Getting Started with SketchUp
There’s a huge amount of material to cover when talking about SketchUp, so we’re going to spend this first lesson getting a short overview of what’s possible. In the book as a whole, we’re going to get a real working knowledge of SketchUp—enough to get you building and working with complex models.Let’s start by taking a look at SketchUp itself, which appears in Figure 1.1.
As you can see in Figure 1.1, Google SketchUp gives you a set of three axes, giving your drawing a 3D feel from the start. That’s appropriate because SketchUp is a 3D program; that is its main claim to fame.
It’s simple to create 3D objects in SketchUp, and you can do so in a variety of ways, as we’re going to see. The most amazing 3D models are possible in SketchUp. Take a look at Figure 1.2, for example.
You draw models like the one in the figure using tools from the toolbars. By selecting individual tools such as the Line tool, the Circle tool, the Polygon tool, and so on, you create the shapes step by step that compose your desired model.
Let’s start with an overview of SketchUp in this lesson; then we’ll install and start working with SketchUp in the next lesson.
FIGURE 1.1 Google SketchUp.
FIGURE 1.2 A 3D model.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
