# How does one learn Sketchup?



## Don46 (Jul 15, 2008)

I usually fairly adept at learning new software but I cannot seem to get started with Sketchup. How did some of you get a handle on this when you were starting. Is there an article I can read, a good video tutorial I can use, or a dvid I might buy that you know to be useful that can get me up and running.

Sketchup appears to be a marvelous tool for drawing new projects, estimating material needs, etc. I have it downloaded and have tried to get into it, but I just get frustrated.

One question: I am using a track ball mouse and I wonder if that is making me more clumsy with the cursor. 
I welcome your advice.

Many thanks
Don


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

Sketch up is not easy. I finally bought a book (Sketchup, the Missing Manual) and I'm still struggling with it. It is not intutitative; especially if you are use to Mac applications. It makes Microsoft software seem simple (-; 
There are some on line tutorials that might help you get started but I think it would be very hard to get good at it without a reference book or some instruction.


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## Russel (Aug 13, 2007)

Don, some people take to it like a fish to water. Personally I took to it like a cat to water. I've tried a few times and could not do it. However there are plenty of tutorials here on LumberJocks and I'm sure you'll find good information from a search.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Not somthing I've been able to make work for me yet.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

DaveR helped me a lot with his videos and a few phone calls. He has to be one of the best if not the best SketchUP practitioners.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Every time I decide to give it another go, I get frustrated in short order. Russel's "cat to water" comment sums it up pretty well. Even though I'm fairly adept at spreadsheets, databases, and even Photoshop, something about Sketchup just doesn't click for me. I suppose it is a lack of patiece to take the time to learn from the ground up. I just want to take the mouse and start drawing. Doesn't work that way. :-(


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

here is a good start on youtube

checkout the rest of the videos there, and do a search on "sketchup tutorial" on youtube and google.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

It took me several years and several attempts with several different 3D packages including Sketchup before it started making sense to me. TurboCAD was the one that started making sense to me but I soon realized that TC wasn't widely accepted and so switched again to Sketchup and it finally clicked. I'm trying to learn the finer points of Sketchup as quickly as I can and DaveR has been a big help in doing that.

Dave has put together many great tutorials and references here and on the FWW website. They have been very helpful as were the tutorials on YouTube and Purplev said.

Best regards,
Jack

P.S. I have tried the trackball and really liked it for Office-type applications but the 3-button mouse works far better for me on Sketchup. Unlike Dave, I prefer the wireless mouse. I don't like having to drag the "tail" (cord) around and the resistance when it gets hung up on something on the desk.


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## Tomw (Jul 25, 2009)

This 8-part tutorial from Joe Zeh is tailored for woodworkers. It takes a while to get through, but when you're done you'll have a good working knowledge of the main tools, as well as a grasp of layers and scenes, which is crucial for avoiding frustration and keeping parts organized. You'll also have a buildable model of a very nice small table.

http://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Accept DaveR's help!!

He is super knowledgeable and so very generous with his time. He taught me stuff in an hour that I had been fretting with for months and showed me things I couldn't find in any book.


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## Don46 (Jul 15, 2008)

Many thanks for these helpful responses. I am going to back up and take another run at this. I worked some this morning on basic drawing skills. I used the introductory videos at the sketchup site, which were helpful. I think I will get a regular mouse and see if that doesn't work better, but I seem to get the basic concept of drawing shapes in two dimensions, adding a third dimension, and according to the size.

I think where I am having trouble is understanding the concept of a project and its parts. Let's say I'm doing a book shelf. I want a drawing of the plan and a cutlist (I've installed Cutlist 4) 
I don't understand whether I'm wanting to draw a box with openings defining the shelves, or are each of the two sides, top and bottom and shelves all "components" to be drawn separately. 
I appreciate Dave R's offer to help and will take him up on that. First, I need to work a little more on the basics so that I know the questions to ask!

Don


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## Don46 (Jul 15, 2008)

Dave, if you could answer that, then I'll set aside time and call you. I appreciate your help.


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## Mauritius (Jul 27, 2009)

Ahh, finally! Thanks for this thread. I'm a professional computer geek by day and I have to say that sketchup has left me drooling maniacally on my keyboard more than once. I'm glad I'm not alone at least, and now that I've found DaveR's blogs and the rest of the links here I have a place to start. I've used CAD programs in the past without problems, and I'm a big fan of any piece of software Google puts out, but for some reason sketchup just wasn't making sense. I like using computers for things that actually save me time and teach me new stuff, but like all the rest of you, if it's a pain and a waste of time…I'd rather be making sawdust.


