Creating 3D Elements &

Working with Shapes and

Solid Tools
ARCH. ANNA RACHEL M. PEREZ, UAP
GUEST LECTURER 1
 Overview
Google SketchUp is an extremely powerful 3d modeling tool
useful for presenting geometric concepts and exploring 3d
space. The free version of SketchUp offers most of the same
tools used by professional architects all over the world.
SketchUp’s familiar pencil and paper paradigm presented in
a software context makes it easy for anyone to use this tool.
This course is intended for learn how to build 3d models in
Google SketchUp.
 Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course you should be able to:

• Launch SketchUp, and Choose Template • Measuring the Model Precisely

• SketchUp essential screen, and Mouse Hints • Creating Component, Editing

• Create 2D geometry in a 3d environment Component, Modeling with component

• Create 3D geometry • Intersect

• Create surfaces from lines in 3D • Apply materials

• Create geometry with the Push/Pull Tool • Display Options And Styles

• Create a model, step-by-step • Import models from the Google 3D

• Create a copy, array, and array using Warehouse

rotate • Opening CAD Files in Sketchup Pro

• Follow Me
• Offset
• Scale Tool
 Launch SketchUp
Open SketchUp from the icon on your desktop, or
from the Start bar.

Choose Template
In the Template, select the “Simple, Architectural Template– Feet, Inches,
Meter, Millimetre”. Next click on “Start using SketchUp”.
SketchUp essential screen

Titlebar
Menubar
Toolbar

Large Axis
Toolbar
Drawing Board
Camera
Toolbar
Statusbar

VCB BOX
Mouse Hints

Orbit Pan Zoom

Push down on the scroll Push down on the scroll Roll the scroll wheel
wheel button to navigate wheel button and hold down forward and backward
around your model. This the Shift key to slide your to zoom in and out.
tool Allows you to move screen up, down, left and
your view around the right without changing the
design at any angle. angle of your view.
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 Create 2D geometry in a 3D environment

● Line - Set start and end points

● Circle - Set center point and radius

● Rectangle - Set opposite corners

● Arc - Set start-end-middle points

● Polygon - Specify number of sides,

then center and radius

 Create 3D geometry
Two approaches for drawing 3d geometries:-
1) 3D Shapes tool:-

Menubar Draw 3D Shapes choose

one of the shapes like ; Box, Cylinder,
Cone….etc. then full the required data in
the sub-window

Example of drawing helix 3D shape:-

2) Creating Geometry With the Push/Pull Tool
Use the Push/Pull Tool to push and pull faces to add volume to or subtract
volume from your models. You can use push/pull to create volume out of
any face type, including circular, rectangular, and abstract faces.
Activate the Push/Pull Tool from either the Toolbar or the Tools menu.
❖ Preparing to Use the Push/Pull Tool:-
1. Click on the "Rectangle Tool" ( ). The cursor changes
to a pencil with a rectangle ( )

2. Click again to set the second corner of the rectangle. A

rectangular face is created bordered by four edges.
❖ Using the Push/Pull Tool
1. Click on the "Push/Pull Tool" ( ). The cursor will change to a 3D
rectangle with an up arrow ( ).
2. Click on the rectangular face created in the previous rectangle.

3. Move the cursor up or down to create (or

decrease) volume.
Note - Press the "Esc" key at any point during the
operation to start over.

4. Click when the volume has reached the

Note - You
desired can also press and hold the mouse button,
size.
drag, and release the mouse button to create a
volume.
Note – Or can press and hold the mouse button, while
typing the height measure at the VCB BOX

564 mm
You can use the Push/Pull Tool to create volume from any shape,
whether it be an abstract shape drawn using the Freehand Tool or a
shape drawn on another piece of 3D geometry.
❖ Following are some examples of Push/Pull operations:-
❑ Pushing and Pulling a Curved Face
You can use the Push/Pull Tool on faces that have an arc as an edge
similarly to using the Push/Pull Tool on regular faces. The curved face
that results from the push/pull operation is called a Surface entity.
Surfaces can be adjusted as a whole, but are comprised of a
number of faces or a curved face set.
❑ Creating Voids with Push/Pull
You can create a void, or empty space, simply by drawing a 2D
shape on 3D geometry and using the Push/Pull Tool to push the 2D
face to a desire distance or until it meets the back face of the 3D
geometry. The following three images demonstrate how to
push/pull a 2D face that is drawn on 3D geometry to create a void.
 Creating Model:-
You will create a simple dog house by subtracting volume from a 3D form in
this exercise. This exercise is accomplished by creating the profile of a house
on a 3D form and then using the Push/Pull tool to remove the pieces of the
form that will not be in the final model. To crate a house using the following
approach:
1. Select the "Rectangle Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with a
rectangle ( ).
2. Select the "Push/Pull Tool" ( ). The cursor will change to a 3D rectangle
with an up arrow ( ).

