Figure 9‑17). Ruby is the programming language used for making extensions (the file format is RBZ). Developers type their code directly into this console to optimize SketchUp compatibility. If you want to learn how to write your own extensions, click on Extensions>Developer>Ruby API Documentation for links to get started. Also check out this site on the SketchUp blog: https://developer.sketchup.com/. Use the Ruby console to find the exten‑ sions folder on your operating system. Type this script in the bottom text field Figure 9-­17:  The Ruby console. UI.openURL(“file://#{Sketchup. find_support_file(“Plugins”)}”) And hit Enter. That will take you to the folder. Right-­click and open an RBZ file in Notepad to study how it’s written.

Make a Desktop Shortcut If you plan to access the Ruby extension folders a lot, place a shortcut to it on the desktop. On the PC, right-­click on the folder and choose Create Shortcut. Make sure the small, curved arrow appears on the new icon indicating that the folder is, indeed, a shortcut; a simple copy/ paste doesn’t make a shortcut. On the Mac, make an alias by holding down the Command and Option keys while dragging the folder onto the desktop. Again, look for the small, curved arrow indicating the new icon is an alias and that you didn’t inadvertently drag the original folder out.

Summary Enhance your SketchUp software with extensions, pieces of code that add tools and functionality. Ones downloaded from the EW via the Extensions icon will install automatically. Extensions found on third-­party sites are installed via the Extension Manager’s Install button.

Further Resources Download an extension here that adds manufacturer product information and generates reports: http://igloostudios.com/productconnect/learn-­more

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Exercises 1. Search YouTube for tutorials on all kinds of SketchUp extensions. 2. Download and install an extension of your choice from either the EW or Sketchucation.com

and learn how to use it.

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CHAPTER

Construction Documentation with Layout What Is LayOut? LayOut is construction documentation software that installs as a stand-­alone program when you install SketchUp (Figure 10‑1). Think of SketchUp as the modeling software and LayOut as the drafting software. With LayOut, you can display orthographic views (Figure 10‑2) and multiple, scaled views of a model. It’s like AutoCAD’s paper space mode, if you’re familiar with that. You can open and use LayOut directly, but when you send the SketchUp model to LayOut directly from the SketchUp software, the live link between the two enables you to sync updates.

10

Objective: This chapter discusses how to generate scaled, orthographic drawings from a SketchUp model in LayOut. Tools: Send to LayOut Concepts and Functions: prepare the model for LayOut, link the model to LayOut, viewport, paper, storyboard, title block, copy and resize a viewport, Scrapbook graphics, export to PDF.

Prepare the SketchUp Model for LayOut We’re going to make a layout of this 3D Warehouse model (Figure 10‑3). Here are some steps to take before exporting the model to LayOut. While not required, they make working in LayOut easier.

Create Scenes Create scenes of the views to put in the LayOut document: a front view, side view, top view (hide the roof), and section view.

Figure 10-­1:  The LayOut desktop icon.

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Figure 10-­2:  A set of construction drawings generated from the SketchUp model with LayOut, displayed at SketchUp Base Camp.

Figure 10-­3:  A house downloaded from the 3D Warehouse.

Change Style and Properties Change the style to Default/Construction to turn the background white. Properties will need to be adjusted in each scene. Click Camera> Parallel Projection to create orthographic views. You can turn off the axes at View>Axes, but that makes working with the model harder. Perhaps turn the axes off when you’ve finished making changes and are ready to send the model to LayOut.

Make a Section View Make any changes needed to the model’s style and properties (Figure 10‑4). Then use the Section tool and the Views toolbar icons to create a scene of an interior elevation (Figure 10‑5). You can place multiple sections on a model, but only one will be active. Toggle

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Figure 10-­4:  Change the model’s style and properties.

Figure 10-­5:  Create an interior elevation.

the nonactive section(s) off with the Display Section Cuts tool to make the entire model visible before inserting another section (Figure 10‑6). Don’t delete the nonactive section cut because you’ll lose the view it created. Figure 10‑7 shows four scenes created for display in LayOut.

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Figure 10-­6:  Toggle section cuts on and off.

Figure 10-­7:  Four scenes.

Save and Send You must save the model before sending it to LayOut. Any subsequent changes must also be saved before they can be updated in LayOut. After saving, click the Send to LayOut icon (Figure 10‑8). Keep both the SketchUp and LayOut files open to make Figure 10-­8:  Send to LayOut. toggling between them easier, as you may want to make changes to the model while developing the LayOut document.

Choose a Paper Size Upon opening, LayOut presents template choices. The three tabs at the top are Paper, Storyboard, and Titleblock (Figure 10‑9). Click on each tab to see its options. I clicked on Titleblock and scrolled through different sizes. The A, B, C, and D in the paper titles are standard size notations in the drafting industry. A is the smallest at 8½" × 11" and D is the largest at 22ʺ × 34ʺ. I clicked on Simple/ArchD Landscape (Figure 10‑10) and LayOut opened (Figure 10‑11).

Figure 10-­9:  The tabs at the top of the screen.

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Figure 10-­10:  Titleblock choices.

Figure 10-­11:  The LayOut interface. The yellow warning triangle may mean that the linked SketchUp model was recently updated.

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Figure 10-­12:  Syncing LayOut with a SketchUp model update.

The LayOut Workspace The LayOut workspace has a large drafting window, menu and tool bars at the top of the screen, and trays on the right. Zoom and Pan work on the drafting window. As with SketchUp, press the scroll wheel and the left mouse button to pan, and rotate the scroll wheel to zoom.

The Yellow Warning Triangle and Updating the LayOut File Before we continue, notice the yellow warning triangle in the lower-­r ight of the screen. This means that either the linked SketchUp model was updated or Auto-­rendering is disabled. Update the model at File>Document Set Up>References. Select the file in red text and click the Update button at the bottom (Figure 10‑12). This syncs the LayOut file with the updated SketchUp file. This is also how you update LayOut after changing the SketchUp model. If the warning triangle remains, click open the SketchUp Model tray and under Viewport, check Auto (Figure 10‑13). Now let’s make some views and have a look at the menu bar.