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

So I'm trying to teach myself sketchup, but am struggling. I really don't want to sit and watch videos and try and watch. What I'd like is step by step written with screen shots that I can do each step as go along. This was how I learned photoshop years ago and am looking for the same, but all I can seem to do is find videos. Does anyone know if there are any online resources (free!) that can help me? If not I can try the videos, I just know what type of learning works best for me. Thanks.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Here is a good resource.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I learned the program very informally by playing with the tools and making basic stuff. The extrude tool was probably the one I would consider the most important one and I just made lines and extruded shapes to get used to it. After getting one tool down I'd play around with another one until I could create models of stuff I wished to make.

When my drawings got advanced I'd encounter things I couldn't do then I'd talk to people and search via Google until I found a method or plugin that would get the job done.

Regarding a questioned posed above…

Don, everything needs to be broken down into the most basic parts to get the greatest benefit out of Sketchup. You'll want to do every aspect of engineering for the project in the drawing rather than waiting until after you start cutting wood.

Here's a couple screenshots of one of my finished drawings.



















Nearly every item is modeled individually in that drawing down to the pivot pins for the kneelers. Besides the above two views, that drawing has about 20 additional scenes showing dimensions and details on the more complex components. I didn't go as far as putting screws in there but I did make 2d representations for some of them when I needed to figure out what sizes to use. The seat is modeled as a single component even though the actual piece required edge gluing 2-3 boards to get the needed width.

That drawing allowed me to figure out exactly how to shape each part and the sequence of machining operations to use. I didn't start the project until I thought I had resolved every issue. In reality, I only succeeded in resolving about 90% of the process through Sketchup but the problems encountered while building the pew were minor and easily fixed.

Basically the idea is to model the major parts of the project then start adding details until you are confident that you know exactly how to build it and that the joinery will work as intended.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Sketchup, though being the easiest 3D CAD I've seen, continues to demonstrate why the Pencil and Paper were invented first, for a good reason.

MJCD


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## ruel24 (Feb 14, 2012)

http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com/


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

maybe i should have started a new thread rather than bumping an old one. I appreciate the links that were posted, but they are both sites that I had already seen, but ultimately are videos and not the written/screenshot tutorials that I was asking about.


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## BurtC (Oct 30, 2009)

Give sketchucation a try.
http://sketchucation.com/


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## Kickback (Mar 9, 2011)

I have Sketchup Pro and it took me several months of using it and fumbling a bit to get used to using it and the logical flow of designing a project. There are TONS of Sketchup how-to's and tips online enough that you could never read them all. I just jumped right in with it and when I got stuck trying to do something I would Goggle the problem and find out how to do what I wanted to do and that has helped increase my proficiency using the program as well as efficiency of using it and being able to design something in less than a month…. I am an IT Support Engineer so i work with computers and software everyday so this wasn't the hardest piece of software I have ever had to figure out but it has taken some time to get really comfortable with it. Stick with it and you will be very happy you did as i find it invaluable in pre-planning many different projects for many different things allowing me to "test" ideas before I ruin perfectly good stock.


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## mnik (Jun 19, 2011)

I found Rob Cameron's http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com a good place to start. And free.


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

so after not finding exactly what i was looking for i decided to try out the sketchupforwoodworkers site and it has been a great help. im through the first 4 tutorials so far and it has probably been far more useful than what i had been looking for. thanks for the tips.


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## roofner (Feb 24, 2012)

I only have the basic version of Google sketchup.
I am wondering if it's possible to learn with the basic version of Google sketch up?
I can't afford to spend nearly $500 for the Pro version.


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## iamwelty (Nov 14, 2009)

Sketchupforwoodworkers.com will float your boat!


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## RonInOhio (Jul 23, 2010)

A long walk up a steep mountain my friend. That is how one learns CAD software.


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

I've had pretty good luck running through the basic and intermediate tutorials on Sketchup's website. It took a couple of real projects to actually learn how to do some things though. It's when you start having questions about how to do something NOT covered in the tutorials that you really start learning. The tutorials are great exposure to let you know what can be done, but you have to actually USE the product to begin to KNOW how to do something.

Here's a link to the basic, intermediate, and expert tutorials:
http://www.sketchup.com/training/videos.html


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

The way I think about it is to draw every piece I'd have to cut or fabricate individually, then make it a component. It seems to work great with Cutlist to generate the layouts etc.

Moving stuff around and navigating in the software just takes practice.

-Brian


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

Another vote for this one http://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm His videos are very good and he will respond to 
Dumb e-mail Questions (Guess how I know that )with easy to understand answers.
Also all of the other options listed are a good source of information as well , kind of like Clamps you can't have to much information available.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Sketchup is not easy to learn. Most CAD programs follow the traditional pencil on paper approach. Instead of drawing a line on paper, you do it on the screen. Sketchup doesn't follow this natural transition from paper to screen. I've tried it a few times, but can't get the hang of it. I have been using Autocad for all my drawing needs for the past 10 years and before that pencil and paper for 50 years. Because of the manual drafting experience I've had, transitioning into a computer based medium was easy and mostly painless. Sketchup would require me to forget everything I know and learn something contrary to my current knowledge.


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