To create a 3D model in SketchUp, you're constantly switching among the drawing tools, views, components, and organizational tools. In this article, you find several examples that illustrate ways you can use these tools together to model a specific shape or object. The examples illustrate a few of the different applications for creating 3D models in SketchUp: woodworking, modeling parts or abstract objects, and creating buildings. The examples are loosely ordered from the simple to the complex.

Many models start with basic shapes. In SketchUp, the shape tools help you draw rectangles, circles, and polygons. You find these tools on the Getting Started toolbar, the Drawing toolbar, and the Large Tool Set toolbar.

Tip: Inserted SketchUp files can now contain Dashed Lines, to learn more about managing those new line types with inserted files, see Working with SketchUp Dashes in Imported Models Rectangles are simple shapes, but for those of you who like pizzaz in your rectangles, LayOut has four rectangle tools. Each tool does a little something different with the rectangles lines or corners, as shown in the following figure:

If you're new to creating documents and presentations in LayOut, a quick tour of the interface and few mousing tips can help orient you to LayOut's basic tools and features. Parts of the LayOut interface, like the Measurements box and some of the mousing tricks, look and feel like SketchUp. Other parts, like some menus and dialog boxes, are unique to LayOut. Ready to tour the interface? Let the following sections be your guide.