SketchUp for Interior Design

Chapter 8

Enhancing and Presenting the Model

Objective: This chapter discusses tools and techniques for enhancing a SketchUp model and presenting it to an audience.

Tools: Dimensions, Text, 3D Text, Walk, Position Camera, Interact with Dynamic Components, Polygon

Concepts and Functions: apply leader text, screen text, dimension stringers, styles, shadow and settings, make a watermark, create scenes and animations, present different design schemes, export to 2D and 3D formats, dynamic components, make SketchUp run faster, polygon count, develop the model with other software and hand-rendering

In Chapters 1–8, we learned how to create a SketchUp model. Here, we’ll discuss techniques to polish and creatively display it.

Annotate the Model: Dimensions and Text

Most drawings benefit from some annotations, which are notes and dimensions. Annotations should go on their own layer so they can be hidden as needed. Make a layer for them (see Chapter 6), and then make it active. All annotations will then be created on it until a different layer is activated. Annotations are made with the Dimension and Text tools.

The Dimension Tool

Activate the Dimension tool (Figure 8-1). The mouse turns into an arrowhead. To dimension an edge, click somewhere along its length (not on a midpoint or endpoint), and drag it out. A stringer, which is a dimension line with visible endpoints and a note, appears. ...