Google Sketchup Lab
Mr. Barber
Tech Ed
CaliforniaMiddle School
Day 0ne
Objectives:
• Learn how to use Basic Draw commands Line,
Rectangle, Circle and Arc.
• Learn how to use Edit commands Move,
Push/Pull, Move/Copy and Offset.
• Learn how to use Camera commands Zoom,
Orbit and Pan.
• How to create components and place them.
Today’s exercise you are going to be
drawing a castle.
• First open the program. You will find the
program located under “All Programs” when
you click the Start Menu
• Select the architectural feet an inches
template.
• Save the file the following way “6*”last
name”3Q (*is your day A or B) into your
documents file.
• Example “6B3QSmithson”
Now to start drawing:
• Select the woman and delete
• Select the Rectangle Icon
• Starting at the Origin point Drag the corner of
the Rectangle out to the right & set it.
• Now type 40’, 70’ in the little box in the
bottom right hand corner with the label
“Dimensions” and press Enter
The Orbit, Pan and Zoom commands
• These commands can also be accessed in the
Camera menu.
• Make sure to set the drawing back to where
the solid blue line is facing up and to the left
of the screen. Use the Zoom Extents
for
this
Drawing Circles
• Click on the Circle
Command
• Set the Center for
the circle away from
your rectangle
• Make sure there is a
Blue circle at your
cursor and drag out
from the center
Drawing 10’ Tower Bases
• Use the four corners as center points for
Circles.
• Enter a radius of 5’ (or 60 inches) in the
dimension box.
• Make sure they are centered on the corners.
Cleaning up extra lines
• Click on the Erase icon
• Remove the corners of the
rectangle and the extra lines
inside of the Rectangle.
• Repeat this in all four corners
Using the Offset command
• This function creates offset parallel lines
around the selected shape that are spaced
according to the distance you choose.
• Use the Select tool
to click on the
Rectangle with the corner circles. (make sure
the extra lines have been edited)
• The outside lines and the arcs in the corners
should turn Blue.
Using the Offset command
• With the Rectangle and arcs selected (all the
lines should be Blue)
• Click on the Offset Icon
and pull the
cursor outside of the frame.
• Set this Distance to 18” or 1’ 6” in the
measurement box
• Hit Enter.
Push/Pull the Walls
• This function creates an extrusion of a profile
• Select the outer ring then access the Push/Pull
icon
• Pull the walls up & enter 25’ in the
Dimension box
25’
You now have walls for your Castle
• Use the Orbit command and zoom around
your castle
Learning how to use the
Component Command
• Components allows complex objects to be
moved around the drawing easier.
• Components can be given attributes, this
allows them to inventoried in a drawing
• In this case we are going to create blocks for
the top of the castle wall
• Save them as a component , then place them
where they need to be
Creating a component
• First you must draw an object,
in this case you are going to
draw a block.
• Draw a rectangle that is 18” by
48”
• Using the Push/Pull command
make the Rectangle 24” tall
• Triple-Click on the block to
select the entire shape
Creating a component
• With the block selected Go
to Edit > Make Component
• Give the component the
name Wall Block
• Click on Create
Moving a component
• When you select the block, the entire object is
grouped.
