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.

Using the Soften Edges feature, along with the Smooth edge property, changes the visibility of edges and can make your model look more realistic with less geometry. As an added bonus, it may also improve your computer’s performance.Understanding the edge propertiesIn SketchUp, the following properties, in various combinations, enable you to control edges’ appearance:Soft: When you soften an edge, the edge is hidden, and the faces that the edge bounds become a surface entity.

Everyone makes mistakes. In SketchUp, you can correct mistakes with the Undo command or the Eraser tool.Using the Undo CommandThe Undo command reverses your most recent action. For example:

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:

Drawing a model in 3D is different from drawing an image in 2D. This introduction to drawing basics and concepts explains a few ways you can create edges and faces, (the basic entities of any SketchUp model and also discover how the SketchUp inference engine can help.

Getting started with SketchUp is easy, and we want to make sure that everyone, no matter their skill level, has all the information they need to begin creating their own awesome models. Whether you are new to modeling and using SketchUp for the first time, an experienced modeler already familiar with CAD software, or even a SketchUp Sage, we have all you need right here to get started making awesome 3D models.