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Auto

Figure 10-­13:  Check Auto to remove the warning triangle.

Figure 10-­14:  Drag the grips to resize.

The Viewport The model has a blue box around it; if you don’t see it, click on the model to activate. This box is a viewport, which is a framed area that displays the model or other information. The triangular tabs are grips; drag them to resize (Figure 10‑14). Hold the Shift key while dragging a corner to preserve the viewport’s proportions. The Move tool will be active, so drag the viewport to the upper-­left corner.

Copy the Viewport Select the viewport, hit Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, drag the copy off the original, and click it into place (Figure 10‑15). Inference lines appear; use them to align the copies. Alternatively, select the viewport, click on Edit>Copy, Edit>Paste, and move the duplicate off the viewport you

Figure 10-­15:  Drag the copy into place.

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Figure 10-­16:  Link to the SketchUp scenes.

copied. Make three copies. To undo anything, go to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Undo.

Link Viewports to Scenes Link each viewport to a scene by right-­clicking inside it and choosing Scene. Then choose one of the scenes you made in SketchUp (Figure 10‑16). To change how the model appears in a viewport, go back to the SketchUp model and adjust the scene. Save it, return to LayOut, right-­click the viewport, and choose Update Model Reference (Figure 10‑17). The saved changes will appear.

Scale the Scenes Scale the orthographic scenes by right-­clicking inside the viewport, select Scale, and then choose

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Figure 10-­17:  Updating a scene.

Figure 10-­18:  Right-­click inside the viewport to scale orthographic views.

a specific scale (Figure 10‑18). If only part of the drawing is visible after scaling it, the scale is too large for that viewport. So, either drag the grips to make the viewport larger or choose a smaller scale.

The Top of Screen Menu Let’s look at some of LayOut’s menus and submenus, starting with File (10-­19).

File File>Save as Template. Here you can save a LayOut file that has your favorite settings as a template. The next time you open LayOut, a My templates tab will appear (Figure 10‑20). Click on it to see the templates you saved. File>Save as Scrapbook. Here you can save a LayOut page into the Scrapbook tray. You might want to create symbols to store there. The page will be in the Scrapbook each

Figure 10-­19:  The File menu.

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Figure 10-­20:  Save your LayOut file as a template.

time you open LayOut, and its images can be dragged into the drafting space. Figure 10‑21 shows the entry for a Scrapbook page I made called House. To delete a Scrapbook page that you made, go to Edit>Preferences>Folders, select the file to delete, and click the minus sign. File>Insert Bring in any insertable file (Figure 10‑22). An inserted SketchUp file will be linked to the LayOut file even when the SketchUp file is closed. So, if scenes were made in the model, they’ll be visible when you right-­click on the viewports. File>Export. Turn the LayOut pages into a PDF, DWG, or individual PNG files. Know that LayOut automatically creates a cover page that will be included. In a PDF,

Figure 10-­22:  Insert SketchUp and other file types.

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Figure 10-­21:  A LayOut page can be saved to the Scrapbook.

Figure 10-­23:  Deselect a blank cover page before exporting as PDF.

this will appear as a blank page or a page with just a title block. If you don’t want the cover page, make sure it isn’t selected when you export (Figure 10‑23). File>Document Setup. Here you can update references (that is, sync LayOut with SketchUp model updates), change paper size and units, edit the type in the title block, and more (Figure 10‑24). This is also how you relink LayOut to the SketchUp model if you closed

Figure 10-­24:  Some Document Setup options.

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them both and then later opened the LayOut file to work on it. Just find the red references and update them.

View The View menu has options to zoom, pan, customize the toolbar, and show a grid on the drawing (Figure 10‑25). At the bottom of the View menu is Start Presentation. The document will become full screen and you can access the following presentation features: ▶▶

Navigate among the pages with the arrow keys or mouse.

▶▶

Draw annotations with the Freehand tool.

▶▶

Orbit, pan, and zoom.

▶▶

Play animations if the SketchUp model has an animation. Select a viewport, right-­click, and choose Play Animation (Figure 10‑26).

Figure 10-­25:  Adding a grid to the paper.

Figure 10-­26:  The Play Animation screen.

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Tools Click on the Tools menu to access more tools than are displayed on the menu bar at the top of the screen (Figure 10‑27). Add them to the top of the screen with the Customize feature in the View menu.

Window The Window menu is where you turn the trays on and off. Just like with SketchUp, if a tray disappears in LayOut, you probably inadvertently turned it off. Check its box to display it again (Figure 10‑28).

Figure 10-­27:  Access LayOut’s tools here.

Figure 10-­28:  Turn the trays on and off here.

Help Options here include a Help Center with guides on using LayOut (Figure 10‑29).

Annotate the Views Let’s add text, dimensions, and ID labels now. We’ll use some tools in the toolbar at the top of the screen and some functions in the trays.

Figure 10-­29:  The Help menu.

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Text

Labels

Dimensions

Figure 10-­30:  The Text, Labels, and Dimensions tools.

Figure 10‑30 shows the Text, Labels, and Dimensions tools. Click Text tool and then click the Text Style tray open (Figure 10‑31). Choose a font and size. You need to click the font size with each tool. Then click on the paper and type something. Next, click on the Labels tool. It makes leader lines. Click the Labels tool twice and then type something. Make curved leader lines by typing the Text tool onto the model and click-­dragging the second endpoint. Finally, click on the Dimensions tool. With the Dimensions tool activated, adjust options in the Dimension Style tray (Figure 10‑32). Then click twice to place a stringer and type a note.

Figure 10-­31:  Adjust options in the Text Style tray.

Figure 10-­32:  Adjust options in the Dimensions Style tray.

Figure 10‑33 shows annotations on a LayOut page. Edit the annotations by double-­clicking the Select tool on them.

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Figure 10-­33:  An annotated LayOut page.

