When you’re trying to draw a line or move something, it’s sometimes hard to get it to move in the direction you want. Or press /10 to create 10 copies in between the original copy. Press 10* ENTER to make ten copies spaced apart the same distance as the original copy.

Move it a specified distance from the original by typing that distance on your keyboard and pressing enter.įor multiple copies, equally spaced apart, tell Sketchup how many copies you want. This tells Sketchup you want to make a copy. Then, tap the CTRL button on your keyboard. (Make sure it’s in a group, see # 2).Then, with the Move Tool, click once to start the move. Although you can do that in Sketchup, that’s not the best way to move or copy something.įirst, select the object you wish to copy. Most people are used to the idea of using copy/paste, or CTRL + C and CTRL + V for the same effect. If you make changes to one instance of a component, all the other instances of that component change as well. Components allow you to create identical copies of something. To create a group, select multiple entities, right click, and select “Make Group.” To make a component, select “Make Component” instead.

Using the Outliner Window, you get an organized hierarchy of your model geometry, allowing you to stay organized while you’re modeling. You can also create groups within groups. It allows you to manipulate and move a collection of geometry, rather than having to select each piece individually. Groups isolate parts of your geometry, and protect them from one another. Start using groups and components as soon as possible.

This is my Number 1 recommendation to anyone using Sketchup. If not, you should still be using groups and components! I can’t stress this enough. Use Groups and Componentsĭo you want your model to be organized? Do you want the ability to hide different “parts” of your model so you can work on other things that may be hidden behind something? Do you want to retain the ability to make changes to parts of your model without screwing up the rest of it? If you answered yes to all of these, you should be using groups and components. This means you could be in the middle of drawing a rectangle, hold the middle mouse button to orbit around for a better perspective, then finish the rectangle once you’re done orbiting. The best part is that the middle mouse button only temporarily activates the orbit tool. This will this save you a ton of time by not having to go back and forth activating the orbit tool by clicking the toolbar. The middle scroll wheel on your mouse is actually a button too! If you click it and hold it down, Sketchup will temporarily activate the orbit tool. Although, John Bacus blew my mind at MakerFaire 2012 where I witnessed him navigating flawlessly in Sketchup using his MacBook trackpad. You need to use a 3 button mouse to navigate in Sketchup. Use a 3-Button Mouse To Navigateĭon’t even think about clicking on the orbit or zoom button on the toolbar. If you practice all of these tricks, you will prevent a lot of frustration and anguish. In this post, I wanted to give you my list of the things that EVERY Sketchup modeler should know and use. But eventually, I learned a couple things that I wish someone had told me when I had first started with Sketchup. If I ever needed to make any changes, the whole model would get screwed up. I just drew everything “out in the wild” and everything stuck to each other. For the longest time, I didn’t know about groups or components. We learn bad habits, or we spend so much time doing things that are actually really simple once you know a few tips. They quickly become frustrated when things don’t act the way we expect them to in Sketchup. But I’ve discovered that there are a lot of people out there who start out with Sketchup, but never take the next step and learn a few tricks that keep them on the right track. To be able to jump right into a program like this and actually be successful at creating something is an incredible accomplishment for the developers who create and maintain Sketchup. Woo hoo! You then click on the button with the red arrow on it (push/pull) and extrude your first 3D shape in Sketchup… Hmmm, this rectangle looking thing must create a rectangle… Clicking on the screen, you quickly discover how to draw something. We just choose a tool by looking at the icon and guessing at what it actually does. So easy, in fact, that a lot of people (including myself) jump right in without reading any sort of manual or help file and try to start modeling. Most people know that Sketchup has the reputation of being the easiest way to learn 3D modeling. Are you a Sketchup noob, looking to jump right in and start creating amazing 3D models? Before you skim over the help menu or spend hours watching video tutorials, learn these few tips and you’ll be modeling in no time.

Google sketchup pro series