Book Image

Getting Started with SketchUp Pro

By : David S. Sellers
Book Image

Getting Started with SketchUp Pro

By: David S. Sellers

Overview of this book

Owing to its ability to create models quickly and with high level of dimensional accuracy, SketchUp Pro has become a popular choice for many industries, including architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and video game design. If you are seeking to adopt Trimble's exceptional design software, Getting Started with SketchUp Pro serves as an ideal primer to prepare and equip you for its use. This book will help you lay the foundation of a project from scratch, set up appropriate units, and follow a guided path to structure your 3D models. You’ll explore the workflows used for creating designs from sketches, making CAD drawings (DWG), and even updating your existing 3D models. Finally, you’ll work with extensions and 3D Warehouse to find new workflows and models to add to your skill set. By the end of this SketchUp book, you’ll be able to confidently create and share models of your design through CAD drawings and 3D views, and even take them online through the 3D Warehouse
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1 – User Interface and Beginning Modeling!
7
Part 2 – Views, Animations, and Materials
11
Part 3 – Advanced Modeling and Model Organization
12
Chapter 9: Entity Info, Outliner, and Tags Dynamically Organize Your Models
13
Chapter 10: Model Info and Preferences

Extensions

Extensions are packages of tools that can be plugged into SketchUp Pro. Extensions include tool packages for Materials, Renderings, Editing Tools, Tools for curves, splines, and complex 3D shapes, architecture, engineering, and construction objects, tools for 3D printing, and many more! SketchUp Pro was created by Trimble and is not an open source software program. However, the SketchUp team has recognized how powerful user improvements can be, so SketchUp is very supportive of allowing Extensions to be added to SketchUp Pro.

Extension Warehouse

The Extension Warehouse is similar to 3D Warehouse, but the Extension Warehouse allows you to search for Extensions and download them to the local installation of SketchUp Pro. The Extension Warehouse button can be found on the Getting Started Toolbar and Warehouse Toolbar. The Extension Warehouse button is an abstract flat X shape.

Figure 12.124 – The Extension Warehouse Button (Left) and the Warehouse...