The Scrapbook Tray The Scrapbook tray has editable symbols you can drag into the drawing (Figure 10‑34). Figure 10‑35 shows all the folders. The folder TB-­Plain contains an ID label. I dragged the ID

Figure 10-­34:  Examples of Scrapbook symbols.

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263

Figure 10-­35:  The Scrapbook folders.

label into the drawing (Figure 10‑36). All aspects of it are editable; click on each element for grips. Adjust the text height with the Text Style scrapbook. A red arrow means the symbol box isn’t large enough, so adjust the size. The red arrow won’t show up on a print, but an exported PDF file may not look correct.

Add Line Weights With the Pencil, trace the geometry whose line weight you want to adjust. If the geometry was dragged into the drawing from a Scrapbook or created with another LayOut tray, it doesn’t need to be traced. Then open the Scrapbook’s TB-­Plain: Line Weights folder (Figure 10‑37).

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SketchUp for Interior Design

Figure 10-­36:  An editable ID label dragged from the Scrapbook folder.

Figure 10-­37:  Trace geometry and open the TB-­Plain: Line Weights folder.

For convenience, drag the line weights group from the Scrapbook onto the drawing. Click the Sample tool, click on the line weight, and then click on the line you just drew (Figure 10‑38). It will adjust to the new line weight! Erase the line weights group on the drawing space by selecting and deleting. Sample Tool

1. Click

2. Click

Figure 10-­38:  Sample the line weights onto the drawing.

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265

More LayOut Capabilities Flip through the trays, right-­click on the viewports, check out what LayOut has to offer. For example, you can: ▶▶

Number pages. This enables you to print or export specific pages.

▶▶

Copy-­Array. Here you can make multiple, arrayed copies of elements in the viewports.

▶▶

Vector-­render. This means you can render the model in vector mode instead of raster mode. This is faster and results in sharp, clear lines that export to a PDF that, in turn, can be printed any size without loss of quality.

▶▶

Insert Patterns. There’s a Pattern Fill tray (Figure 10‑39) with pochés and symbols Figure 10-­39:  The Pattern Fills tray. you can click onto your construction plans, details, and sections. Most of the files are PNGs with transparent backgrounds, which enables the addition of colors, plus they can be rotated and scaled. You can also import your own patterns.

Summary LayOut is a program in which you can generate construction documents from a SketchUp model. It can be hot linked to the model or used as a stand-­alone program. Scaled, orthographic drawings are created via viewports, with each displaying a different model scene.

Exercises 1. Export a Warehouse model into LayOut and make a construction document of it. Create

multiple viewports and annotate it. Insert symbols from the Scrapbook tray and poché from the Pattern Fills tray. 2. Explore a LayOut feature not covered in this book and apply it to one of your

own models.

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Index # 2D software, 3 2-­Point Arc tool, 69–70 3DConnexion’s Space Mouse, 15 3D drawings, 3 3D Text tool, 212–213 3D warehouse, 105, 161 3-­point perspective, 3 3-­Point Rectangle, 123, 156, 188 20-­20 models, 125

A Always face camera option, 61 Android phone/tablet, 14 angles measuring with Protractor tool, 128 viewing model, 33 Animations dialog box, 224 annotating model, 205. See also enhancing model 3D text tool, 212–213 animating with scenes, 223–224 Camera tools, 225 Look Around, 226 Position Camera, 225–226 Walk tool, 226–227 default style, making a shortcut to, 214–215 dimension stringer, 207 Dynamic Components, 227 floor plan, dimensioning, 211–212 font size, 208 leader text, 209–210 Live Components, 229 making scenes of different designs, 219–223 pushpin vs. view based leaders, 210

scenes, 219 screen text, 209 Shadow settings, 218–219 sky removal, 215–216 styles, 213–214 Text tool, 209–210 watermarking the file, 216–218 apron, drawing, 64 Architectural Inches, 17 Arc tool, 69–70 array, 66–68 linear, 66, 68–69 radial, 79–83 artwork, incorporating into design, 11 attributes defined, 70 dynamic components, 227–228 AutoCAD DWG files importing, 119 preparing for import, 121 overview, 119–121 vs. SketchUp, 3 autofolding, 154–155 autosave, 23 auto-­select tool, 31 axes, 20, 39 Axis tool, 165–166

B backup files, 23 BIM (building information management), 5, 231 BMP file format, 87 bookcase, modeling 2-­Point Arc tool, 69–70 array, 66–68

Index

267

bookcase, modeling (continued) Circle tool, 79 component door, making, 71–72 crown molding, modeling, 73 Entity Info box, 70–71 linear array, 68–69 Offset tool, 65–66 overview, 65 putting glass in the doors, 73 Rotate tool, 74–78 second component door, making, 72 shell grouping, 66 shelves’ height and depth, changing, 69 translucent workaround, 74–78 Boolean operations, 8 bottom-­left screen icons, 21 bounding box, 53 browser requirements, 13 building information management (BIM), 5, 231 built-­in SketchUp materials, painting with, 169

C camera Camera toolbar, 35–37, 225 Look Around, 226 Parallel Projection view, 116 Position Camera tool, 225–226 Two-­Point perspective, 222 Walk tool, 226–227 Camera tab, menu bar, 19 Change Font box, 208 Chief Architect, 5 circled question mark, workspace, 21 circle resizing with Move tool, 40 Circle tool, 30–31, 79 clipping, 125 clock inference matching, 83–85 with radial array, 79–83 Collada program, 230, 231

268

Index

collections, 169 colors adjusting, 174–175 face color, changing, 167–168 line color, changing, 94 Colors in Model, 185 Colors-­Named folder, 169 color wheel, 174 component (local) axis, 165–166 component door, 71–72 adding, 142–143 in single vs. double sided walls, 109 components, 59–60 Always face camera option, 61 browser, 113–115 defined, 59 deleting, 112–113 downloading, 106–107 Dynamic Components, 227 editing, 60 Glue to option, 61 In Model icon, 112 Live Components, 229 options, 61 purging, 112 Replace selection with component option, 61 Set alignment option, 61 Set component axes option, 61 in single vs. double-­sided walls, 109 turning the leg square into, 60 Components browser importing Warehouse Furniture through, 109–111 local collection, 113–115 Components tray, 27, 106 cone of vision, 155 construction documentation. See layout Control key, 39 coordinates defined, 20 moving geometry with, 126

