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    What's your beginners tip?

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    • GaieusG Offline
      Gaieus
      last edited by

      @unknownuser said:

      Display edges and profiles off...

      I'd only keep profiles turned off - edge are neded for modeling (to see where you are connecting vertices and such).
      Although never tried that way - maybe you can get used to it.


      The fastest way of modeling then would be with edges turne off in wireframe modeling 🤣

      Gai...

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      • MALAISEM Offline
        MALAISE
        last edited by

        Begin with elementary forms (box, cylinder )and play with all tool just in order to learn
        how they work.

        MALAISE 😄

        La Connaissance n'a de valeur que partagée

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        • E Offline
          ehaflett
          last edited by

          Spend at least 10 minutes a day reading posts here. There's a LOT to be learned here and no shortage of inspiration!

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          • soloS Offline
            solo
            last edited by

            Have fun with SU, play everyday, get into a workflow that you are comfortable with. Do not get too technical in the beginning as the details will come when the need arises.

            As long as you are having fun you are learning, as soon as you get frustrated walk away and try again later.

            http://www.solos-art.com

            If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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            • P Offline
              pmiller
              last edited by

              @gaieus said:

              @unknownuser said:

              Display edges and profiles off...

              I'd only keep profiles turned off - edge are neded for modeling (to see where you are connecting vertices and such).
              Although never tried that way - maybe you can get used to it.


              The fastest way of modeling then would be with edges turne off in wireframe modeling 🤣

              On the contrary, I would strongly urge beginners to keep profiles on so they can properly tell when they have formed surfaces and avoid co-planar problems. Once they have got it, then they can keep them off.

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              • GaieusG Offline
                Gaieus
                last edited by

                @pmiller said:

                ...On the contrary, I would strongly urge beginners to keep profiles on so they can properly tell when they have formed surfaces and avoid co-planar problems. Once they have got it, then they can keep them off.

                Yes, there is some truth in this - I also turn them on when finding out that some faces don't form properly so that I can easily see the offending edges. 👍

                Gai...

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                • R Offline
                  Ross Macintosh
                  last edited by

                  Tip: Orbit, Pan & Zoom using the middle mouse button / scroll wheel.

                  middle mouse button to orbit
                  middle mouse button + shift to pan
                  and the scroll wheel to zoom

                  The tool buttons for orbiting, panning and zooming almost never need to be used.

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                  • GaieusG Offline
                    Gaieus
                    last edited by

                    Yeah, deinitely. I even change the Orbit shortcut key (O) to Offset (while the original offset (F) is now Follow me. I think it is more logican and the orbit tool (a a button) is totally redundant.

                    Gai...

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                    • pilouP Offline
                      pilou
                      last edited by

                      Enable "Hidden geometry" can help for curved forms and explain why some surfaces can't be selected 😉
                      Works also fine with the Joint Push Pull (the plug to add first!

                      Frenchy Pilou
                      Is beautiful that please without concept!
                      My Little site :)

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                      • EdsonE Offline
                        Edson
                        last edited by

                        the three pillars of modelling well (IMHO, of course):

                        1. work ALWAYS on layer 0;
                        2. GROUP whatever geometry you are creating (in case there should be more than one copy of it, make it a COMPONENT);
                        3. place it on another LAYER whose name makes sense (essential for controlling the model's visualization).

                        edson mahfuz, architect| porto alegre • brasil
                        http://www.mahfuz.arq.br

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                        • H Offline
                          HFM
                          last edited by

                          @edson said:

                          the three pillars of modelling well (IMHO, of course):

                          1. work ALWAYS on layer 0;
                          2. GROUP whatever geometry you are creating (in case there should be more than one copy of it, make it a COMPONENT);
                          3. place it on another LAYER whose name makes sense (essential for controlling the model's visualization).

                          A big Amen to that, I always work this way 👍

                          My tip:

                          While selecting different kind of materials for your model to try out looks, don't forget to delete them afterward since SketchUp will remember every single material you've selected, clogging op your model's file size in the process.

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                          • Jean LemireJ Offline
                            Jean Lemire
                            last edited by

                            Hi Folks.

                            My first tip: READ THE HELP.

                            Just ideas.

                            Jean (Johnny) Lemire from Repentigny, Quebec, Canada.

