Drawing Arcs
Drawing arcs is a three-step process in SketchUp—you click at one anchor point, click at another, and then pull the arc (SketchUp will bend it as you pull) into place.TIP: An Arc Actually Has 12 Sides
Just as circles are made up, by default, of 24 sides in SketchUp (see Lesson 2, “Up and Running with SketchUp”), arcs are made up of 12 segments. If you’re drawing a large arc, those sides, which are really line segments, might be visible. To fix that, you can set the number of sides in an arc. We’ll see how in the task “Setting the Number of Arc Segments,” a bit later.
Let’s take a look at how to create arcs now.
1. Click the Start Using SketchUp button and click the human figure that appears in the Engineering–Feet template to select it; press the Del key to delete it.
2. Click the Arc tool in the toolbar (shown in Figure 4.1).
FIGURE 4.1 The Arc tool and a new arc.
3. Move the mouse to the start point of the new arc you’re about to draw and click the mouse. When you do, you anchor an end point of the arc you’re drawing at that location.
4. Move the mouse to the end point of the new arc you’re drawing and click the mouse. When you do, a line appears from the first anchor point to the current location of the mouse.
5. Slide the mouse along the line between the two end points, and move the mouse to “pull” the line out into an arc. When you do, an arc appears from the first anchor point to the current location of the mouse.
TIP: Inferring Arcs to Planes
Note that as you stretch your arc, SketchUp will infer it to different axes or underlying surfaces (that is, draw it in the plane defined by two axes or an underlying surface). Keep pulling the arc until it
snaps to the plane you want to draw it in, if that becomes an issue.
6. Click the mouse. The arc becomes permanent (unless you erase it, of course). You can see an arc in Figure 4.1.
That’s it—you’ve just drawn an arc.
TIP: Drawing Perfect Half Circles
Want to draw a perfect half circle? Just keep pulling an arc until the ToolTip at the location of the mouse reads Half Circle; then click the mouse.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