Copy-­A rray, 265 copying, 39 between SketchUp files, 111 Create Group from Slice option, 117–119 Create Materials dialog box, 174 Create New Style button, Styles browser, 213 crossing window, 37 crown molding, modeling, 73, 157–158 CSV (Excel) file, 9 curved surface, painting on, 197 texture/project painting letters on a cylinder with, 198 painting on draperies with, 197–198 Customize Toolbar, 36 customizing Mac Getting Started toolbar, 42 PC toolbars, 40–42 templates, 42–44 custom template, 42–44

D Default Tray, 21, 22 definition (original) component, 59 deleting components, 113 desktop adding Large Tool Set, 25–26 Camera and Views toolbar, 35–37 circle tool, 30–31 Control key, 39 crossing window, 37 customizing, 40–44 Mac Getting Started toolbar, 42 PC toolbars, 40–42 templates, 42–44 engine, 28–29 Erase, 27 Escape key, 35 Help function, 45 impute numbers, 32–33 inference engine, 28–29

Modifier keys, 35 Move tool, 39–40 Orbit tool, 33–35 Pan tool, 33–35 Push/Pull tool, 31–32 Rectangle tool, 28 rotated rectangle tool, 30 search tool, 27 selection techniques, 37–39 Select tool, 27–28, 31, 38 Shift key, 33, 39 Undo, 27 Views toolbar, 35–37 workspace, customizing, 40–42 Zoom tool, 33–35 Developer, 246 dialog box settings, choosing, 199–201 digital imaging program, 180 dimensioning floor plan 3D Text tool, 212–213 navigating to default style, 214–215 overview, 211–212 Shadow settings, 218–219 title block, 216–217 dimension stringer, 207 Dimension Tool, 206–207, 262 Display crosshairs, 55 Display Section Cuts tool, 251 Divide a line, 147, 148 Document Setup, 259–260 doors adding to floor plan, 99–101 putting glass in, 73 downloading SketchUp Pro, 15–16 drafting floor plan edge styles, 96–98 interior walls, tracing, 95–96 from paper sketch, 102–105 by tracing raster image, 87–89 Draw tab, menu bar, 20

Index

269

DWG file, 8, 138 importing, 119 preparing for import, 121 dynamic components, 8, 227

E edges defined, 47 erasing, 47–48 Edge Settings, 55 Edge styles dialog box, 96–98 editing downloaded staircase, 163 leg length, 62 stringer, 206–207 editing box, 53 Edit menu, 112 Edit tab menu bar, 19 Styles browser, 215–216 elevation views, 27, 35, 118 Enable Scene Transitions box, Animations dialog box, 224 Endpoints box, 148, 149 enhancing model, 231 dynamic components, 227–228 exporting model as 2D graphic, 229–230 exporting model as 3D graphic, 230–231 with hand rendering, 231 with Photoshop, 231 Position Camera, 225–226 with rendering programs, 231 software, 231 Walk tool, 226–227 Entity Info box, 70–71, 126, 141, 182, 207, 210 Eraser tool, 47–48, 65 erasing, 27 edges, 47–48 images, 187 Escape key, 35

270

Index

exiting the software, 23–24 Explode function, 89 exporting model as 2D graphic, 229–230 model as 3D graphic, 230–231 exporting file, 125, 258–259 Extension Manager, 245 Extensions, 237–238 desktop shortcut, making, 246 Developer, 246 finding, 241–242 textureMe, 240 working, 242–245 Extensions tab, menu bar, 20 Extension Warehouse (EW), 238–240 Extruded option, 3D Text tool, 212

F faces BMP file format, 87 creating, 138–139 default face color, changing, 167–168 defined, 47 DWG, 119–121 GIF file format, 87 JPG file format, 87 making transparent, 93 non-­fi lling, 54–56 orientation, 166–167, 182 PNG file format, 87 Face Style, 93, 96, 153, 182 field of view (FOV), 155–156 figure, 21 files, 257–260. See also raster files backup, 23 CSV, 9 DWG, 8 raster, 1 running multiple files simultaneously, 22 SKB, 1

SKP, 1, 2 STL, 2 vector, 1 File tab, menu bar, 19 filling, 54 color, adjusting, 174–175 on curved surface, 197–198 digital imaging program, 180 dragging materials into model, 191–192 on draperies with texture/project, 197–198 editing a material, 179–180 Entity Info, 182 erasing an image, 187 face orientation, 182 Face Style, 182 fixed pins, 192–193 Follow Me tool, 188 free pins, 194–196 groups vs. loose geometry, 170 image placement tips, 188–189 importing materials, 180–181, 184–185 importing images, 186 Load, 191 making and linking materials collection, 189–191 Match Photo on interior space, 199–203 modeling workflow, 182–183 Paint Bucket tool, 171 photographing, 183 Purge Unused colors, 177 purge vs. delete, 178 repeating and seamless materials, 185 RGB values, entering, 175–176 sampler icons, 176 Save As option, 176 shortcuts, 172–173 with textures, 198 translucency, 176–177 wall art modeling, 187–188 first floor, two-­story house, 140 fixed pins, 192–193

flashing planes, 102 Flip Along Component’s Red, 72 floor plan, 87 adding tags to control visibility, 126 changing line type with tag, 127 clipping, 125 components, downloading, 106–107 components browser, 109–111, 113–115 components tray, 106 coordinates, moving geometry with, 126 copying and pasting between SketchUp files, 111 Create group from slice, 117–119 deleting components, 112–113 dimensioning, 211–212 3D Text tool, 212 navigating to default style, 214–215 overview, 211–212 Shadow settings, 218–219 title block, 216–217 drafting edge styles, 96–98 interior walls, tracing, 95–96 from paper sketch, 102–105 by tracing raster image, 87–89 Explode function, 89 furnishing creating plan and elevation views, 116 single vs. double sided walls, component door in, 109 geometry, resizing, 89 line color, changing, 94 In Model icon, 112 modeling, 98–99 3D warehouse, 105 20-­20 models, 125 from AutoCAD plan, 119–121 door, adding, 99–101 DWG file, 121–123 exporting the file, 125

