Part 07 - Creating Your First Model
Part 07 - Creating Your First Model
It will take some time to master SketchUp as with any new software. However, following is a project to
help you better learn the tools and concepts covered in this document.
Creating a chair in SketchUp: The subtractive approach
You will create a chair by subtracting volume from a 3D form in this exercise. This exercise is
accomplished by creating the profile of a chair on a 3D form and then using the Push/Pull tool to remove
the pieces of the form that will not be in the final model. To crate a chair using a subtractive approach:
5. Zoom, orbit, and pan to such that your rectangle is large enough to push/pull with the Push/Pull
tool. Refer to Viewing a Model in 3D Space for further information.
6. Select the Push/Pull tool ( ).
7. Click on the rectangular face.
8. Move the cursor to create (or decrease) volume.
9. Type 4' and press the Enter (Microsoft Windows) or Return (Mac OS X) key. Your dimensions
appear in the Measurements toolbar and the rectangle will expand up and snap to 4 feet.
19. Remove the area above the seat and against the back by repeating the process you just used to
remove the area below the seat. You're model should now closely resemble a 3D chair (without
individual legs).
20. Zoom, orbit, and pan under the chair so that you are facing the back legs.
21. Use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle that represents the space between the two back legs.
22. Use the Push/Pull tool to remove the area between the back legs.
23. Repeat the three previous steps with the front legs.
24. Draw an arc across the top of the back starting just below the left side of the back of the chair. A
separate face will be created at each corner of the top of the chair.
25. Use the Push/Pull tool to remove the two areas at the top of the chair and create a rounded chair
back.
26. Zoom, orbit, and pan to such that you can view the chair in its normal, upright, position. Refer to
Viewing a Model in 3D Space for further information.
You will create a chair by starting with a chair seat and adding the legs and back. To create a chair using
a additive approach:
5. Zoom, orbit, and pan to such that your rectangle is large enough to push/pull with the Push/Pull
tool. Refer to Viewing a Model in 3D Space for further information.
6. Select the Push/Pull tool ( ).
7. Click on the rectangular face.
8. Move the cursor to create the seat thickness.
9. Draw a line toward the back of the seat to represent the profile of the seat back.
10. Use the Push/Pull tool on this rectangle to create the seat back.
11. Draw an arc across the top of the back starting just below the left side of the back of the chair.
Two separate faces will be created at each corner of the top of the chair.
12. Use the Push/Pull tool to remove the two areas at the top of the chair and create a rounded chair
back.
13. Zoom, orbit, and pan to such that you can view the bottom of the chair seat. Refer to Viewing a
Model in 3D Space for further information.
17. Type 2 and press the Enter (Microsoft Windows) or Return (Mac OS X)key. Your dimensions
appear in the Measurements toolbar and a guide will be created 2" away from the edge.
18. Repeat steps 15-17 to create three more guides. Your model should look like the following:
19. Use the Rectangle tool to create the profiles of each chair leg within each corner of the chair
bottom. The Rectangle tool will snap to each guide in the corner to make accurate 2" x 2" legs.
The following picture shows the resulting four rectangular faces in each corner of the chair
bottom.
20. Use the Push/Pull tool to create the legs from the four faces created in the previous step. You can
use inference to align length of the second through fourth leg to the length of the first leg.
21. Use the Eraser tool to erase all of your guide lines.
22. Zoom, orbit, and pan to such that you can view the chair in its normal, upright, position. Refer to
Viewing a Model in 3D Space for further information.