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Wiley Google SketchUp 8 For Dummies

1. painted with photo graphs of the building itself are welcome on Google Earth s default 3D Buildings layer If you like you can submit your work for con sideration if it s accepted it goes live in a place where millions of people can see it Is this model a toaster or a bungalow SketchUp models are made from two basic kinds of geometry edges which are straight lines and faces which are 2D surfaces bound by edges That s it When you use SketchUp to draw a bunch of edges and faces in the shape of a staircase all SketchUp knows is how many edges and faces it has to keep track of and where they all go There s no such thing as a stairin SketchUp just edges and faces That said the previous version of SketchUp introduced an exciting new development Dynamic Components are pre programmed objects that know what they are A dynamic staircase for example is smart enough to know that it should add or subtract steps when you make it bigger or smaller Dynamic Components are a big step for SketchUp all of a sudden there s a class of stuff in the program that has what software types would call intelligence What s that mean for you For starters SketchUp is easier to pick up than it s ever been go on and on about Dynamic Components in Chapter 5 With the exception of Dynamic Components though things in SketchUp don t have any idea what they re supposed to represent Coming to this realization has th
2. Google s World A long time ago somebody invented photography hey this isn t a history book and suddenly people could make pictures of things that didn t involve drawing engraving or painting Nowadays you can t throw a rock without hitting a photograph of something Everything it seems can take pictures including people s phones Photography is the main way that visual informa tion is communicated But what comes after photography Google and just about every science fiction writer who ever lived thinks it s 3D and here s why You live in 3D The furniture you buy or build is 3D and so is the route you take to work Because so many of the decisions you need to make buying a couch find ing your way involve 3D information wouldn t it be nice to experience that information in 3D Software like SketchUp lets you see 3D information on a 2D screen which is good but affordable 3D printers and holography yep holograms are just over the horizon All that s left is to build a model of every single thing in the world and guess who s going to do it Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp 13 You By making SketchUp free for everyone Google is leading the 3D charge Rather than relying on a small number of 3D nerds to get around to modeling everything in the universe Google made SketchUp available to anyone who wants to participate Sometimes the best way to solve a hard problem like modeling million
3. a doubt easier than any other modeling program I ve tried but 3D modeling itself can be tricky Some people catch on right away and some folks take longer But I can say this for sure If you want to build 3D models and you have an afternoon to spare there s no better place to start than SketchUp and this book of course Chapter 3 walks you through the basics to help you start modeling in SketchUp quickly 14 Part I Getting Started with SketchUp FCS Figure 1 1 SketchUp models are hollow A amp 1 SketchUp is a surfaces modeler Everything in SketchUp is basically Understanding the difference between paper and clay Three dimensional modeling software comes in two basic flavors solids and surfaces Figure 1 1 and the following points illustrate the difference Surface models are hollow Solid models are solid made up of thin infinitely thin actually surfaces dubbed faces Even things that look thick like cinder block walls are actually hollow shells Making models in SketchUp is a lot like building things out of paper really really thin paper Surface modelers like SketchUp are great for making models quickly because all you really need to worry about is modeling what things look like That s not to say that they re less capable it s just that they re pri marily intended for visualization YY Using a solids modeler is more like working with clay When you cut a solid model in half
4. commands and options to open These are always relevant to whatever you happen to right click and whatever you re doing at the time so the contents of each context menu are different Although the following items aren t part of the SketchUp user interface like all the stuff in the preceding list they re a critical part of modeling in SketchUp A mouse with a scroll wheel You usually find a left button the one you use all the time a right button the one that opens the context menus and a center scroll wheel that you both roll back and forth and click down like a button You should get one if you don t already have one it ll improve your SketchUp experience more than any single other thing you can buy 1 A keyboard This sounds silly but some people have tried to use SketchUp without one it s just not possible So many of the things you need to do all the time such as make copies involve your keyboard so you d better have one handy if you plan to use SketchUp Hanging out at the menu bar SketchUp s menus are a pretty straightforward affair you won t find anything surprising like Launch Rocket in any of them unfortunately All the same here are the menus 1 File Includes options for creating opening and saving SketchUp files The File menu is also where to go if you want to import or export a file or make a printout of your model view 1 Edit Has all the commands that affect the bits of