Index

271

floor plan (continued) flashing planes, 102 Geo-­location function, 129–131 porch, adding, 99 Revit models, 125 sloped roof with Protractor tool, 128 tips, 127 window, adding, 101 Paste in Place, 112 polygon count, 131–132 Purge Unused components, 112–113 raster file, 87 section tool, 117 slowdowns of SketchUp, 131 strategies to make SketchUp run faster, 132–134 Tape Measure, scaling the imported floor plan with, 89–93 Follow Me tool crown molding with, 157–158 modeling a picture frame with, 188 weld function, 158–159 Font box, 208 FOV (field of view), 155–156 Freehand tool, 48–50 free pins tool, 194–196 free version (SketchUp Make version), 2–3 free viewer app of SketchUp Pro, 2, 14 furnishing floor plan creating plan and elevation views, 116 single vs. double sided walls, component door in, 109 furniture, modeling, 47 bookcase, 65 2-­Point Arc tool, 69–70 array, 66–68 Circle tool, 79 component door, making, 71–72 crown molding, modeling, 73 Entity Info box, 70–71 grouping the shell, 66 linear array, 68–69

272

Index

Offset tool, making a shell with, 65–66 putting glass in the doors, 73 Rotate tool, 74–78 second component door, making, 72 shelves’ height and depth, changing, 69 clock inference matching, 83–85 with radial array, 79–83 edges, 47 Edge Settings, 55 Eraser tool, 47–48 faces, 47 Freehand tool, 48–50 group, 52 editing, 53–54 making, 52–53 Move tool, making roof ridge with, 50 non-­fi lling face, causes of, 54–55 Pencil tool, 48–50, 81 stickiness, 50–51 table, 56 guidelines and guide points, 58 shadow, adding, 65 tabletop, modeling, 57 Tape Measure, 58 table leg, 59 adding leg’s lower part, 62 adding volume to leg component, 62 adjusting size with Scale tool, 64 apron, drawing, 64 component, 59–60 component options, 61 copying leg component, 61 editing a component, 60 editing leg’s length, 62 guidelines, placing, 58 tapering the leg with Scale tool, 63–64 turning the leg square into a component, 60 Fusion 360, 5

G

DWG file, 138 face color, changing, 167–168 faces, creating, 138–139 field of view (FOV), 155–156 first floor, 140 handrail, modeling, 160 mansard roof model, 154–155 modeling the plan, 139–140 modeling tips, 153–154 nesting and organization, 144 orientation change, 166–167 outliner, 144–145 second floor, 151 clicking two corners together, 153 creating edges with intersect faces with model, 152 cutting a stairwell on, 146 moving second floor onto first, 153 platform, 146 push/pulling the walls up, 151 softening and smoothing, 159 staircase changing height and width with reference line, 164 downloading and editing, 163 Flip Along, mirror with, 163–164 Scale tool, mirror with, 164 staircase, drawing, 147 linear array, 148–149 vertical riser line, 147–148 volume addition to staircase, 150 tags, 141–142 troublesome components, 164–165 viewing components in model, 162 Weld function, 158–159

Geo-­location function, 129–131 geometry attributes, 70 defined, 1, 47 moving with coordinates, 126 resizing to scale, 89 Getting Started toolbar, 25 customizing, 42 defined, 20 GIF file format, 87 global axes, 20 Glue to option, 61 Golden Section, 28 Google Earth, 131, 230, 231 graphics card. See video card grips, 63 group, 52 editing, 53–54 making, 52–53 vs. loose geometry, 170 overview, 52 guidelines, 58 guide points, 58

H handrail, modeling, 160 hand rendering, 231 hardware requirements, 13 Height option, Font box, 208 Help Center, 261 Help function, 45 Help tab, menu bar, 20 Hide, 58, 74, 77 house interior, modeling, 137 3D warehouse, searching, 161 cabinets modeling with guidelines and 3-­point rectangle, 156 component axis and Axis tool, 165–166 component door, adding, 142–143 crown molding with Follow Me tool, 157–158

I IFC, 230, 231 images curved surface, painting on, 197 erasing, 187

Index

273

images (continued) free pins tool, 194–196 importing, 186 making and linking local textures collection, 191–192 making picture frame, 188 making wall art with, 187–188 placement tips, 188–189 importing images, 186 materials from other models, 180–181 modeling wall art with imported image, 187–188 photographing material for, 183 textures, 183 Warehouse Furniture through Components Browser Search Field, 109–111 impute numbers, 32–33 inference engine, 28–29 inference lines, 39, 255 inference matching drawing clock hands with, 83–85 line lengths, 91 In Model icon, 112 inserting file, 258 Insert Patterns, 265–266 instances, 22, 59 Instructor box, 21 Interface, 25 adding Large Tool Set, 25–26 Camera and Views toolbar, 35–37 circle tool, 30–31 Control key, 39 crossing window, 37 customizing, 40–44 Mac Getting Started toolbar, 42 PC toolbars, 40–42 templates, 42–44 engine, 28–29 Erase, 27 Escape key, 35

274

Index

Help function, 45 impute numbers, 32–33 inference engine, 28–29 Modifier keys, 35 Move tool, 39, 40 Orbit tool, 33–35 Pan tool, 33–35 Push/Pull tool, 31–32 Rectangle tool, 28 rotated rectangle tool, 30 search tool, 27 selection techniques, 37–39 Select tool, 27–28, 31, 38 Shift key, 33, 39 Undo, 27 Views toolbar, 35–37 workspace, customizing, 40–42 Zoom tool, 33–35 interior floor, raising, 101 interior walls, tracing, 95–96 Intersect Faces tool, 152 iPad, 14 isometric view, 4, 35, 37