3. Use offset tool ( ) to prepare for walls Push/Pull editing.

❑ Dividing and Healing Geometry
Some tools speed up design dramatically by allowing you to perform
modifications on existing geometry.
For example, the Line Tool allows you to split faces and edges to create
additional independent faces and edges. The following image shows how two
faces are created when dividing the face with a line.
Note: that the dividing line does not cut through the model from top to bottom,
but just cuts the top face in half.
❑ Manipulating Connected Faces
Geometry in SketchUp is sticky meaning that it can be manipulated (skewed,
distorted, or folded) by selecting an edge or face and moving the edge or face
with the Move Tool (causing all entities attached or "stuck" to the edge or face
to move too). Following are three examples of sticky geometry in SketchUp:

1) The following image shows a line dividing the top face of a box being
moved up with a Move Tool. The faces that were connected to the
middle line followed the line as it was moved to create a roof-like effect.
 2) The following image shows the right-most top face being moved up in the
blue direction. This action shows that we can move the faces independently
as well as lines or edges.

3) The following image shows the left-most top-edge being moved to the left.
The model is skewed into a trapezoid-like shape.
 ❑ Autofold
In the left-most image above, a six-sided polygon volume's top face (created
with the Polygon Tool followed by the Push/Pull Tool) was rotated using Rotate
Tool ( ). Because of SketchUp's sticky nature, the sides of the
shape, which share common edges with the top face, twisted and folded with
the rotate operation (right-most image).
3. Modifying Geometry:-
Some basic tips for using SketchUp’s editing tools.

❑ Move

1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the cubic to auto select
2. Using the Move/Copy tool ( ) . Click once to pick it up.
3. Move cursor to down left of screen, click again to put it down.

Note; Arrow Keys Correspond To lock moving along the axes as follow:
Up/Down=Blue axis, Right=Red Axis, Left=Green Axis.

1 2 3
❑ Copy + ctrl button

1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the cubic to auto select
2. Using the Move/Copy tool ( ) + ctrl button . Click once to pick it
up.
3. Move cursor to the new position, or type value for exact distance
after move a littlie to the desired direction, click again to put it
down.

1 2 3
❑ Array
1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the cubic to auto select
2. Using the Move/Copy tool ( ) + ctrl button . Click once to pick it
up.
3. Move cursor to the new position, or type value for exact distance
after move a littlie to the desired direction, click again to put it
down.
4. Immediately after you enter the exact distance, type [x3 Enter] to
create 3 additional copies.

1 2 3 4 x3
❑ Rotate
1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the body to auto select
2. Using the rotate tool ( ). Click once to pick it up.
3. Select a reference point at original direction or axis, rotate the body
to the desire direction or type value for exact angle, click again to
put it down or click enter.

1 2
 ❑ Array with rotating
1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the body to auto select.
2. Pick a centre to array the body around.
3. Using the rotate tool ( ) + ctrl button . Click once to pick it up.
4. Select a reference point at original direction or axis, rotate the body
to the desire direction or type value for exact angle, click again to
put it down or click enter.
5. Immediately after you enter the exact rotating angle, type [x4 Enter]
to create 4 additional copies.

1 2 3
❑ Follow Me

1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the surface to auto select.
2. Using the rotate tool ( ). Click once on surface to pick it up.
3. Select a path line to follow, drag the mouse along the path line, click
again to put it down.

1 2 3
 ❑ Offset

1. Drag and hold the select tool ( ) over the surface to auto select
2. Using the Offset tool ( ). Click once at the edge of the surface to pick it
up.
3. Move cursor to the new position, or type value for exact distance if you
need the offset inside the surface. if you need the offset out of the surface ,
then type value for exact distance after move a littlie to the outer direction,
click again to put it down.

1 2 or 2
 ❑ Scale Tool
❖ scale your model proportionally by a percentage
1. With the Select tool ( ), select the geometry you want to scale. This step is important if you want to scale
a complex 3D selection. If you have an easy selection, like a 2D shape or a surface entity, you can skip
this step.
2. Select the Scale tool ( ) or press the S key. A yellow box with green grips appears around your
selection, as shown in the figure. If you skipped Step 1, click the geometry with the Scale tool cursor.
3. For a uniform scaling, or one that keeps your selection proportional, click a corner scaling grip. The
selected grip and the opposite scaling grip turn red, as shown in the following figure, and in the
Measurements box, you see a scale of 1.00, which means your geometry is at its original size, or scaled to
100%.
4. Move the cursor to scale the entity. The Measurements box displays the scale dynamically. Press the Esc
key at any point to start over. To set the scale from the center instead of the opposite corner, hold down
the Ctrl key (Windows) or the Option key (macOS) while you move the red corner grip.
5. Click to set your selection's new scale. Or type the desired scale dimensions and press Enter.

