What's your beginners tip?

rbecker · 10 Aug 2011, 21:23

Gaieus,
DOH! I thought I tried that and it made every selected component individually unique. I just tested it again and it does exactly what you say, which is what I was trying in the first place. Thanks!

Gaieus · 10 Aug 2011, 21:54

Never mind (we have a doh thread somewhere if you want to join - many of us have posted in there about our "doh's" too).

The "Replace selected" function is indeed a good one and a useful hint for newbies in this beginners' tips topic to look at.

opal · 11 Aug 2011, 22:08

my noob two cents.. lots of places I've seen it suggested that we start with something simple, like a box or a chair (not one of the lovely overstuffed varieties either) I disagree.. my first model was a wedding cake.. tiers, pillars and decorations (unfathomable poly count) but making a box or a square chair isn't going to teach the tools.
My tip is learn the tools. sure, make that box but do everything you possibly can to that box with each and every tool in the arsenal.. if it looks cool - do it again!

Julia198x · 23 Aug 2011, 18:21

These are all really great beginner tips. Thank you everyone!!!

EWWinterbach · 7 Sept 2011, 12:11

As a newby - Myself - best is to play and pracice and keep playing playing playing - its such an easy program and once youve played a bit - ask question from the guys here that know it thru and thru

by the way - do u know how to make fabric - like as in fold of fabric in random
I dunno and its doing my head in
can u help
i see it has been done in Library

if so please email me : info@in2interiors.co.za

regards from : Cape Town South Africa

Trogluddite · 7 Sept 2011, 21:28

Learn to think more negatively!

In my first few attempts at making my own objects, I found that I was trying to make lots of little 'construction kit' parts, and then ending up with nasty overlaps and internal faces when I tried to 'build' my object.

But, it is often better to think more like like a sculptor - don't 'build' an object, rather 'carve' it from a solid block to remove the bits you don't want. The push/pull tool is your biggest friend for this.
Using 'intersect faces' (or Solid Tools if you have SU Pro) makes light work of 'carving' even the most complex 'negative shapes'.

For example, I needed to make some realistic screws with nice rounded 'mushroom' heads. But constructing the slots for a Phillps screwdriver into a curved surface isn't easy (and concave areas are always a bit awkward, even with X-ray view or wireframe).
Far easier to construct a nice easy convex 'screwdriver' component, and then use that to carve out the slots using subtraction.

This is as much about how you see the objects around you, as it is about SU technique (just as in painting or sculpture) - so it's worth training your eye to see the shapes of the 'nothingness' in objects as much as the solid matter.

mics_54 · 9 Sept 2011, 02:47

my attempt at fabricfabric.skp

EWWinterbach · 22 Sept 2011, 05:26

@mics_54 said:

my attempt at fabric[attachment=0:1kogs4cp]fabric.skp[/attachment:1kogs4cp]

thank you so much for this example

it open up my world to the fabric thing that was holding my back
your example has helped heaps
now i am creating some awesome stuff
See it just needs one person to lead the way and the rest of us learn so much

bravo !!!!!

Daniel · 12 Oct 2011, 21:42

Whatever your modeling, pay attention to how things are made, and model accordingly. And, pay attention to how you position your textures.

xphatjunkie · 17 Oct 2011, 08:07

My beginner tip (in landscape practice) : always save many scenes for every match perspectives, plan, detail, and section

DanYHKim · 19 Oct 2011, 16:20

Two-sided Faces

I don't usually deal with materials and faces, but this is a useful characteristic. Faces have two different sides, and are usually colored differently. It is possible to make one face transparent, while the other side is opaque. I use this when modeling a house, so I can see the interior of the house when looking through the top, but a solid ceiling shows when I have POV inside the house.

Here's a video of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivv4qcdX6lM

[flash=425,344:32vbof82]http://www.youtube.com/v/ivv4qcdX6lM[/flash:32vbof82]

Related video done by someone else:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBcI7Rzo6yU

DanYHKim · 19 Oct 2011, 16:31

I always set up custom keyboard shortcuts, then save them to a file. I keep this file in a USB Flash drive that I carry with me, so it's handy. I also use the "Large Tool Set" instead of the "Getting Started" set, and set buttons small.