J JPG file format, 87

L Labels tool, 262 Large Tool Set, 25–26 lasso, 28 launching SketchUp Pro, 16 LayOut, 4, 249 annotating the views, 261–262 capabilities, 265–266 Copy-­A rray, 265 Insert Patterns, 265–266 line weights, adding, 264–265 Number pages, 265 overview, 8

paper size, choosing, 252 save and send, 252 scenes, creating, 249 Scrapbook tray, 263–264 Section tool, 250–252 style and properties, changing, 250 Vector-­render, 265 viewport, 255 copying, 255–256 File, 257–260 Help Center, 261 linking viewports to scenes, 256 scaling the scenes, 256–257 Tools menu, 261 View menu, 260–261 Window menu, 261 Views toolbar, 250–252 workspace, 254 yellow warning triangle and, 254 leader line, 209, 210 leader text, 209–210 linear array, 66, 68–69, 148–149 line color, changing, 94 Line (Pencil) tool, 48–50 line weights, adding, 264–265 Linked numbers, 179 lists, defined, 169 Live Components, 229 Load, 191 local axes, 20 local (component) axis, 165 local collection defined, 113–115 making and linking local textures collection, 191 Look Around tool, 226

M Mac Getting Started toolbar, 42 menu bar, 19–20

modifier keys, 35 SketchUp requirements, 13–14 Mac users, 18 Make a Component option, 71 Make Group, 52, 57 Manage activations button, 16 Manage Devices, 16 Mansard roof, 154–155 Match Photo on interior space, 199 aligning photo’s perspective to SketchUp’s camera, 201 appropriate photo, using, 199 dialog box settings199–201 photo, importing, 199 projecting the photo, 203 Tape Measure, 203 tracing the photo, 201–202 Materials tray, 22, 73, 169, 178, 186, 189 measurements box, 21–22, 30, 79 menu bar, workspace, 19–20, 40 Camera tab, 19 Draw tab, 20 Edit tab, 19 Extensions tab, 20 File tab, 19 Help tab, 20 Tools tab, 20 View tab, 19 Window tab, 20 mesh models, 5 mirror with Flip Along, 163–164 with Scale tool, 164 Model Info, 22, 42 modeling, 47 best practices for, 55 bookcase, 65 2-­Point Arc tool, 69–70 array, 66–68 Circle tool, 79 component door, making, 71–72

Index

275

modeling (continued) crown molding, modeling, 73 Entity Info box, 70–71 grouping the shell, 66 linear array, 68–69 Offset tool, making a shell with, 65–66 putting glass in the doors, 73 Rotate tool, 74–78 second component door, making, 72 shelves’ height and depth, changing, 69 clock inference matching, 83–85 with radial array, 79–83 defined, 1 edges, 47 Edge Settings, 55 Eraser tool, 47–48 faces, 47 floor plan, 98–99 3D warehouse, 105 20-­20 models, 125 from AutoCAD plan, 119–121 door, adding, 99–101 DWG file, 121–123 exporting the file, 125 flashing planes, 102 Geo-­location function, 129–131 porch, adding, 99 Revit models, 125 sloped roof with Protractor tool, 128 tips, 127 window, adding, 101 Freehand tool, 48–50 group, 52 editing, 53–54 making, 52–53 modeling, best practices for, 55 Move tool, making roof ridge with, 50 non-­fi lling face, causes of, 54–55 Pencil tool, 48–50, 81

276

Index

stickiness, 50–51 table, 56 guidelines and guide points, 58 shadow, adding, 65 tabletop, modeling, 57 Tape Measure, 58 table leg, 59 adding leg’s lower part, 62 adding volume to leg component, 62 adjusting size with Scale tool, 64 apron, drawing, 64 component, 59–60 component options, 61 copying leg component, 61 editing a component, 60 editing leg’s length, 62 guidelines, placing, 58 tapering the leg with Scale tool, 63–64 turning the leg square into a component, 60 two-­story house interior, 137 3D warehouse, searching, 161 cabinets modeling with guidelines and 3-­point rectangle, 156 component axis and Axis tool, 165–166 component door, adding, 142–143 crown molding with Follow Me tool, 157–158 DWG file, 138 face color, changing, 167–168 faces, creating, 138–139 field of view (FOV), 155–156 first floor, 140 handrail, modeling, 160 mansard roof model, 154–155 modeling the plan, 139–140 modeling tips, 153–154 nesting and organization, 144 orientation change of multiple faces at once, 166–167

outliner, 144–145 second floor, 151–153 softening and smoothing, 159 staircase, drawing, 147–150, 163–164 tags, 141–142 troublesome components, 164–165 viewing components in model, 162 Weld function, 158–159 modeling window defined, 21 remembering changes to, 40, 42 removing toolbar, 40 models, SketchUp, 3 building information management (BIM), 5 display method, 3 mesh, 5 overview, 3 SketchUp Pro, 6–11 solid, 5 surface, 5 T-­spline, 5 Modifier keys, 35 More templates option, 17 mouse 3D mouse, 15 one-­button, 14 Space Mouse, 15 three-­button, 14 Move tool, 39, 40, 50, 95, 108, 255 multiple copies, making, 148

N nested group, 52 nesting and organization, 144 new materials available to all SketchUp files, 181 non-­fi lling face, 54–55 normal, defined, 47 number pages, 265

O offsetting faces, 66 perimeter wall, 93 Offset tool, 65–66 On Face inference, 69 operating system requirements, 13 Options dialog window, 122 Orbit tool, 33–35 orientation, faces, 166–167 origin, axes, 20 orthographic views, 4, 35, 116 Outliner tool, 144–145

