Chapter 1. Introducing Google SketchUp

It would be interesting to determine the number of great ideas that started out as rough sketches on a restaurant napkin. If you've ever had a brilliant idea, you know that they don't always come at the most convenient times. When ideas come, you really need to quickly jot them down and sketch them out or you'll likely forget them before they can be captured.

Once an idea is captured on a napkin, a scrap of paper, or scratched into the nightstand, the next step is to flesh out the idea into something more substantial. That is where SketchUp comes in. SketchUp is a program that enables anyone, regardless of his or her drawing ability, to quickly and easily create a realistic 3-D drawing. Finally, you can throw away that folder full of napkins and paper scraps that is cluttering your desk.

Designing with SketchUp

SketchUp is quite unique compared to other graphics packages. It works similarly to sketching your ideas on a simple piece of paper, which makes it accessible to all users. I have sketched on my share of paper scraps, but it is easier to keep them organized in SketchUp than littering my study. My wife has learned not to throw out any papers that have odd scribbles on them no matter how strange, but I still end up losing the most important scraps unless I get them into my computer.

Because SketchUp is easy to use, you won't be spending all of ...

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