suasive_sketchup

In this lesson you will accomplish five things:

Part 1: Install and setup your free version of Google SketchUp
Part 2: Get your reference materials
Part 3: Get a brief introduction to Sketchup
Part 4: Build Your first model
Part 5: Play around a bit

I will get you set-up, introduce some basic concepts, and help you try out SketchUp for the first time. Don't get to focused on doing everything right (well, you should try to install it properly at least tho), just try your best, I will come back and expand on the concepts and modeling in later tutorials and videos. This lesson takes about 2-3 hours.

Part 1 : Install and setup Google Sketchup

Ok , first you need to get the software (its free).

Download Google SketchUp 7 (should open in a new window)

Go to the above link and select download Google Sketchup 7 (not the pro version). Follow the provided instructions and install Sketchup on your computer.

Now lets open up sketchup and make sure its set up.

Open sketchup. A splash screen will come up and it will prompt you to pick a template, pick the one that best meets what you do and the units you use. Then click on the "start sketchup" button. Hurray you now have sketchup working on your computer!

One more crucial thing: at the top of the window there are a variety of menu items. Click on View > Toolbars > Large Toolset to check it off. A new expanded toolset should appear to the left of the screen. You will need these later. Ok, you are all set. Close SketchUp and lets start learning.

Part 2 : Get your reference materials

Ok you are going to want to have some key reference materials you can refer to as you work through sketchup.

Download Quick Reference Card (should open in a new window)

Download Sketchup Manual (should open in a new window)

Click the above links, and choose the appropriate versions for your computer and open and save these files in a safe place so you can refer to them as needed. Print the Quick reference card and keep it in front of you as you work through the rest of the course. Do not print the manual unless you want to print over 800 pages, but it is useful to have on your computer as it covers virtually every aspect of the program.


Part 3 : Introduction to Sketchup

Watch the following three videos produced by google. This is just an introduction on how SketchUp works, it’s not important to take notes, just watch the videos, listen what they have to say, try to absorb as much as you can, but we will come back to key concepts as you work through the excercises.

Part 3.1 - Concepts

A great starter video for anyone trying Google SketchUp.



Part 3.2 - Drawing Shapes

This video covers some of the best practices for drawing shapes in Google SketchUp.



Part 3.3 - Modify Tools

Covers some of the abilities of the push/ pull tool.



Part 4 Build your first model.

Ok, you remember all that?! Don’t worry we will come back to these concepts as we go along. But let’s get you started on your first model.

Dowload Introduction to SketchUp Tutorial. (should open in a new window)

Click the above link, download the tutorial using the "download model" button and choose sketchup 6 version, open the tutorial in sketchup and follow the tutorial's on screen instructions. Some warnings about these being for sketchup 6 or read-only may pop up, but just ignore those.

Part 5 Play around a bit.


Create a Chair

This video will show you how to create a simple chair in Google SketchUp two different ways, and then show a 3rd more advanced method to introduce some new tools. Open sketchup and try to to follow along, pausing as necessary. Don't get too hung up here, we will go into more detail on the concepts introduced in later tutorials and videos. Just try your best, and if its too difficult, you can come back to this later in the course (not everyone will be able to do this yet).



Wow your first day and you already built something in Sketchup. Pretty easy huh? Well why not take the rest of your time today to play around a bit and see what you can make.

Got a question (although you may want to hold off a bit as we will get into greater detail later in the course)? Ask us. Have comments? Post them or tell us. As always, I’m here to help.

Best regards,
Christopher Glebe, www.suasivevisual.com

Videos and tutorials produced by Google for Sketchup. For more information go to Google Sketchup.