It’s time to fire up SketchUp and create a new model. In desktop versions, click the thumbnail image for the Simple Template in the Welcome window that appears when you start SketchUp (see Figure 2-1). In the web version, click Create New, and choose the units of measurement you prefer.
FIGURE 2-1: The desktop Welcome screen (left) and the web Welcome screen (right)
So, you have SketchUp up and running, you have some idea of what it does and how it works, and you’re probably just itching to give it a try. Let’s start with an 80-storey high-rise office tower. Okay, maybe that’s a little ambitious for your first attempt. Instead, follow these steps to build a doghouse:
1 Delete the scale figure on your screen.The scale figure is there to give you an idea of your model size, but for many exercises in this book, you won’t need it. To delete the scale figure, first activate the Select tool (spacebar); then click the scale figure and tap the Delete key on your keyboard.
2 Draw a rectangle on the ground.Use the Rectangle tool (tap the R key) to draw a rectangle by doing the following:Click once to place one corner on the left side of your screen.Click again to place the opposite corner on the right side of your screen. Most of the time, you should not drag the cursor in SketchUp. Click the first point, release the mouse button, move to the next location, then click and release the mouse button. In Chapter 1 we referred to this as “Click-release, click-to-finish.”You’re in a 3D perspective, or view of the world, so your rectangle looks more like a diamond; 90-degree angles don’t look like 90-degree angles in perspective. Figure 2-5 shows what you should aim for in this step. Are you modeling a doghouse for a Chihuahua or a Great Dane? For a mouse or an elephant? As you move your mouse, the Dimensions box shows you the size of the rectangle. Don’t worry; we’ll cover how to model precisely before too long. It’s important to draw the right kind of rectangle for this example (or for any model you’re trying to create in perspective view), so try it a few times until it looks like the rectangle in Figure 2-2. To go back, use the Undo (Ctrl+Z) shortcut we cover in Chapter 1. You can go back as many steps as you like.FIGURE 2-2: Draw a 3D rectangle on the ground.
3 Start the Push/Pull tool, and extrude your rectangle into a box by clicking the rectangle and then clicking again somewhere above the rectangle.The Dimensions box in the lower-right corner (formerly labeled Distance) shows how far you have pulled the top of the box up. Are you making a house for a snake or a giraffe? At this point, your model should look like Figure 2-3; if it doesn’t, use Push/Pull again to make your box look about the right height. If you’re happily pushing/pulling away on your box and everything suddenly disappears, you pushed/pulled the top of your box all the way to the ground. Just press Ctrl+Z (Mac: ⌘ +Z) to undo and keep going.
4 Start the Line tool, and draw two diagonal lines for your roof, as shown in Figure 2-4.Below is a step-by-step explanation of how to draw the lines. Remember: click-release, click-to-finish. Don’t hold your mouse button down while drawing.Click the midpoint of the top of your box’s front face to start your line.You know you’re at the midpoint when you see a small, light blue dot and the word Midpoint appears. In SketchUp, these tips are called inferences. Move slowly to make sure that you see the Midpoint inference.FIGURE 2-3: Use the Push/Pull tool to extrude your rectangle into a box.Click again somewhere along the left side edge of your box's front face to end your line.Wait until you see a red On Edge inference before you click; if you don’t, your new line won’t end on the edge where it needs to be.Start a second line.Move your mouse toward the opposite edge. As you move your mouse to the right, also move it up and down a bit, and observe how sometimes it shows a dotted red line back to the left end of the previous line. You’re at the correct location when you can see a small red square and the dotted red line at the same time. This means that you have an inference to the edge, and you’re horizontal (remember, this is a perspective view) from the previous line. Click and release your left mouse button to start a new line at this point.End the second line.Move your mouse up and to the left. Click your left mouse button when you see a green Endpoint inference dot.FIGURE 2-4: Draw two diagonal lines that will become your peaked roof.
5 Push/pull the triangles away to leave a sloped roof.Use the Push/Pull tool (the same one you use in step 3) to get rid of the triangular parts of your box, leaving you with a sloped roof. Have a look at Figure 2-5 to see this in action and then follow these steps:Start the PushPull tool and then click the right triangular face to start the push/Pull operation.Move your cursor to the right to push the triangle as far as it will go (so that it's even with the end of your box).Click the triangle again to end the push/pull operation and make the triangular face disappear.Still using the Push/Pull tool, double-click the left triangular face to repeat the previous push/pull operation, making that face disappear as well. Did you notice that each tool stayed active until you started using another? After you completed the first line, the Line tool was still active, and after the first push/pull, the Push/Pull tool was still active.FIGURE 2-5: Use the Push/Pull tool to form a peaked roof on your box.
6 Draw a rectangle on your front face.Switch back to the Rectangle tool (which you used in step 2), and draw a rectangle on the front face of your pointy box. Make sure that the bottom of your rectangle is flush with the bottom of your box by watching for the red On Edge inference to appear before you click. Figure 2-6 shows what your model looks like when you’re done. Using the Rectangle tool is a two-step process: You click to place one corner and then click again to place the opposite corner. Avoid drawing lines and shapes by dragging your cursor. In SketchUp, doing so makes modeling more difficult. Practice clicking to start an operation, such as drawing a rectangle, and clicking again to stop.FIGURE 2-6: A rectangle drawn on the front of your pointy box.
7 Draw an arc on top of the rectangle you just drew.Tap the A key on your keyboard to start the 2 Point Arc tool to draw an arc on top of your rectangle, as illustrated in Figure 2-7. Follow these steps to draw an arc:Click the upper-left corner of the rectangle to place one endpoint of your arc. Make sure that you see the green Endpoint inference before you click.Click the upper-right corner of the rectangle to place the other endpoint of your arc.Move your cursor up to bow out the line you're drawing into an arc and then click when you’re happy with how the arc looks. If you want the arc ends to be tangent to the rectangle sides then watch for the “half circle” blue diamond Tangent inference.FIGURE 2-7: Draw an arc on top of your rectangle.
8 Start the Eraser tool and then click the horizontal line between the rectangle and the arc to erase that line.
9 Push/pull the doorway inward.Use the Push/Pull tool (which you’re an old hand with by now) to push in the “doorway” face you created in steps 6 through 8 just a bit. Use the Push/Pull tool by clicking a face to start, moving your cursor to
