Learn how to use SketchUp to model a picnic table, perfecting your skills with the rotated rectangle tool, the push/pull command, and line command. This tutorial also introduces the concept of sticky geometry and emphasizes the importance of grouping objects in 3D modeling.
Key Insights
- The tutorial begins with using the rotated rectangle tool, which allows us to draw rectangles at any angle specified. The tutorial demonstrates this by creating a rectangle at a 60-degree angle, which forms the basis for our picnic table.
- The push/pull tool is used extensively to transform 2D shapes into 3D geometries. This tool allows us to pull our shapes into three dimensions, and can also be used to erase portions of the 3D geometry.
- The guide emphasizes the importance of grouping objects in SketchUp to avoid 'sticky geometry'. If objects are not grouped or part of a component, they will stick together, creating a challenging working environment.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
so in this video we will begin to model our picnic table. If you have not done so, please go to file, new, from template, in the architectural inches to create a new file. Before we begin modeling, we never want to be working in an unsaved document, so let's go to file, save as, find our C drive and our skp101 file downloads folder, double click, and we're going to save this as picnic-table.skp and we'll click save.
To begin, let's select the eraser tool and erase our man. And to start, the first tool we will use will be to use the rotated rectangle tool, right here. The rotated rectangle is different than from the traditional rectangle in that it will first ask for a rotation angle and then we can draw a rectangle.
So please click anywhere on the screen and drag along the green axes and type in two inches. Now we will see that that SketchUp is previewing a rectangle and allowing us to draw it on any angle in the measurements box. You can see in the measurements box in the bottom right corner it says width comma angle.
So let's type in 42 inches for our length comma 60. Let's do a zoom extents and scroll our wheel back to zoom out. I will click space bar to go back to our cursor.
Let's go to the push pull command and select our rectangle and pull to the right. Let's move it six inches. Type in six inches and then click enter.
.png)
Learn SketchUp
- Nationally accredited
- Create your own portfolio
- Free student software
- Learn at your convenience
- Authorized Autodesk training center
The push pull tool creates 3D geometry but it can also remove 3D geometry. Let's go to our line command and click from this point and then along the red axes let's draw across and let's do the same thing at the top. I will click escape to stop my line and then click here move across the red and click and then click escape to end that line.
Next if we go back to the push pull tool and click in this triangle that I have hovering over we can drag out as a bump or bring it in to delete it. We click and then either click on a point or click on the edge and it will automatically erase that geometry. Let me do the same thing at the bottom where we can either pull it away or bring it back to delete.
We can go all the way down here and then click to delete. I'm going to zoom out I'm going to orbit to the top. Let's grab our line tool and draw this line five feet.
So I will type I will as this as I'm hovering over this line that's currently selected in the length I will type five feet and then click enter. We have made our first table leg. I will delete this line up here.
I will go to erase delete that click that. We will now make our second table leg in the opposite direction. So let's go back to our rotated rectangle tool and select the endpoint and then along this axis we will type in two inches.
Again we will see now that the prompt is for width comma angle. Now this time going this direction not this direction towards the other leg I will type in 42 inches comma 60. Again let's go back to the push pull tool click this and then click and move our mouse and type in six enter.
So in the measurements box it'll automatically read as inches so we don't have to type in six inches we can just type in six and it'll automatically be inches. For feet however we can't type in six as it'll assume it's doing inches so we have to type in six feet in order to do feet. Again let's draw a line at the top to connect here along the red axis.
I will go back to my push pull click escape to end that line back to the push pull tool click this hover over these triangles and I will delete this element and then click here and I can snap to this this corner right here. If I can't really see what's happening I can click to this corner and it'll snap and delete that. Let's go back to the erase tool and erase this line and erase this line and this line.
Next I will save my file I will hold CTRL S to save my file or I'm going to file save. Next I would like to take a moment to talk about sticky geometry in SketchUp. This is one very common problem that a lot of new users will face in SketchUp and 3D modeling.
It's called sticky geometry. If objects are not grouped or a part of a component they will stick to each other and be kind of connected and create some really tough working environments. If I drew a box rectangle and you know I'll draw a box right here connected to this leg and then I push pull and make this a 3D box.
If I was to select only this box and then you know move it around you can see that it's connected to the leg and it's it's all stuck together and it's it's very challenging. I'm going to undo this I'll click escape undo undo. If I was to first group this element this leg so I would you know either click and drag to select all those objects or a triple click and then right click make group you can see that a bounding box appears around my leg.
Now if I make again that same box next to the leg rectangle tool push pull and then the same thing I want to select it and I'm going to test it again and move this around you can see that the leg is stationary this when moving this box is not affecting the leg. We always want to group objects once we are done with them before something else is touching it. It's very good modeling practices and good techniques in Sketchup.
We will use groups and components throughout this course. So I will delete this I can right click erase or click the delete key. I'm going to triple click on this leg to make this one a group as well.
Now these are both groups I will hit CTRL S to save my file. All right this is a good stopping point for now. So in our next video we will continue with our table.