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                            • boofredlayB Offline
                              boofredlay
                              last edited by

                              But that is just one idea Jean 😄

                              Use construction lines (with the tape measure tool) as much as is necessary.
                              And I also agree with Alan, watch all the training videos... many times over.

                              http://www.coroflot.com/boofredlay

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                              • AnssiA Offline
                                Anssi
                                last edited by

                                Don't curse the SU inferencing, learn its quirks so it start working for you. One of the keys is to use Shift (locking) creatively with the inferences.

                                Anssi

                                securi adversus homines, securi adversus deos rem difficillimam adsecuti sunt, ut illis ne voto quidem opus esset

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                                • H Offline
                                  Hazza
                                  last edited by

                                  @anssi said:

                                  Don't curse the SU inferencing, learn its quirks so it start working for you. One of the keys is to use Shift (locking) creatively with the inferences.

                                  I never fought it, I just needed practice to get it to do what I wanted. I knew the Shift key locked tools like the protractor but didn't know it locked inferencing too, thanks.

                                  @unknownuser said:

                                  And I also agree with Alan, watch all the training videos... many times over.

                                  That's one of the things I didn't do, I was too keen to just jump right in, I downloaded all of the SU5 videos, watched one or 2 and got bored. I enjoyed the doing and learning by mistakes more than just sitting passively watching someone else do it.

                                  See all of my SketchUp models here.

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                                  • Alan FraserA Offline
                                    Alan Fraser
                                    last edited by

                                    No, no. You don't sit and watch...getting bored. You watch part way through, then say to yourself "Let's see if I understood that bit right." pause the video and try for yourself. Watch a bit more....pause it again....especially with the much longer V6 videos. Otherwise, by the time you reach the end, you've forgotten the stuff at the beginning.
                                    You know what they say about showing somebody something is better than telling them about it...but doing it for yourself is best of all.

                                    I'll bet a lot of people here learnt much of their expertise by reading questions from people that they didn't know the answer to right away. So they jumped right in...maybe refreshed their own memory by watching a video or reading the Help...and figured out the answer themselves.

                                    3D Figures
                                    Were you required to walk 500 miles? Were you advised to walk 500 more?
                                    You could be entitled to compensation. Call the Pro Claimers now!

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                                    • R Offline
                                      Ross Macintosh
                                      last edited by

                                      Have Fun! Play!
                                      It is human nature to jump right in, be ambitious, and attempt a "real project" when you are just getting your feet wet. That's what most of us did and its great so long as you can avoid frustrating yourself. Frustrations can zap your spirit. SketchUp should be a joy - and it can be.

                                      Mix it up with some playing. Just fooling around and exploring tools and ideas is a fast-track to becoming more comfortable in SketchUp. It can be a remarkably intuitive program but you need to understand the flexibility it offers. You find that understanding through play and just trying different things.

                                      Regards, Ross

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                                      • G Offline
                                        Gidon Yuval
                                        last edited by

                                        Don't try out tools and techniques that are new to you on a model that you are working on. Rather, open a new file and try out the tool or technique there. Once you feel comortable with it then, and only then, should you begin using the tool/technique on your models.
                                        Nothing is more frustrating or agonising than messing up a model you need with unfammiliar tools to the extent that you have to start the whole thing over again.

                                        before using "follow me" on something like this:
                                        Brass Medallion.jpg
                                        try it on some thing like this:
                                        simple follow me.jpg
                                        Before wraping textures on something like this:
                                        Brown set.jpg
                                        try different textures on something like this:
                                        simple texture wrap.jpg
                                        And like everybody said already: Have fun with it.

                                        If you don't know where you're going, you're never going to get there.

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                                        • H Offline
                                          Hazza
                                          last edited by

                                          Another tip:

                                          If you are repeating the same action over and over again, someone has probably already created a Ruby plugin to do it automatically for you.

                                          See all of my SketchUp models here.

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                                          • Alan FraserA Offline
                                            Alan Fraser
                                            last edited by

                                            What!...someone's written a Ruby that says "No, you stupid B####rd, move along the OTHER axis." 😉

                                            3D Figures
                                            Were you required to walk 500 miles? Were you advised to walk 500 more?
                                            You could be entitled to compensation. Call the Pro Claimers now!

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