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.

As you draw 3D models in SketchUp, dividing edges and faces can help you create and manipulate your geometry in complex ways. You can also explode entities, such as circles and polygons, into their individual segments.Dividing a Line or ArcSketchUp splits a line segment when a new line is drawn perpendicular to that line. For example, when two lines are drawn perpendicular to each other on the face of the cube:

Your model is more than just straight lines. SketchUp can help you create curved geometry using arcs. Before you begin drawing arcs, here are a few handy details about the way arc entities work:

In LayOut, you can bend lines and shapes - no telekinetic powers required! All you need is LayOut's path editor. Okay, that might be a tiny fib. You need the path editor and a little knowledge about editing vector graphics and Bézier curves. After you know the tricks, however, bending lines and shapes is easy, and this article explains all the basics to help you get started.

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 ModelsWhether you want to draw the long arc of history or just a precise section of a circle, LayOut has four arc tools that enable you to draw an arc any way you like:

LayOut’s interface contains the basic tools and features you need to create documents and presentations to suit your design needs. Parts of the LayOut interface, and the way you navigate a LayOut document, can look and feel a lot like SketchUp. There are still some key differences to keep in mind.