Complete Guide to SketchUp

Adam introduces the course and explains why SketchUp remains his go-to for design exploration despite using BIM software for production. You'll set up the interface with the large tool set, sandbox tools, and section planes ready to go. The project is The Quest by Strom Architects—a 25-metre contemporary house that showcases what SketchUp can really do.

Every face in SketchUp is built from triangles, and understanding this changes how you model. You'll learn the line, rectangle, and circle tools, plus how circle segments create hidden geometry. The eraser tool gets covered with its shift-to-hide trick for cleaning up models without deleting edges.

Push/pull is SketchUp's signature tool—pull a face up and you've got a building in seconds. You'll also learn move (with Ctrl to copy), rotate, and the follow me tool for creating profiles like skirting boards along a path. These four tools handle 90% of architectural modeling.

Single click selects a face, double click grabs face plus edges, triple click takes everything connected. Selection windows work differently depending on direction—left-to-right selects objects fully inside, right-to-left selects anything touched. Groups versus components is the crucial distinction that prevents geometry from sticking together and ruining your model.

The tape measure creates guides, not measurements—use the line tool if you need to measure. You'll set up grids for precise window placement, scale imported images using scale bars, and add dimension strings and text labels. Section planes get introduced here for creating cut-through views.

SketchUp's free model repository has everything from generic furniture to actual manufacturer products. Adam shows how to filter by file size (stay under 50MB), polygon count, and certified content. The products section links to real specifications from manufacturers like Wayfair—useful when clients ask "where's that sofa from?"

The Quest by Strom Architects arrives as CAD drawings that need importing correctly. The trick is to explode the import, then copy and paste into a fresh file—this avoids the bugs that plague direct imports. Layers come through from CAD (doors, windows, external walls), and you'll scale everything accurately using the tape measure tool.

External and internal walls get modeled by filling faces from the CAD linework, keeping everything plugin-free for now. Doors and windows become components so you can place multiples, then use "make unique" when you need different widths. Select All With Same Tag speeds up the process when working with imported CAD layers.

Furniture staging brings the model to life for client walkthroughs. The dining table sits at 750mm, kitchen island at 900mm, and base units use 600x600 components you can copy along the run. 3D Warehouse supplies the corner sofa and Eames chair, while pendant lights get modeled with the follow me tool using a 60-sided circle for smoothness.

Track lighting from 3D Warehouse gets distributed using the array syntax (type "7/" to create seven copies). Recessed lights go over the kitchen island and fireplace, positioned accurately using parallel projection and top view. Ceiling soffits and material transitions where floor meets window frame add the detail that sells the design.

SketchUp's built-in textures are poor, so you'll install the Archie Textures plugin for proper materials. Douglas Fir goes on the exterior cladding, painted plaster on interior walls. Shift-click applies texture to all connected faces at once, and push/pull with the plus key repeats your last extrusion for consistent floor-to-window detailing.

Two methods for creating terrain: from contours using survey data, or from scratch with a grid and the smoove tool. Contour imports need the weld edges command to join fragmented curves before generating a surface. The smoove tool lifts terrain based on spot heights from topographic surveys—Adam explains datum above sea level and how to read survey drawings.

The geo-locate feature imports both a 2D satellite image and 3D terrain mesh from Google Maps data. Density settings control mesh detail, and the results are surprisingly accurate for early design stages. You'll drape linework over the imported terrain and cross-reference against actual surveys when precision matters.

Before detailed modeling, rough shapes block out level changes, retaining walls, and terrace areas. The Quest sits on a sloping site with the back higher than the front, requiring cascading steps and an outdoor staircase. This "figure it out as you go" approach is where SketchUp shines—test ideas in minutes rather than hours.

Grid spacing matters: 500mm gives detailed undulations, 3m creates a more pixelated surface. The smoove tool's radius setting (5000mm to 20000mm) controls how much surrounding terrain moves when you lift a point. Natural landscapes have undulations—resist the urge to flatten everything. X-ray view lets you select through solid geometry when adjusting grades.

Low-poly trees keep file sizes manageable while filling the horizon line for renders. Trees from 3D Warehouse get positioned manually on the landscape (or use plugins for automatic placement). Shadows from vegetation add realism to exterior views. The lesson ends with setting up scenes—camera positions saved with two-point perspective and adjusted focal lengths.

Scenes save everything: camera position, visible layers, shadow settings, and active section cuts. View > Animation > Add Scene creates tabs you can click between, and transition settings control how smoothly the camera moves between them. Export the scene sequence as a video file for client walkthroughs—renders in seconds and works as a storyboard for proper animations later.

Face styles transform your model's appearance: shaded with textures for realism, hidden line for architectural drawings, wireframe for diagrams. Hidden line with shadows on a white background creates that clean architectural aesthetic. Style presets include blueprint, brush strokes, and sketchy edges that can pass for hand drawings at a glance. Profile line weights and ambient occlusion add depth.

Export 3D geometry as DWG for rendering in 3ds Max with Corona or V-Ray. PDF exports are vector-based—zoom in and lines stay crisp, perfect for Illustrator work. PNG beats JPEG for quality. The real power is exporting views to CAD: a floor plan or isometric becomes editable linework you can dimension and annotate properly.

Isometric exports to CAD become the basis for architectural diagrams with proper callouts and labels. In CAD you'll add hatches to floor plans, create wipeout layers for clean presentation, and pull accurate areas (the example room is 135 square metres). Cross sections and elevations export the same way. Always tie back to measured surveys for accuracy—SketchUp models can drift.

Extension Warehouse is built-in, but SketchUcation has plugins you won't find elsewhere—install their extension store first. Plugins come as RBZ files you load through Extension Manager. Adam's top picks include Round Corner, Joint Push Pull, Soap Skin Bubble, and Sketchy FFD. Watch file sizes—complex plugin geometry can slow SketchUp to a crawl.

Dynamic components work like Revit families—objects with editable parameters. You'll create a door component with selectable widths (810mm, 910mm, 1010mm) and material options from a dropdown. Door handles automatically maintain their distance from the edge regardless of door width. This brings BIM-style intelligence to SketchUp models without leaving the software.

3D Sky and Polygon have high-quality models and PBR textures with all the maps you need for rendering. SketchUp Texture Club offers a vast library purpose-built for SketchUp. Furniture manufacturers like Molteni and Went Design provide free downloads so clients can specify what they see in renders. Transmutr converts complex formats (3DS Max, FBX, OBJ) into SketchUp-friendly geometry.

Layout ships with SketchUp Pro and produces proper drawing sheets with titleblocks, dimensions, and multiple views. Adam has delivered domestic-scale projects entirely in Layout—no CAD needed. Pages batch-export to PDF for drawing packs. Style Builder creates custom line styles: scan your own pen strokes and SketchUp applies them to every edge in your model.

Enscape runs as a plugin inside SketchUp—no export needed. Twinmotion and Lumion are standalone apps that import SketchUp files directly. Adam demonstrates Lumion: 3D grass, detailed trees, material tweaks, and ray tracing that makes The Quest look photorealistic. Live sync updates between SketchUp and Lumion so changes appear instantly. These tools win projects, win planning applications, and win arguments.