I’ve been teaching SketchUp to woodworkers for about two years. Most of my teaching has occurred at the adult education center in Pleasant Hill, CA. However, there have been several sessions with various woodworking clubs, a public school teacher association, and one-on-one individual sessions. Over this time, I’ve made several adjustments to the lesson plan and the number of sessions. Nevertheless, I believe students are generally overwhelmed with the amount of information, and they would like to have more class time to make it through the rough learning curve. However, I emphasize the need for spending time each day with SketchUp, perhaps for a few weeks, lest the skills are quickly lost. This will get them “over the curve” and feeling much more confident and productive.

 

When I started teaching SketchUp, I created a list called “Six Beginning Steps in SketchUp”. This helped me focus the teaching plan on those key areas of learning necessary for students to get over the hurdle with SketchUp. After two years of teaching experience, I continue to believe this list is applicable. It covers the student issues and questions I experience in class, and I know they struggle with throughout and in between school sessions.

 

Perhaps, I would make one addition to the list: that of using the Arrow keys or the Shift Key to force a line placement or component move on a given axis. I do not disclose these helpful features until the end of the first session. I believe it is best for students to stay on axis without these crutches at first, as it increases the understanding of 3D and axes.

 

Here is my new list – now “Seven Beginning Steps”:

 

1. Set-up – there are unlimited variations here – what Toolbars to show, how to get SketchUp showing woodworking “units” with which we are familiar, how to set up dimensioning so it works best for furniture, font sizes that are effective, and how to have frequently used dialog boxes readily available on the screen.  Then how to save the set-up in a Template, so that each time SketchUp is opened, the desired settings are there on the screen.
2. Moving around the model – I can’t think of any more important basic skill for the beginning SketchUp user – what do the blue, red, green axis mean, how can you stay on these axes, how do you pan, zoom, orbit, with the mouse buttons, etc. I’ll show the icons for pan, zoom, and orbit, but quickly push them to use the scroll wheel on the mouse and the Shift Key (with a depressed scroll wheel) for Pan. Some students have a tendency to retreat to the icons, but throughout the session, I’m working to encourage them to use the mouse for all pan, zoom, and orbiting actions, or they will be hampered in achieving productivity. Also, it is common for students to work with the component way out in space and distance. Trying to put a tenon on a stretcher that you can hardly see is quite a feat. I’m continually encouraging them to use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in, so they can easily see what they are doing.
3. How to use basic drawing tools – I include here the Line, Polygon, Circle, and Arc in this category. I show the rectangle, but I’m not a fan of this tool and don’t emphasize it. I just find it easier to use the Line Tool. I spend most of the time with the Line Tool. Students have a tendency to hold down the mouse key when drawing a line. I work hard to stop that tendency since it will make it hard to become effective in SketchUp. Before introducing Push/Pull, I have students create a cube with the Line Tool only. This helps to understand how important it is to stay on axis and what it takes to get a face. Later in the first session, I introduce Push/Pull.
4. Drawing to exact length using the Measurements Box  – To successfully design furniture, we need to draw to exact dimension. A plus-or-minus 1/32 inch is important here, and the entry into the Measurement Box helps make accurate models and joints. Often, a student will say he has no Measurement Box – this is the result of the Window being minimized and a click in the upper right hand corner will fix it.
5. The useful Tape Measure – I’m using this SketchUp tool more than any other in the repertoire. This is used to place temporary construction lines in exact location to aid in the design process. There are many behaviors of this tool depending on where you click it or how you click it. So I spend some time showing these variations.
6. Making, editing, moving, and connecting Components – Without Components, SketchUp would be a failure for designing furniture. This feature makes it possible to treat each piece in the model as if it is the real part of the furniture – the arm, leg, stretcher, stile, rail, panel, etc. You can copy it, change it, and flip it – if you change one of the components in the model, all copies are automatically updated. Very powerful……
7. Using the Arrow Keys – While working in SketchUp, a user quickly finds out the importance of staying on the red, green, or blue axis. Unfortunately, it is sometimes very easy to go astray, find that we can’t get a face to close, and causing much frustration. Fortunately, SketchUp provides two effective tools for forcing adherence to these axes. One way is to start a line or a move on a particular axis, then hold the Shift Key. This forces the action to stay on that selected axis. Also by tapping an arrow key, the intended action (e.g., drawing a line or moving a component) is forced to stay on the axis. The up and down arrow keys force action along the Blue Axis. The right arrow key forces action along the Red Axis, and the left arrow key, along the Green Axis.

 

 

So there you have it – my 7 most basic important skills to learn in SketchUp.

 

Tim

http://killenwood.com