Using the Component Sampler
SketchUp also has a “Sampler” of prebuilt components available for you to use. Here’s how it works:1. Start SketchUp. For this task, we’ll work with the Engineering–Feet template we’ve used in the previous tasks.
2. Click the Start Using SketchUp button.
3. Select the Window menu’s Components item. This will open the Components dialog box.
By default, you should see the Component Sampler. Click it to open it, as shown in Figure 6.14. (If you don’t see the Components Sampler, click the down arrow next to the house icon to select it.)
FIGURE 6.14 The Component dialog showing the Component Sampler.
4. Scroll up and down the Component Sampler to get an idea of what’s available.
5. To insert an instance of a component into your model, click that component. Doing so makes the component instance appear at the location of the mouse cursor.
6. To place the component instance in your model, move the mouse to the location at which you want the component to appear, and click it. The component becomes anchored to the location of the mouse click.
Using the 3D Warehouse
SketchUp also has available a “warehouse” of components that you can use and download.Let’s assume you want to draw a couch. Here’s how it works:
1. Click the Start Using SketchUp button.
2. Select the Window menu’s Components item. This opens the Components dialog box. By default, you should see the Component Sampler.
3. Click the down arrow next to the house button. This will display a drop-down menu of component collections.
The choices for the Component collections are
- Architecture
- Landscape
- Construction
- People
- Playground
- Transportation
For this task, we’ll choose the Architecture collections.
4. Select the Architecture menu item. This will display a dialog box, as you see in Figure 6.15, of component collections available in Google’s 3D Warehouse.
5. Select the Furniture item. This displays the items in the Furniture collection of Google’s 3D warehouse, as shown in Figure 6.16.
FIGURE 6.15 The Architecture component collections.
FIGURE 6.16 The Furniture component collections.
6. Click the Seating item. This downloads the Seating collection from the 3D warehouse, as shown in Figure 6.17.
FIGURE 6.17 The Seating component collections.
7. Click the Couch Rounded item. Doing so makes the component instance appear at the location of the mouse cursor.
8. To place the component instance in your model, move the mouse to the location at which you want the component to appear, and click it. The component becomes anchored to the location of the mouse click, as shown in Figure 6.18.
There are dozens of components ready for you to download and use from the 3D warehouse—give it a try.
FIGURE 6.18 A new couch.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
