Get Rid of What You Don’t Need
Getting rid of unnecessary lines or geometry components can be very useful when working in Google Earth. This can make your diagram much less complex and can even give you extra space to work with, if you need it. Eliminating surfaces that won't actually be seen while you're working in Google Earth is a great way to optimize your models and it's easy too! In this tutorial, you'll learn how to clean up a model and save on space just by getting rid of what you don't need.
Get Real Pictures With HyperShot!
Have you been hearing a lot about HyperShot for SketchUp but don't really know what it's all about? Well then get ready! Because HyperShot is about to blow all of your SketchUp drawings completely out of the water! So, what is it?
HyperShot for SketchUp takes any drawings that you make within SketchUp and converts them into images that look just like real photographs! What better way to show people what their home, room, or other structure will look like than giving them an actual picture of it? In this post that comes from HyperShotforSketchUp, you can see how a drawing of a drab and boring room comes to life with HyperShot. And more than that, it was done in just over half an hour!
Controlling Dimensions in Layout
Anyone who wants to take advantage of everything that Layout has to offer in Google SketchUp should learn a bit about controlling dimensions. Using the different dimensions within your model in Google SketchUp, or even using the paper space surrounding the model, it's amazing to see how much you can do. Plus, being able to change, control, and manipulate these dimensions all with just a few clicks and drags of the mouse is pretty cool!
This tutorial will also take you through some things you need to know such as what happens to your dimensions when you're looking at your model in 3D. Definitely a great introduction to the Layout feature in Google SketchUp!
Holy Toolbars, Batman!
Sure, you can draw just about anything you want in Google SketchUp. But before you do that, you'll need a few toolbars to help along the way. And SketchUp provides more than just a few toolbars to help you do that. Check out this hilarious pic that we found on SketchUpTips, where the entire screenshot is toolbars, with an itty bitty section reserved at the bottom for drawing. Now of course, you can hide these different toolbars and such while you're working in SketchUp. But one has to admit, looking at this picture, that the toolbars in SketchUp might be a bit much.
Using Components vs. Groups
Google SketchUp relies on certain attributes to make it the unique and invaluable piece of software that it is! But sometimes, these attributes are a detriment, especially when you're working with objects that are side by side. By placing two objects exactly beside each other, Google SketchUp will automatically detect them as a group. This means that whenever you move one of the objects, the other object will move along with it. This can be frustrating when you're only wanting to move one of them and not the entire group! This can be easily remedied by making the distinction of one of the objects as a component rather than a group. This will allow you to move one object on its own, and not all of the objects within that group. This tutorial clearly explains the difference of components and groups. So you can get SketchUp working exactly as you need it to!
Inferencing in SketchUp
One of the most wonderful things about SketchUp is that you can become as advanced as you want and SketchUp makes it really easy for you to do so. Inferencing is a tool that Google SketchUp offers to help make your drawing much more accurate. Inferencing also allows you to make lines very quickly and stores information about different points in the image so that they can be quickly referenced later.
Inferencing is something that every SketchUp user should become at least somewhat familiar with. It's one of those features that might be tricky to grab at first but once it becomes habit, it's hard to imagine how you ever faced geometry in SketchUp without it!
Create Your Own Foose Ball in HyperShot
You might not be able to play foose ball in SketchUp...yet, but if you've spent hours staring down at those tiny little men and thought how you could design a better table, then SketchUp and HyperShot let you do just that. Or maybe you just want to create your own table in your favorite team's colors? Imagine what a wonderful housewarming gift it would be to someone to design and create their own game table? I'm getting carried away here. But that's the beautiful thing about SketchUp. That's exactly what it lets you do. And you add HyperShot to make it really jump off the page and designing a game table all of a sudden doesn't seem that far out of reach.
You can find out more about this one at HyperShotforSketchUp.
SketchUp Welcomes Woodworkers!
Once again SketchUp proves that it's not just for computer geeks or architects. Now you don't even have to be an interior designer to enjoy all that Google SketchUp can do for the inside of a house. And if you've ever dreamed of creating fine pieces of furniture to be displayed in model homes, or just in your own dream home, SketchUp has something new to offer you!
Imagine building a beautiful chair, bench, or stunning bed frame, all before you actually touch one single piece of wood. Jim explains how you can do it all now in SketchUp and goes into a little further detail about the many ways that woodworkers can now benefit from SketchUp tools. You can even see your own models rotate in 3D!
Using Photoshop in SketchUp
Google SketchUp has no limits, especially when you bring in Photoshop to help! This tutorial shows how to get rid of obstructing images so that you can work with the images behind them. Here we see how the artist wants to get rid of a sign as well as part of a roof on another building that's blocking the building that he would like to work with. By simply selecting the parts of the building that he wants to work on, and copying and pasting the image, he does exactly what he wants. At the end, we no longer see either the sign or the partial roof, but only the beautiful window treatments that the artist can now paint and work with as much as he needs to. This tutorial shows how easy it is to include Photoshop with your SketchUp work and make the few boundaries of SketchUp virtually disappear!
SketchUp for the Holidays!
Those who still have a little bit of holiday cheer left in them might want to check out this SketchUp Santa that can be found at www.sketchupdate.blogspot.com. Here you can play around with Santa and rotate him around using the SketchUp 3D tool. This is not only great holiday fun but a great introduction to the 3D tool that makes SketchUp so unique and exciting! And not only can you move Santa around while he's either sitting or standing, but you can change his reindeer and even decorate your own gingerbread house! Gather the kids around for some good old Christmas fun and add the world of viruality into the classic family traditions!