Note: Technically, in Step 5, you can type a dimension, such as 2m or 3", instead of a scale dimension. However,
scaling based on a dimension with the Tape Measure is generally more intuitive.
❖ Stretching or squishing geometry to scale
Sometimes, you need to scale only one dimension of a model (or maybe two). To do so,
use the Scale tool's edge or face grips. Here's how the process works, using a cabinet as an
example:
1. With the Select tool ( ), select the geometry you want to scale. This step is important for a
complex a 3D selection. Skip this step for an easy selection, like a 2D shape or a surface entity.
2. Select the Scale tool ( ) or press the S key. A yellow box with green grips appears around your
selection. If you skipped Step 1, click the geometry with the Scale tool cursor.
3. Click an edge or face grip (not a corner grip). The selected grip and the opposite scaling grip
turn red, as shown in the figure, and in the Measurements box, you see a scale of 1.00, which
means your geometry is at its original size, or scaled to 100%. The Measurements box also displays
the axis direction for your scale, such as Blue Scale or Red.
4. Move the cursor to scale the entity. The Measurements box displays the scale dynamically. Press
the Esc key at any point to start over. To set the scale from the center instead of the opposite
edge or face, hold down the Ctrl key(Windows) or the Option key (macOS) while you move the
red corner grip.
 ❖ Mirror geometry using the Scale Tool
1. To mirror an object with the Scale Tool you will need to select
the object first ( ). It can be raw geometry, grouped
geometry or components.
2. Next you need to copy that object. The quickest way to
duplicate this is to use the CTRL + Move.
3. With the duplicate positioned you can then Scale ( )
negatively to mirror the original object. Make sure you grab the
correct scaling handle.
4. Move ( ) the mirrored object close to the original object to
create a symmetrical shape.

Note : step 4 is optional meets design requirements

 ❑ Measuring the Model Precisely
In SketchUp, the Tape Measure tool , the Protractor tool , and the dimension tool
enable you to model precisely:
❖ Measuring a distance
1. Select the Tape Measure tool ( ) or press the T key.
2. Click the starting point of your measurement, then select an end point or midpoint, the
measurements box displays the dimension dynamically
3. To create a guide line, click a line that needs to be parallel to your guide line. Move the
cursor in the direction you want to measure. As you move the mouse, a temporary
measuring tape line, with arrows at each end, stretches from your starting point, as
shown in the figure.
4. (Optional) To move your guide line a precise distance from the starting point, type a
number and unit and then press Enter.

Note: If you measure a distance without creating a guide

guide and then enter a value, SketchUp asks whether line
you want to resize your model.
❖ Measuring an angle
To measure an angle or create angled guide lines, use the Protractor tool. You find the

Protractor tool ( ) in a few different parts of SketchUp’s interface:

1. Select the Protractor tool ( ). The cursor changes to a protractor. The

center point is fixed to the cursor.
2. Click to set the vertex of the angle that you want to measure. If you need to
lock an orientation, press and hold the Shift key before you click.
3. Click where the angle that you want to measure begins.
4. Move the cursor to measure the angle.
5. Click to set an angled guide line.
.
 ❑ Editing Component
If you go in and edit your original box, as you can see, the other boxes change as
well.

l
copy
Origina
box
copy
copy

❖ Sometimes, however, you want to have some instances of a component that

are different than the original. you can make some instances of a component
unique from other instances. This is called “Make Unique.” Select the two boxes.
Then, right click and select the “Make Unique” option. Now these components
are linked to each other. They are also no longer linked to the original
component, so they will not change when you edit the original component.
 ❑ Modeling with component

Great advantages if you modeling with component. Here in this example if you
model all 4 table legs as copies of a single component, then all you have to do is
change one leg and the other three will change as well.
 ❑ Creating Group
Let’s say you have two boxes on the screen, like the ones shown below. If I move
them together, so that their faces are touching, their faces stick together. This
means that the end face of the small box merges into the face of the larger box.
This kind of sticky geometry can sometimes be useful, but as you start working with
more complex models, it can cause you all sorts of problems.

