Introduction to Google Sketchup

There are many tutorials for learning Google’s SketchUp software on the web, including a large collection of videos on YouTube.

On this page you’ll find links to some of the best introductory training, many of which were used as the core activities during our workshop, along with other resources for continuing your learning about SketchUp.

Overview

What is SketchUp and why is it part of Google? At it’s core, SketchUp is very powerful 3-D modeling software of the type used by architects and drafters. They bought the company that originally created it in 1999 and soon released a free version along side of the $500 Pro version.

SketchUp may seem like a strange match for Google but the reasoning becomes clear when you realize they are in the process of building a 3D world to go with their 2D maps. Making available a free, easy to use modeling program means they’ll have plenty of amateur designers, like you, willing to contribute.

What can you do with the free version of Sketchup?

• Easily create a 3D drawing that approximate real life objects.

• Use aerial photographs from Google Earth, a photograph of the object, or file from other CAD programs.

• Make models that are almost as detailed as you have time to make them.

• Share models through Google’s 3D warehouse, export images in many different formats, or export movies of your work.

What can’t you do with the free version of Sketchup (but can with Pro)?

• Create photorealistic renderings.

• Animate objects or insert creations into other animation programs.

• Include the large amount of metadata that can be used by professional-level modeling programs

Technical requirements – According to Google, the recommended computer requirements are a 2+ ghz processor, 2 gb of RAM, 500 mb drive space, and most importantly a 3D-class video card with 512 mb memory.

That’s recommended. The minimal specs are much lower but using a machine with less than the recommended could be very frustrating.

The Basics

One of the best activities to get you started, and the one we did in the workshop, comes from Google itself in this video. In it you will learn the basic drawing and navigation tools, become comfortable with the SketchUp environment.

Watch this VIDEO.

Another good introductory activity is this series of three videos which were recorded to accompany the book Google SketchUp for Dummies by Aidan Chopra (the book is not required to complete the activities). The first offers some good practice with the basic drawing and navigation tools.

Watch this VIDEO.

After creating the doghouse, this video covers the basics of the materials pallet to add some paint and textures.

Watch this VIDEO.

Finally, this one covers the tools for adding shadows to our drawing.

Watch this VIDEO.

Rummaging Through The Warehouse

Now that you’ve had the chance to build a sketch of your own, let’s get some inspiration.

Google’s 3D Warehouse is a site where anyone can upload a sketch they’ve created in SketchUp and share it with the world. Some of these have also been included in the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth.

While you may not be ready to contribute to the collection, exploring the work of others in the Warehouse will give you a good idea of just what’s possible with this software (and the Pro version) along with a little inspiration.

In addition to visiting the Warehouse in your normal browser, you can also go directly from Sketchup. Open the program and from the File menu pull down to 3D Warehouse and choose Get Models…This will open Sketchup’s own browser.

Click on the arrow next to for Browse the 3D Warehouse and choose 3D building collections. In the next window, look through the pages to find a collection that fits your interests.

You can also search for models from any of the windows. Try looking for the Roman Colosseum.

In the search box, enter Flavian Amphitheater, which just happens to be the name of the iconic colosseum in Rome. You could also search for colosseum and then browse through the many results to find the one we want.

Click Download Model and choose Load into Model? from the next window.

Play around with that model and see what you can do with the sketch. Click on any of the edges with the selection tool to see all the pieces of the sketch.

Zoom in on one of the windows in front of the building and then use the Orbit tool to rotate around it to get some idea of how it was constructed.

You’re likely to find a model for almost any well known (and some not so well known) structures in the Warehouse. So, let’s use the search tools to find something specific.

• Skip over the search box and click on Advanced Search.

• In the Find items with all of these words in the title box enter Sturbridge.

• In the Item type section, change the Find items that are models with this complexitypopup to Simple.

• Use the find models with this file type popup to select SketchUp (.skp).

• Check the box next to Show only downloadable models.

• Click the Search 3D Warehouse button in the top right corner.

The search results page shows a collection created by the same person of buildings in an historic town in Massachusetts called Old Sturbridge Village.

In the search results choose the Village Printing Office, which at the time this was written was the third choice in the third column.

Download the model and open it in Sketchup. This one is much less complex than the Trevi fountain so it should be easier to see how the model was constructed.

In both the Sturbridge page and the Trevi page, you may have noticed the little Google Earth ribbon . That means this particular model can be seen in the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth.

To find many more of them, do some exploring in the recently opened Google Earth 3D Gallery. Here you’ll find tours that will take you to a variety of collections of 3D structures, many of which you can click on and download to study in SketchUp.

Building Your Dream House From The Ground Up

While starting with a rectangular solid is one way to build your dream house, we can also use SketchUp to create the floor plan and expand from there.

This VIDEO will get you started with this technique.

And then follow with this VIDEO that explains the offset tool.

Continue with the remaining videos in THIS COLLECTION to see how to finish your model.

Constructing More Than Buildings

While most objects modeled using SketchUp are structures, the program can also be used to create objects of many kinds.

This TUTORIAL for creating a chair will give you a good introduction to the concept.

Modeling For Google Earth

If you’re planning to model a building that already exists, chances are Google Earth already has a view of it and you can use that as your starting point.

This VIDEO will give you the basics of how to take that view and create a model that can be placed in Earth.

Google SketchUp Resources

SketchUp Help Center – Google’s official support center for SketchUp and SketchUp Pro.

Google SketchUp for Educators – A central hub with tutorials, discussion boards, lesson plan collections, and more for teachers who want to use SketchUp in their classrooms.

Google Geo Education – The center for tutorials and instructional materials for teachers who want to use Maps, Earth, Sky and Sketchup in the classroom.

Sketchup Gallery – A variety of examples of models designed with Sketchup.

3D Gallery in Google Earth – A collection of kmz files with tours to various places having interesting 3D buildings.

SketchUp Channel on YouTube – A collection of more than 80 videos showing how to use SketchUp, some of which only apply to using Pro.

SketchUp Pro for Educators – Educators can apply for a free Pro license which is good for the academic year and must be renewed each year.

SketchUcation – An independent site featuring tutorials and other information about Sketchup.

SUWiki – Another independent SketchUp site.