Google SketchUp: The Missing Manual

Following Complex or Irregular Paths

Up to this point, all the Follow Me examples used a closed path. The paths were either rectangular or circular. In this next example, you use Follow Me on an open path that curves in two different directions.

1. Open a new document using the "Architectural Design – Feet and Inches" template.

   Hide or delete Sang, the SketchUp model.

2. With the Arc (A) tool, draw a gentle arc on the ground.

   Think serpentine wall here—something that might look stunning in an art museum's garden. It takes three clicks to create an arc. First you set the two endpoints. Then you set a point that determines the curve. As usual, the Measurements toolbar helps you be precise. After your first click sets a starting point for your arc, you can type a precise distance to the other endpoint. Press Enter (or Return) to set the point, and then you can type a measurement for the "bulge," as SketchUp calls it.

3. Click the endpoint of the arc, and draw a second arc from the end of the first.

   These two arcs form the path that's used by the Follow Me tool.

   The technique for drawing a second connected arc is a little different. As usual, SketchUp is anticipating your next move. Instead of drawing a straight line first, as in step 2, SketchUp shows you an arc as you move the cursor (Figure 8-23). Double-click to draw that arc. When you pause, you're likely to see a tooltip that says "Tangent at vertex". Not only is SketchUp guessing that you want to draw a second arc, it's guessing that you want ...