5. is about putting SketchUp in context why Google offers it for free how it compares to other 3D software and what you can and can t do with it In the last part of the chapter I give a quick tour of the program just to let you know where things are 2 Part I Getting Started with SketchUp Things Vou Ought to Know Right Away Before I continue here s some information you may need You get SketchUp by downloading it from the Internet Just type http sketchup google com into your Web browser and read through the first page of the Google SketchUp Web site Click the links to download the application to your computer and then follow the installa tion instructions on the Web 1 SketchUp works in Windows and Mac OS X Google SketchUp is avail able for both operating systems and it looks and works about the same way on both 1 A Pro version is available Google offers a Pro version of SketchUp Google SketchUp Pro that you can buy if you need it The Pro version includes a few terrific features that folks like architects production designers and other design professionals need for exchanging files with other software SketchUp Pro also includes a whole separate application dubbed LayOut for creating presentation documents with your SketchUp models it s the subject of Chapters 14 and 15 If you think you may need Pro you can download a free trial version at http sketchup google com Where SketchUp Fits in
6. of a frame into a 3D world inside your computer What you see in your mod eling window is always a 3D view of your model even if you happen to be looking at it from the top or side 1 Menu bar For anyone who has used a computer in the last 30 years the menu bar is nothing new Each menu contains a long list of options commands tools settings and other goodies that pertain to just about everything you do in SketchUp Toolbars These contain buttons that you can click to activate tools and commands they re faster than using the menu bar SketchUp has a few toolbars but only one is visible when you launch it the first time the Getting Started toolbar Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp ar If your modeling window is too narrow to show all the tools on the Getting Started toolbar you can click the arrow on the right to see the rest of them Dialog boxes Some programs call them palettes and some call them inspectors SketchUp doesn t call them anything Its documentation the SketchUp Help document you can get to in the Help menu refers to some of them as managers and some as dialog boxes but I thought I d keep things simple and just call them all the same thing dialog boxes Status bar You can consider this your SketchUp dashboard I suppose The status bar contains contextual information you use while you model Y Context menus Right clicking things in your modeling window usually causes a context menu of
7. specific instructions Most of the time you check here to see what options may be available for whatever you re doing Modifier keys keyboard strokes that you use in combination with certain tools to per form additional functions step by step instructions and general infor mation about what you re doing all show up in one place right here 1 The Measurements box The Measurements box is where numbers show up to put it as simply as I can Chapter 2 goes into more detail but the basic purpose of the Measurements box is to enable you to be precise while you model ay 1 Status indicator icons These three little icons appear in the lower left corner of your screen They change to tell you things about your model and you can click them to find out what they do The most important one to note this early on in your SketchUp tutelage is the one that looks like a question mark When you click this icon it opens the Instructor dialog box which contains information about the tool you re currently using Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp 2 lt P Where are all the tools The Getting Started toolbar contains a small the Large Tool Set to begin with and then subset of the tools that you can use in SketchUp adding toolbars as you need them and as The thinking which agree with incidentally you figure out what they do is that seeing all the tools right away tends to overwhelm new users so having a limited sele
8. you create new surfaces where you cut that s because objects are well solid Programs like SolidWorks form Z and Autodesk Inventor create solid models People who make parts like mechanical engineers and industrial designers tend to work with solid models because they can use them to do some pretty precise calculations Being able to calculate the volume of an object means that you can figure how much it will weigh for example Also special machines can produce real life prototypes directly from a solid model file These prototypes are handy for seeing how lots of little things are going to fit together An important point to reinforce here is that there s no best type of model ing software It all depends on three things how you like to work what you re modeling and what you plan to do with your model when it s done Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp 15 Despite what I just said about SketchUp being only a surfaces modeler one of the niftiest new features in SketchUp Pro 8 the non free version of the software is a set of tools that lets you manipulate special solid objects in your models The Solid Tools feature offers a whole new way to work in SketchUp you can read all about it in Chapter 6 Yet another caveat When I said a few paragraphs ago that 3D modeling programs come in two basic flavors I sort of lied The truth is you can split them into two groups another way by the kind of math th
9. your model that are selected 1 View This one s a little tricky You d think it d contain all the options for flying around in 3D space but it doesn t that stuff s on the Camera menu Instead the View menu includes all the controls you use to affect 19 20 Part I Getting Started with SketchUp the appearance of your model itself what s visible how faces look and so on View also contains settings for turning on and off certain elements of SketchUp s user interface vy Camera Contains controls for viewing your model from different angles In SketchUp your camera is your point of view literally Draw Includes tools for drawing edges and faces in your modeling window Tools Most of SketchUp s tools are contained here except of course for the ones you use for drawing YY Window If you re ever wondering where to find a dialog box you want to use this is the place to look they re all right here 1 Plugins You can get extra tools for SketchUp little programs that plug in to it and add functionality Some of them show up here after they re installed Chapter 17 introduces a few of my favorites 1 Help When you re stuck and this book isn t helping heaven forbid check out the Help menu it s the gateway to SketchUp salvation Checking the status bar The narrow strip of information below the modeling window is packed with information goodness YY Context
10. Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp In This Chapter Finding out why it s free from Google Comparing SketchUp with other 3D software Finding out what you can and can t do with SketchUp Looking around the application O upon a time software for building three dimensional 3D models of thing like buildings cars and other stuff was hard to use I mean really hard people went to school for years to learn it And if that wasn t bad enough 3D modeling software was expensive so expensive that the only people who used it were professionals and software pirates people who stole it basically Then along came SketchUp Operating under the assumption that lots of people may want and need to make 3D models the folks who invented SketchUp decided to design a program that worked more intuitively Instead of making you think about 3D models as complex mathematical constructs the way computers think they created an interface that lets you build models using elements yov re already familiar with lines and shapes So do you need to know how to draw to use SketchUp In the latest version of the software not really Traditional drawing is about translating what you see onto a flat piece of paper going from 3D to 2D which is hard to do for most people In SketchUp you re always in 3D so no translation is involved you just build and SketchUp takes care of stuff like perspective and shading for you This first chapter
11. ction helps people 1 Mac Choose View Tool Palettes Large Tool Set To add even more tools right click the Getting Started toolbar the one right To get access to more tools through toolbars above your modeling window and choose anyway you can always access everything Customize Toolbar Now drag whatever through the menus you do different things tools you want onto your toolbar and click depending on which operating system you use the Done button Windows Choose View Toolbars The mother lode recommend starting off with Taking a peek at the dialog boxes Most graphics programs have a ton of little controller boxes that float around your screen and SketchUp is no exception After the dialog boxes are open you can dock them together by moving them close to each other but most people I know end up with them all over the place me included Dialog boxes in SketchUp contain controls for all kinds of things here are the ones that I think deserve special attention 1 Preferences While the Model Info dialog box see the next point contains settings for the SketchUp file you have open right now the Preferences dialog box has controls for how SketchUp behaves no matter what file you have open Pay particular attention to the Shortcuts panel where you can set up keyboard shortcuts for any tool or com mand in the program On the Mac the Preferences dialog box is on the SketchUp menu which doesn
12. e tendency to freak out some people If you want a model of something you have to make it out of edges and faces The thing to remember is that SketchUp was cre ated to let you model anything not just build ings so its tools are designed to manipulate geometry That s good news believe it or not because you re not restricted in any way you can model anything you can imagine Chapter 1 Meeting Google SketchUp 17 What can t SketchUp do A few things actually but that s okay SketchUp was designed from the outset to be the friendliest fastest and most useful modeler available and that s it really Fantastic programs are available that do the things in the following list and SketchUp can exchange files with most of them Photorealistic rendering Most 3D modelers have their own built in photo renderers but creating model views that look like photographs is a pretty specialized undertaking SketchUp has always focused on non photorealistic rendering NPR instead NPR as it s known is essentially technology that makes things look hand drawn sort of the opposite of photorealism If you want to make realistic views of your models talk about renderers that work great with SketchUp in Chapter 17 Animation A few paragraphs ago I mention that SketchUp can export animations but that s a different thing The movies that you can make with SketchUp involve moving your camera around your model Tr
13. ey use to pro duce 3D models You can find polygonal modelers of which SketchUp is an example and curves based modelers The former type uses straight lines and flat surfaces to define everything even things that look curvy aren t The latter kind of modeler uses true curves to define lines and surfaces These yield organic flowing forms that are much more realistic than those produced by polygonal modelers but that put a lot more strain on the computers that have to run them and the people who have to figure out how to use them Ultimately it s a trade off between simplicity and realism What Vou Should And Shouldn t Expect SketchUp to Do Have you ever been to a hardware store and noticed the multitool gizmos on the racks next to the checkout stands I once saw one that was a combina tion screwdriver pliers saw tape measure and I swear hammer I some times wonder whether the hardware store people put them there as a joke just to make you feel better about standing in line I generally don t like tools that claim to do everything I much prefer specialists tools that are designed for doing one thing really well In the case of SketchUp that one thing is building 3D models Here s a list of things all model building related that you can do with SketchUp Start a model in lots of ways With SketchUp you can begin a model in whatever way makes sense for what you re building e From scratch When you fi