P Paint Brush, 171, 180 Paint Bucket tool, 171 painting, 169 with built-­in SketchUp materials, 169 color, adjusting, 174–175 on a curved surface, 197–198 digital imaging program, 180 dragging materials into the model, 191–192 on draperies with texture/project, 197–198 editing a material, 179–180 Entity Info, 182 erasing an image, 187 face orientation, 182 Face Style, 182 fixed pins, 192–193 Follow Me, 188 free pins, 194–196 on groups vs. loose geometry, 170 image placement tips, 188–189 importing material, 180–181, 184–185 importing images, 186 letters on a cylinder with texture/project, 198 Load, 191

Index

277

painting (continued) making and linking materials collection, 189–191 Match Photo on interior space, 199–203 with materials, 178 modeling workflow, 182–183 Paint Bucket tool, 171 photographing material for import, 183 Purge Unused colors and materials, 177 purge vs. delete, 178 repeating and seamless materials, 185 RGB values, entering, 175–176 sampler icons, 176 Save As option, 176 shortcuts, 172–173 translucency, 176–177 wall art modeling with imported image, 187–188 panel trays, 22 Pan tool, 33–35 paper size, choosing, 252 paper sketch, drafting plan from importing door through Components Tray, 105–106 overview, 102–103 paraline view, 35 Parallel Projection view, 35, 116, 250 pasting between SketchUp files, 111 Paste in Place, 112 PC customizing toolbars on, 40–42 menu bar, 19–20 modifier keys, 35 SketchUp requirements, 13 users, 18 Pencil (Line) tool, 29, 48–50, 81, 96 perspective view, 37 photo appropriate photo, using, 199 importing, 199

278

Index

incorporating into design, 11 projecting, 203 tracing, 201–202 photographing material for import, 183 Photoshop, 231 Pin, 21 Place option, 3D Text tool, 212 planes, 1 plan view, 35, 91, 101, 116 plug-­in. See Extensions png file format, 87 Points option, Font box, 208 polygonal, defined, 1 polygonal surface modeling program, 1 polygon count, 131–132 Polygon tool, 22, 31 porch, adding to floor plan, 99 Position Camera tool, 225–226 Preferences, 26, 42 Profiles feature, 98 Protractor tool, 128 Pro version educational pricing, 8 overview, 6–11 Purge Unused colors and materials, 177 Purge Unused components, 112–113 purging unused materials, 178 unused styles, 214 pushpin leader, 210 Push/Pull tool, 31–32, 123

Q Quit SketchUp, 23

R radial array, 79–83 raster files, 87 changing line color, 94 defined, 1

Explode function, 89 overview, 87–89 preparing for import, 87 resizing geometry to scale, 89 Tape Measure tool, 89–93 Rectangle tool, 28, 30, 57, 59, 79, 83 Redo option, 48 rendering programs, 231 repeating textures, 185 repeating pattern, 194 Replace selection with component option, 61 reports, 9 Reset All button, 40 Reverse Faces, 167 Revit models, 5, 125 RGB values, entering, 175–176 roof ridge, making, 50 rotated rectangle tool, 30, 50 Rotate tool, 74–78, 212 rubber banding, 49 Ruby Console, 246

S sampler icons, 176 Save A Copy As option, 23 Save As option, 23, 176 Save as Scrapbook, 257 Save as Template option, 23, 257 Save as Type field, 23 Save options Save, 23 Save A Copy As, 23 Save As, 23 Save as Scrapbook, 257 Save as Template, 23 Save as Type field, 23 saving file, 23 scale figure, 21 Scale tool, 59, 63–64 Scene Delay option, Animations dialog box, 224

scenes of different designs, 219–223 making animation of, 223–224 overview, 219 Scrapbook tray, 263–264 screen text, 209 screen tip, 26, 28, 29 Script. See Extensions seamless textures, 185 search tool, 27 second component door, making, 72 second floor, two-­story house, 151 clicking two corners together, 153 creating edges with intersect faces with model, 152 cutting a stairwell on, 146 moving onto first floor, 153 platform, 146 push/pulling the walls up, 151 Section tool, 118–120, 250–252 selection window, 37 Select tab, Styles browser, 213 Select tool, 27–28, 31, 38, 51, 54 Send to LayOut icon, 252 Set alignment option, 61 Set component axes option, 61 shadows, 65 Shadow settings, 218–219 shell grouping, 66 shelves’ height and depth, changing, 69 Shift key, 33, 35, 39 Shortcuts, 26 shortcuts, painting, 172–173 Show Welcome Window, 17 single vs. double sided walls, component door in, 109 SKB file, 1, 23 SketchUp vs. AutoCAD, 3 learning, 3 models, 3

Index

279

SketchUp (continued) overview, 1 Pro version, 6–11 purpose of, 2 screen, 21 users, 2 SketchUp Free, 2 SketchUp Make 2017, 2–3 SketchUp Pro, 2, 6–11 downloading, 15–16 launching, 16 SketchUp Shop, 2 skewed image, 195–196 SKP file, 1, 2, 23 sky removal, 215–216 sloped roof, modeling with Protractor tool, 128 slowdowns of SketchUp, 131 smoothing curves, 159 softening curves, 159 software Collada program, 230–231 digital imaging software, 180 Photoshop, 231 polygonal surface modeling program, 1 solid modeling tools, 9 solid models, 5 Solid tools, 51 SolidWorks, 5 Space Mouse, 15 splash screen, 16 staircase, 147 changing height and width with reference line, 164 downloading and editing, 163 Flip Along, mirror with, 163–164 linear array, 148–149 Scale tool, mirror with, 164 vertical riser line, 147–148 volume addition to staircase, 150 Standard toolbar, 42

280

Index

stickiness, 50–51 STL file, 2 strategies to make SketchUp run faster, 132–134 stringer, editing, 206 Style options, 97 styles, 55–56, 213–214 Styles browser, 215 Styles dialog box, 55, 56 surface, defined, 1 surface models, 5 Surface Pro, 14

