Creating Guides at Specific Angles
You can also create guides at given angles. Take a look at the two cubes in Figure 10.13.
FIGURE 10.13 Two cubes in a drawing.
Suppose you need them to be aligned so that the back face of the right cube is at 145° with respect to the right face of the left cube, as shown in Figure 10.14. How could you move the cubes to meet this criteria? You use the Protractor tool to draw construction guides at an angle. Here’s how it works:
1. Click the Start Using SketchUp button.
FIGURE 10.14 Two cubes at a specified angle.
2. Select the Rectangle tool and draw a horizontal rectangle.
3. Select the Push/Pull tool in the toolbar and pull the rectangle up into a cube.
4. Select the Select tool in the toolbar.
5. Draw a selection rectangle around the cube.
6. Select the Edit menu’s Copy item.
7. Select the Edit menu’s Paste item.
8. Click the mouse at the location where you want a new cube to appear.
9. From the Large Tool Set select the Protractor tool (open the Large Tool Set from the View menu if necessary).
10. Click the upper-left corner of the left cube. A protractor appears at the location you’ve clicked, as shown in Figure 10.15.
FIGURE 10.15 A protractor on a cube.
11. Click the top left edge of the left cube.
12. Move the mouse in the direction you want your angle guide to appear.
13. Type in the angle at which you want the guide to appear. In this example, we’ll use 145 degrees, so type in 145.
14. Press Enter.
An angle guide snaps into position, as you can see in Figure 10.15.
15. Use the Move and Rotate tools to move the right cube into position along the guide, as shown in Figure 10.16.
FIGURE 10.16 Aligning a cube.
16. Use the Eraser tool to delete the guide. You end up with the drawing previously shown in Figure 10.14.
Now you’re able to draw construction guides not only along straight edges, but also along angles.
TIP: Drawing Roof Slopes
If you want to draw a roof slope, measured as two numbers separated by a colon, you can enter that instead of an angle in degrees. For example, you might enter 6:12 and then press the Enter key.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