• This makes it easier to Move/Copy and Rotate
• In the next steps, you are going to place the
component on the top of the wall
• Then perform an array copy that spreads the
blocks down the wall
• Then do a rotational copy to do the other
walls
Moving a component
• Moving a component is similar to moving an
object except how it is grabbed
• A component has limited handle points. You
will almost always use the object’s corners
Moving a Copy of a component
• Click on the Move Tool
• Grab the component
from the bottom right
corner
• Hold the Ctrl key and
drag it to the top of the
wall
• By grabbing back corner
it is easier to place it on
another vertices
Making Multiple copies
• Huge advantage of CAD is the ability automate
redundant tasks this case drawing the same
object 40 times
• This called an Array copy
Making Multiple copies
• Select the Move tool
• select the block on one of its corners
• Hold the Ctrl key and Drag the block to the
end of the wall
Making Multiple copies
• After setting the block type /9 in the
measurement section
• This makes 9 evenly spaced copies
• Try some different numbers to see what it
looks like
Making Multiple copies
• You can also Move/Copy multiple items at
once, In this case copy the blocks from one
side to the other
• Using Select tool hold down the shift key to
make multiple selections
Making Multiple copies
• Select the outer bottom corner
• Hold the Ctrl key and Drag the blocks to the
opposite wall
Rotating an Object
• Now to place blocks on the other walls you
have to rotate that first block you made
• If you forgot to make a copy of that block, that
is not a problem just make a copy of one of
the blocks on the wall
• Rotation command is similar to the Move
command, but changes an objects orientation
Rotating an Object
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Select the object to be rotated
Go to Tools > Rotate
A protractor will appear over the object
Place the center of the protractor on a
convenient corner
Rotating an Object
• The next step is to create a starting line for
rotating the object
• Then rotate the object to the desired angle on
the protractor
On your Own !
• Copy the blocks just like you did in previous
steps
• Use the Move/Copy to create a new array
• Your castle needs a door
• A ledge for your archers
• Steps to get to the ledge
• How about some Color
On your Own !
• Making a castle door can be done a few ways
• This a way it could be done
• First draw the profile of the door on wall &
pull it out 6”
• Rotate copy the front door on to the ground
• And pull it up 6”
• Look at sequence in next slide
Making Steps !
• Create a component with the dimensions 12”
high,48” long 15” deep)
• Copy component by grabbing lower left corner
& moving to that’s component’s upper right
corner
• Type *9 return, that will create nine copies of
the component
Making a Turret
• Draw a circle with a Radius of 5”
• Draw a vertical Rectangle on the circle (use
hovering technique)
• Bisect rectangle into two triangles
• Get rid of extra lines
• Access follow me command
• Follow sequence in next slides
Making a Turret
Making a Turret
In the tools menu access the follow
me tool
Making a Turret
Select the triangle & map it around
the circle it should create a cone.
Make sure the triangle is vertical
Making a Turret
Moving the Turret
• First make the Turret a component
• Next center a turret on top of each cylinder
(use the move/ copy command)
• Add a walk way
• Add landscape features
• Add some color
Radial Copy Objects
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Creating multiple rotated copies (radial arrays)The Rotate tool can also be used to create radial arrays, or a series of copies
around a rotate point. To create a radial array.
Select the Rotate tool (). The cursor will change to a protractor with a circular arrow.
Click on the entity to rotate.
Press and release the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a
protractor with a plus sign. This action informs Sketchup that you want to duplicate the entity.
Move the cursor in a circle until it is at the starting point of the rotation.
Click to set the starting point of the rotation. Use the inference tool tips to help you to find the center of the rotation.
Move the cursor until it as at the ending point of the rotation. A copy of the entity appears and is rotated about the starting
point. If the 'Enable angle snapping' checkbox is checked in the Units Panel of the Model Info dialog box, movements close
to the protractor result in angle snaps, while those further away from the protractor allow free rotation.
Click to complete the rotation.
Type a multiplier value to create additional multiple copies. For example, typing in 2x (or *2) will create one additional copy
(or 2 copies total, the one you manually copied plus one you automatically copied using this step) instead of just one.
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Note: Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key at any time during a rotate operation to
perform a copy (not just at the start).
Creating copies at an equal distance apart
You can divide the distance between the copy and the original by typing in a divisor value in the Measurements Toolbar. For
example, typing 5/ (or /5) will create five copies evenly distributed between the original and the first copy. You can enter
distances and multipliers until you perform another operation.
Moving an object
• Move/Copy are nested commands
• You are going to copy the circle to each corner
of the rectangle.
• First window select the circle turning it Blue
• Now select the Move command