However, there is a very simple solution that can help you avoid this issue. This
solution is the “Make Group” tool. A number of different geometry items grouped
together to make a single item. The advantage about groups is that groups do
not stick together. To create a group follow same previous steps for making
components but this time select make group
❑ Intersect
1. Turn both of objects as group.
2. Move object1 to be overlapped with object2, rotate object1 to a desired angle
(optional).
3. Right click on object1 Intersect face with Model.
4. Explode both of objects.
5. Erase all the lines of object1 and it’s reflection lines on object2

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❑ Modeling Complex 3D Shapes with the Solid Tools
With SketchUp’s Solid tools, you can create new shapes by
combining or cutting one shape with another, making it easy
to model an outer shell or joinery.
In SketchUp, a solid is any 3D model (component or group)
that has a finite closed volume.

To find the Solid Tools:

Menubar >Tools > Solid Tools > ( Intersect, Union, Subtract, Trim,
Split)
Or you can go to the toolbar directly:
Outer shell Intersect Union Subtract Trim Split
 ▪ Creating an outer shell

The Outer Shell tool ( ) removes geometry inside

overlapping groups or components, leaving only the outer
faces.
Create an outer shell to the models that slow down your
view model and isn’t necessary. In your view, creating an
outer shell of the building eliminates the interior geometry
you don’t need so that your view model is lighter and
renders faster as you work on it.

To create an outer shell: Select all the geometry > Outer shell

36
 ▪ Uniting solids into a single form

A union ( ) merges two or more solid entities into a

single solid.
The result of a union is similar to the result of an outer shell.
However, the result of a union can contain internal
geometry whereas an outer shell contains only external
faces.
use the Union tool to combine solid entities:

Select the Union tool ( ) > Select the first group or component >
Select second group or component >

37
▪ Subtracting a solid from another (or use Intersect Faces
with Model)

With the Subtract tool ( ), you can use one solid entity
to cut another solid entity. Your original solid entity is then
subtracted from the model. For the subtraction to work, the
two solids need to overlap.

Select the Subtract tool ( ) > Select the first group or component >
Select second group or component >Click the group or component
that you want to cut. The cutting group disappears

38
▪ Trimming one solid with another

With the Trim tool ( ), you cut one solid entity with another,
just like a subtraction. However, when you use the Trim tool,
the cutting solid remains in the model. So, if you use a peg to
trim a board, the peg remains after it cuts the board. Like all
the Solid tools, the Trim tool works only if two solid entities
overlap.
 ▪ Splitting solids
With the Split tool ( ), you can divide overlapping solid
entities along their intersecting edges. To perform a split,
follow these steps:

For example, in the figure, the two groups shown on the left
split into 3 groups, as shown on the right.
❑ Applying Materials

The Materials Browser will open automatically when you click the Paint Bucket
Tool . Search through the categories of available materials. Select a
roofing material and apply it to the roofs of your buildings. Do the same with
the ‘Brick and Cladding’ category to find a nice siding treatment for your
houses. Finally, paint a brick texture on your chimney. It’s as easy as clicking on
the surface you want to paint!
❑ Display Options And Styles
SketchUp gives you a great deal of control over how your geometry is displayed
on screen and for printing.
Display Options (Face Style)
In your menu, you should see a series of icons representing different modes for
displaying your model.
If not, you can access this toolbar from View > Toolbars > Face Style. Let’s see how
our model looks in each of these modes.

Wireframe Hidden Line Shaded Shaded

no surfaces lines and surfaces, no shading surfaces with colors With Textures

Monochrome
Hidden Line with one color
shading
❑ Styles

In addition to the display modes available in the

menu, SketchUp allows you to apply a collection of
display properties which we call a STYLE. To apply a
style, simple go to the Window menu and select
Styles.

For applying styles just click on one of the icons in the

Styles Browser.
❑ Import models from the Google 3D Warehouse

To search for and download models, simply click on the GET MODELS icon to
launch the 3D Warehouse within SketchUp. However, you might prefer to browse
the contents of the warehouse directly from the Components Browser in SketchUp!
To do this, just go to Window > Components.
❑ Opening CAD files in SketchUp Pro

To open CAD files in SketchUp Pro, go to File > Import and it will open a new
window.

Locate the folder which you’ve saved the CAD files and open the selected one.
1. CAD drawing will appears in SketchUp
workspace. You can notice that the
transferred drawing is acting as group
and all its lines are active lines (this is
actually the advantage of using CAD
drawings in SketchUp).
2. Be sure of scales, while the units must be
homogeneous by checking one
dimension at lest between the original
CAD drawing and the SketchUp copy.
 CAD drawing which is transferred to
SketchUp is acting as group, and all its lines
are active lines.

Use lines tool to draw closed shape only

by clicking two points.

Use Push/Pull tool on previous closed

shapes to draw the walls.
QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
Creating 3D Elements &
Working with Shapes and
Solid Tools

ENG. ABDULSADA MTER

MSC. INNOVATION AND ENGINEERING DESIGN