14. rst launch SketchUp you see nothing except a little person standing in the middle of your screen If you want you can even delete him leaving you a completely blank slate on which to model anything you want e From a photograph The second part of Chapter 8 talks all about how you can use SketchUp to build a model based on a photo of the thing you want to build it s not really a beginner level feature but it s there 16 Part I Getting Started with SketchUp e With another computer file SketchUp can import images that you can use as a Starting point for what you want to make SketchUp Pro can even import CAD computer aided drawing files that give you even more of a head start Rk e From a geo location snapshot If you ve ever used Google Earth you D know that Google has amazing aerial imagery and 3D terrain data 2 for the whole world In SketchUp 8 it s easy to grab a geo location Y snapshot a small chunk of the planet basically to use as a site for your model read all about it in Chapter 11 e From Building Maker Google has an easy as pie super specialized tool for modeling real world structures Building Maker You can start a model in Building Maker and modify it in SketchUp 8 If you re modeling existing buildings this is a great way to save time read more in Chapter 11 YY Work loose or work tight One of my favorite things about SketchUp is that you can model without worrying about exactly how big
15. s of buildings and other objects is to get lots and lots of people working on it Comparing SketchUp to Other 3D Modeling Programs If you re reading this book I presume you re at least interested in two things building 3D models and using SketchUp to do so The following sections tell you something about how SketchUp compares to other 3D modeling programs how long it takes to figure out how to use it and what kind of models it produces Jumping right in When it comes to widely available 3D modeling software it really doesn t get any easier than SketchUp This software has been successful for one reason People can get good enough at SketchUp to build something within a couple hours of launching it for the first time You have no thick manuals to read and no special geometric concepts to understand Modeling in SketchUp is about grabbing your mouse and making something So how long should it take you to discover how SketchUp works That depends on your background and experience but in general you can expect to make something recognizable in less than four hours That s not to say you ll be a whiz it just means that SketchUp s learning curve is extremely favorable You don t need to know much to get started and you ll still pick up things years from now In fact I ve discovered a couple things just writing this book But is SketchUp easy Lots of people say so but I think it s all relative SketchUp is without
16. something is You can make models that are super sketchy but if you want you can also make models that are absolutely precise SketchUp is just like paper in that way the amount of detail you add is entirely up to you Build something real or make something up What you build with SketchUp really isn t the issue You work only with lines and shapes or in SketchUp edges and faces so how you arrange them is your busi ness SketchUp isn t intended for making buildings any more than it is for creating other things It s just a tool for drawing in three dimensions 1 Share your models After you make something you want to show off you can do a number of things which you can discover in detail in Part IV e Print Yep you can print from SketchUp e Export images If you want to generate an image file of a particular view you can export one in any of several popular formats e Export movies Animations are a great way to present three dimen sional information and SketchUp can create them easily e Export other 3D model formats With the Pro version of SketchUp you can share your model with other pieces of software to create CAD drawings generate photorealistic renderings and more e Upload to the 3D Warehouse This is a giant online repository of SketchUp models Add or take all the models you want e Contribute to Google Earth Models you make of actual buildings that are efficient accurate and photo textured
17. t exist in the Windows version of SketchUp p Some changes to the Preference settings don t take effect until you open another file or restart SketchUp altogether so don t worry if you can t see a difference right away 22 Part Getting Started with SketchUp Y Model Info This dialog box is to quote the bard the mother of all dialog boxes It has controls for everything under the sun you should definitely open it and take your time going through it Chances are the next time you can t find the setting you re looking for it s in Model Info Y Entity Info This little guy is small but it shows information about entities edges faces groups components and lots of other things in your model Keeping it open is a good idea because it helps you see what you ve selected 1 Instructor The Instructor does only one thing It shows you how to use whatever tool happens to be activated While you re discovering SketchUp keep the Instructor dialog box open off to the side You can also open it at any time by clicking the little icon in the status bar at the bottom of your screen
18. ue animation software lets you move things around inside your model SketchUp doesn t do that but the Pro version lets you export toa number of different programs that do 18 Part I Getting Started with SketchUp Taking the Ten Minute SketchUp Tour The point of this portion of the chapter is to show you where everything is kind of like the way a parent shows a new babysitter around the house before leaving for a couple hours Here I don t explain what anything does per se I just want you to feel like you know where to start looking when you find your self hunting around for something Just like most programs you already use SketchUp has five main parts Figure 1 2 shows them all in both the Windows and Mac versions of the pro gram I describe these parts plus an additional feature in the following list Getting Started toolbar Modeling window Dialog box Menu bar 7a wes ma G shwcvep Hie a ven Grav Comers feck Wes Pager ike Sh wi sites wel amp tas Fe Ts enn ME oe See To t wan be eit ache he 4BOO SPLSLKOF SARA POEL S CF MAL ZB SC OB SBOE SD ee we as ee mea Figure 1 2 All SketchUp s parts in i Windows A left and on the Mac Status bar 1 Modeling window See the big area in the middle of your computer screen That s your modeling window and it s where you spend 99 per cent of your time in SketchUp You build your model there it s sort

Wiley Google SketchUp 8 For Dummies

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