My department has computers in the lab with SketchUp installed, but students do not have Admin rights. They cannot install plugins or components into the usual places. It turns out that you can copy the program folder for SketchUp to a Flash drive, and run it from there, if the host computer also has SketchUp installed. It may require that the same or higher version be installed, but haven't tested that yet.

So, I have told students that they can install SketchUp on their home computers, install plugins and component bonus packs, and then copy the program folder to a USB drive. If they run the program from there, it will give them access to the plugin and components folders, which is very handy. Not exactly "portable" SketchUp, but close.

I have a video of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VQmkz-MraA
The relevant portion of this video begins at 5:25
[flash=425,344:2tby5oj2]http://www.youtube.com/v/0VQmkz-MraA[/flash:2tby5oj2]

In truth, there's probably no real reason why SketchUp can't be reconfigured to run as a portable app. Only a few minor changes would do it I'm sure.

Gaieus · 19 Oct 2011, 16:37

Yes, that's a good trick. I also did it here where I painted the back face of the thick wall transparent so that windows "seem" to cut through those thick walls:

bestmate · 15 Nov 2011, 23:14

If i may ,can i give you our future experts ( trust me it won't take long ) tips to help them along

1/ Accurate inferencing, To me is the corner stone to clean non hair pulling out experiences in sketchup ( Zoom zoom to see were your putting that line)

2/ COPLANER If that face will not fill in after 10 minutes ( and i have been there) its not flat ! If there are two lines very close together where there should be one ( you know, those lines that look alittle thicker that the other lines), then the party on its the way to pair shape city Ha ha.

3/ Work cleanly and and erase those lines that should not be there ( the lines that keep flashing puppy eyes at your inference engine) ,and your clinical approach will reward you , in not wanting to get off your computer ,rather than throwing it out the window .
Enjoy Phil

Tobobo · 21 Nov 2011, 14:23

Another tip, keep coming back to this and the 'Duh' threads again and again. I keep forgetting things that people have mentioned.

peter_shaw · 25 Nov 2011, 14:18

when composing a scene for rendering, the look around tool is quite handy. you can change your eye height by simply typing in numbers while using the tool.

petropix · 28 Nov 2011, 06:58

Beginners tip? Use a programable multi-button mouse. I recommend Logitech Revolution VX, smallish and elegant (unfortunately discontinued). You can assign 10 functions and now you're a speed demon in SketchUp. There aren't that many makes out there which is frustrating because I've worn out four of these Logitech mice and the new Logitech iterations are cheaply made with fewer functions, although there's the option of going to a full-blown gamer's mouse.

vjekobalas · 14 Dec 2011, 19:47

I'm a beginner but I'll allow myself to be a bit philosophical
as I've come to a conclusion which may or may not mean anything
to you - besides going through all the sketchup videos and duplicating
the steps in the videos and understanding the basics of the tools, my tip
is that you have to stop thinking about drawing (lines, shapes etc.) and
start thinking creatively about geometry, components, groups
and how the tools can be combined in magical ways to draw what you need.
When you have some spare time, pick some questions on the forum on how
something was done and you'll further speed up filling your bag of tricks.

peter_shaw · 16 Dec 2011, 09:08

u can shortcut any function, even plugins. as a gamer, my hand automatically rests on wasd all the time so i set up shortcuts that are easy to reach from that: q: make line, w: paintbucket, e: push pull, r: move
spacebar: selection tool, x: xray mode
etc.
one of the best shortcuts for modelling with groups and components is view/component edit/hide rest of model.
the ability to toggle that is just awesome.

opal · 16 Dec 2011, 12:52

needs the how to set up shortcuts instructions

ETA.. ^found it^ nm

btw.. loving that icon picture of yours Peter.. can't stop looking and smiling