Google SketchUp® 7 For Dummies®

Chapter 4. Building Buildings

In This Chapter

• Drafting a simple floorplan

• Going from a 2D plan to a 3D model

• Inserting doors and windows

• Modeling stairs

• Adding a roof

Even though SketchUp lets you make (just about) anything you can think of, certain forms are easier to make than others. Fortunately, these kinds of shapes are exactly the ones that most people want to make with SketchUp, most of the time. That's no accident; SketchUp was designed with architecture in mind, so the whole paradigm — the fact that SketchUp models are made of faces and edges, and the kinds of tools it offers — is perfect for making things like buildings.

But what about curvy, swoopy buildings? You can use SketchUp to make those, too, but they're a little harder, so I don't think they're a good place to start. Because most of us live in boxy places with right-angled rooms and flat ceilings, that kind of architecture is relatively easy to understand.

In this chapter I introduce you to some of the fundamentals of SketchUp modeling in terms of making simple, rectilinear buildings. By writing about how to build certain kinds of things, instead of just describing what the individual tools do, I hope to make it easier for you to get started. Even if you're not planning to use SketchUp to model any of the things I describe, you should still be able to apply these concepts to your own creations.

Tip

One more thing: Just about every page in this chapter relies heavily on the stuff I introduce in Chapter 2. Working with the ...