T table, modeling, 56 guidelines, 58 guide points, 58 shadow, adding, 65 tabletop, modeling, 57 Tape Measure, 58 table leg, modeling, 59 adding leg’s lower part, 62 adding volume to leg component, 62 component, 59–60 editing, 60 options, 61 turning the leg square into, 60 copying leg component, 61 editing leg’s length, 62 guidelines, placing, 58 tabletop, modeling, 57 tablet PC, 14 tags, 141–142 adding tags to control visibility, 126 changing line type with, 127 Tape Measure tool, 58, 89–93, 146, 148, 203 tapering table leg, 63–64 templates choosing, 17–18 customizing, 42–44 Text tool, 20, 126, 209–210, 262

textureMe extension, 240 textures, 169 three-­button scroll-­wheel mouse, 14 tile square, 179 tiling, 186 title block, 216–217, 231, 259 toolbars dynamic components, 227 Getting Started, 20, 42 Standard, 42 Views, 35–37, 250–252, 255 window, 40 tools, 261 3D Text, 212 3-­point rectangle, 156 Arc, 69–70 auto-­select, 31 Axis, 165–166 Circle, 79 Component, 71–72 Dimension, 206–207, 262 Display Section Cuts, 251 Entity Info box, 182 Eraser, 47–48 Extensions, 237–246 Fixed Pins, 192–193 Follow Me, 157–158, 188 Freehand, 48–50 Free Pins, 194–196 Intersect Faces, 152 Labels, 262 Large Tool Set, 25–26 Leader text, 209–210 Line (Pencil), 48–50 Look Around, 226 Move, 39–40, 47, 50, 255 Offset, 65–66 Orbit, 33–35 Outliner, 144–145 Paint Bucket, 171

Pan, 33–35 Pencil, 48–50, 81 Position Camera, 225–226 Protractor, 128 Push/Pull, 31–32 Rectangle, 28, 57, 59, 79, 83 Rotate, 74–78 rotated rectangle, 30 sampler icons, 176 Scale, 63–64 Scale tool, mirror with, 164 Screen text, 209 screen tip, 26, 28, 29 Section, 117, 250–252 Select, 27–28, 31, 38 Send to LayOut, 252 Tape Measure, 58, 89–93, 146, 148, 203 Text, 126, 209–210, 262 transparent, 34 Undo, 27 Walk, 226–227 Walk-­Through, 224 Zoom, 33–35 Tools tab, menu bar, 20 tracing interior walls, 95–96 plan’s perimeter, 91–93 raster image Explode function, 89 geometry, resizing, 89 line color, changing, 94 overview, 87–89 Tape Measure, scaling the imported floor plan with, 89–93 translucency, 176–177 translucent workaround, 74–78 transparent tools, 34 Trimble account, 16 Trimble Cloud, 11 troublesome components, 164–165

Index

281

T-­spline models, 5 two-­story house interior, 137 3D warehouse, searching, 161 cabinets modeling with guidelines and 3-­point rectangle, 156 component axis and Axis tool, 165–166 component door, adding, 142–143 crown molding with Follow Me tool, 157–158 DWG file, 138 face color, changing, 167–168 faces, creating, 138–139 field of view (FOV), 155–156 first floor, 140 handrail, modeling, 160 mansard roof model, 154–155 modeling the plan, 139–140 modeling tips, 153–154 nesting and organization, 144 orientation change, 166–167 outliner, 144–145 second floor, 151 clicking two corners together, 153 creating edges with intersect faces with model, 152 cutting a stairwell on, 146 moving second floor onto first, 153 platform, 146 push/pulling the walls up, 151 softening and smoothing, 159 staircase, 147 changing height and width with reference line, 164 downloading and editing, 163 Flip Along, mirror with, 163–164 linear array, 148–149 Scale tool, mirror with, 164 vertical riser line, 147–148 volume addition to staircase, 150 tags, 141–142 troublesome components, 164–165

282

Index

viewing components in model, 162 Weld function, 158–159

U Undo Rectangle, 29 Undo tool, 27 Untagged tag, 141–142 Update Model Reference, 256 Use texture image option, 179

V vector file, 1 Vector-­render, 265 versions, SketchUp Pro, 6–11 SketchUp Free, 2 SketchUp Make 2017, 2–3 vertical riser line, 147–148 video card (graphics card), 14–15 View all brands button, 161 view based leader, 210 viewer app, 14 View menu, 260–261 viewport, 255 copying, 255–256 File, 257–260 Help Center, 261 linking viewports to scenes, 256 scaling the scenes, 256–257 Tools menu, 261 View menu, 260–261 Window menu, 261 views elevation, 27, 35, 116 isometric, 4, 35, 37 orthographic, 4, 35, 116 paraline, 35 Parallel Projection, 116 perspective, 35, 37 plan, 91, 101, 116

Views toolbar, 35–37, 250–252 View tab, menu bar, 19 visibility, adding tags to control, 126 volume addition to staircase, 150

W Wacom graphics tablet, 14 Walk-­Through tools Look Around, 226 Position Camera, 225–226 Walk, 226–227 Walk tool, 226–227 wall art, 187–188 walls interior, tracing, 95–96 single vs. double-­sided, 109 Warehouse Furniture, 109–111 Warehouse icon, 105 Warehouse staircase changing height and width with reference line, 164 downloading and editing, 163 Flip Along, mirror with, 163–164 Scale tool, mirror with, 164 watermark function, Styles browser, 216–218 Welcome screen, 17 Weld function, 158–159 Window menu, 261

windows, adding to floor plan, 101 Windows 10, 13 Windows 11, 13 Window tab, menu bar, 20 wireframe models, 4 workspace, 18 axes, 20 bottom-­left screen icons, 21 circled question mark, 21 Figure, 21 Getting Started toolbar, 20 global axes, 20 Instructor box, 21 Measurements Box, 21–22 Menu bar, 19–20 modeling window, 21 panel trays, 22 Pin, 21 scale figure, 21

Y yellow warning triangle, 254

Z z-­fighting, 102 Zoom Extents, 34, 222 Zoom tool, 33–35

Index

283

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