Drawing Circles
The Circle tool does just as you’d expect; it draws circles. That is, it almost does—in fact, what it does is draw 24-sided polygons by default as circles. You can set the number of sides to anything you want, however.TIP: The Polygon Tool Versus the Circle Tool
So circles are really polygons in SketchUp, and they default to 24 sides. Interestingly, SketchUp also has a polygon tool, and it defaults to six sides. But if you set the tools to the same number of sides, they draw identical surfaces. So what’s the difference?
The difference comes when you push or pull the circle or polygon into 3D, as we’ll do soon. No matter how many sides it has, a circle will give you cylindrical sides when you pull it into 3D, whereas a polygon will retain the number of sides the face has on the part that’s cylindrical for a circle being dragged into 3D. So if you draw a vertical pillar with a top that’s a circle, the sides of the pillar will be a smooth cylinder. But if the top face of the pillar is a polygon, the sides of the pillar will have the same number of sides as the polygon. That’s the only real difference between circles and polygons (other than the default number of sides for circles is 24, and the default number of sides for polygons is 6).
Here’s how to use the Circle tool:
1. Click the Start Using SketchUp button and delete the human figure that appears within the Engineering–Feet template.
2. Click the Circle tool in the toolbar (shown in Figure 3.4).
FIGURE 3.4 Drawing a circle.
3. Move the mouse to the location of the center of the circle you want to draw and click the mouse.
4. Move the mouse to the edge of the circle. SketchUp draws the circle as you move the mouse.
5. Click the mouse. SketchUp draws the circle permanently (unless you erase it, of course).
And that’s it for drawing circles. When a circle has been drawn, it’s a surface, and SketchUp colors it in, as you can see in Figure 3.4.
TIP : Dragging Circles
Just as you can with rectangles, you can also press the mouse button at the center of a circle you want to draw, drag the mouse to the edge of the circle, and then release the mouse to draw a circle. It’s easier to click the mouse once in the center and then on the edge if you’re creating measured circles, however; see the next task.
Drawing Measured Circles
Just as you can with any other figure, you can give SketchUp a size for the circle you’re drawing, as you draw it.Here’s how to create measured circles:
1. Click the Circle tool in the toolbar.
2. Move the mouse to the location of the center of the circle you want to draw and click the mouse.
3. Move the mouse toward the edge of the new circle.
4. Enter the radius measurement of the new circle. You can enter these units:
- cm to signify centimeters
- m to signify meters
- ' for feet
- " for inches.
For example, to draw a circle with a radius of 5 meters, enter 5m.
5. Press Enter. SketchUp draws the new circle with the radius you’ve requested.
When the circle has been drawn, it’s a surface, as mentioned in the previous task, and SketchUp colors it in.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
