No matter how simple or complex your model, every model in SketchUp is really just edges and faces. SketchUp’s drawing tools help you create those edges and faces.
Note: Some links in this guide point to the Trimble SketchUp Help Centre for additional information. For any account and billing enquiries, please visit the SketchUp Australia website or contact our team directly.
Starting Out
If you’re a beginner to drawing in SketchUp, start simple. The following articles cover the basics and provide the foundational knowledge you’ll need:
| Learn how to… | ..with this article. |
|---|---|
| Draw lines and shapes in 3D and how it’s different from drawing in 2D. | Introducing Drawing Basics and Concepts |
| Use lines and basic shapes in your models. | Drawing Basic Shapes |
| Select the edges and faces in your model. | Selecting Geometry |
| Push or pull the faces and edges you draw. | Pushing and Pulling Shapes in 3D |
| Create arc entities to add curved lines to your models. | Drawing Arcs |
| Draw lines and shapes without a specific tool. | Drawing Freehand Shapes |
Advanced Techniques
If you’re eager to draw detail and complex 3D models, these articles can help you expand your drawing skills:
| Learn how to… | ..with this article. |
|---|---|
| Make curved faces more polished or hide geometry you don’t want anyone to see. | Softening, Smoothing, and Hiding Geometry |
| Split, divide, mend, or explode geometry. | Dividing, Splitting, and Exploding Lines and Faces |
| Precisely move the entities you’ve drawn to other parts of your model. | Moving Entities Around |
| Reverse, rotate, or create copies of an entity. | Flipping, Mirroring, Rotating, and Arrays |
| Resize and reshape entities based on the relative size of edges and faces. | Scaling Your Model or Parts of Your Model |
| Extrude a face along a path to create a 3D shape. | Extruding with Follow Me |
| Model complex shapes using other solids to add to and subtract from your geometry. | Modeling Complex 3D Shapes with the Solid Tools |
| Create section planes to help you get the right view of a model without moving or hiding geometry. | Create and Use Section Planes |
| Add text and other indicators to your geometry. | Adding Text, Labels, and Dimensions to a Model |
| Draw a slightly bigger or smaller version of a shape equidistant from the original. | Offsetting a Line From Existing Geometry |
| Adjust your geometry to incorporate precise measurements or angles. | Measuring Angles and Distances to Model Precisely |
| Model a specific shape or object that isn’t covered by the Solid tools. | Modeling Specific Shapes, Objects, and Building |