SketchUp - All you need to know!

Name: SketchUp - All you need to know!
Rating: 4.6 (729 reviews)

Learn the essential tools and techniques to design your own projects in 3D

Created byWerkStrich – Zeichnen fürs Handwerk

Last updated 6/2025

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

You'll discover how intuitive SketchUp is and how much fun it can be to work with the program.
You will learn the most important tools and functions to start your own projects in SketchUp.
You will learn the difference between groups and components and how to build professional models.
Learn how to save time and find great models and textures using the 3D model library.
Usefuls SketchUp-Hacks and Tricks that save you time and enable you to create special shapes and geometries.
Import models, edit them and present them in an appealing way for customers or friends and family.

Course content

14 sections • 66 lectures • 4h 23m total length

Welcome to this course!1:29
How to get SketchUp1:56
Discover how to get SketchUp's free web-based version for personal use, sign up with Trimble, and access 10 GB cloud storage across browsers like Chrome and Opera on Windows.
The Home Screen2:21

Importing a Model0:47
In the Materials here you find the SketchUp File of the Bench that we are going to build in this lecture. You can download and import it, and then we can start to build it piece by piece.
Building the Box8:17
Move and Copy2:53
Learn how to move and duplicate objects in SketchUp using the move tool, control to create duplicates, align along the red axis, and space boxes with precise millimeter measurements.
Sampling and Applying Colors0:47
Building the Bench and smoothening Edges7:41
Create a bench in SketchUp by using guides, 5 mm gaps, and equal foot placements, then apply push and pull, arcs, smoothing, color sampling, and guide cleanup.
Summary - What we've learned so far...7:54

Introduction1:05
Materials for Download0:09
Here you will find two files for the following Shortcut Training Course:
1. The Template of the Training Course as a SKP file, which you can import into SketchUp with Menu -> Import -> My Device, so that we work together with the same template (Not a must, but useful :)
2. A PDF document with the most important keyboard shortcuts to work faster in SketchUp. In the parkour you can then try working with the shortcuts.
Try to integrate the keyboard shortcuts bit by bit into your drawing process, because this way everything goes much faster than going back to the toolbox with the mouse every time!
Shortcut Training Course - Part 19:45
Shortcut Training Course - Part 27:45
Master essential SketchUp shortcuts for modeling a tiny house, including pull, push, offset, tape measure, circle, arc, rotate, move, duplicate, and color sampling with the bucket and pipette.
Assign and Change Shortcuts0:37

Build to Look vs. Build to Build5:18
Explore build to look versus build to build in SketchUp, then learn to use groups and components to manage edits, duplication, and real-world assembly.
The Desk - Intro1:07
The Model for Download0:09
Building the Desk7:32
This lecture demonstrates building a SketchUp desk by creating the left foot base, extruding to 750 mm, adding a 45-degree miter joint, and forming the tabletop.
The Cabinet5:34
Building the Drawers7:51
Model a cabinet in SketchUp by building a 550 by 400 base, extruding 160 high, creating a 25 mm opening, and aligning 5 mm gaps for three drawers as components.
Applying Colors and Texture4:37
Apply colors and textures to a SketchUp model by selecting textures, browsing materials, using the paint bucket, and editing groups and components to color edges, the front, and surfaces.
How to quickly present your Model4:03

What is the Follow Me Tool?3:06
A Cone1:19
Building a Picture Frame3:00
In case you want to use the same picture, here you can find the van Gogh in the Materials to download and import.
Edges on a Tabletop2:42
Create a rectangular tabletop, undercut with the follow me tool along a path to lighten it, then use an arc for rounded edge and soften lines with the eraser (e).
Woodturning with the Follow Me Tool2:37

Requirements

No previous experience is necessary for this course.

Description

Do you want to design your own furniture on the PC in an effective way? Do you want to plan your new kitchen or redesign your apartment and visualize it immediately in 3D? Or just creatively express yourself in 3D?

Then SketchUp is exactly the right program for you. SketchUp is an intuitive, powerful 3D modeling software built for professionals and creatives of all kinds. With no other software can you build impressive 3D models so quickly, which immediately convey a spatial effect of your project. The advantages of SketchUp:

there is a free, web-based version
it's probably the easiest of all CAD programs to use
you are instantly in 3D
you can do very quick rough sketching or professional, accurate, detail rich objects
there is a huge library of pre-built 3D-models
from tiny details, to your own garden to the whole building - there is nothing you can't visualise

How is this course structured?

In this 4-hour course you will learn how SketchUp works and how to use the most important tools. Using real examples, you will become confident step by step in using line, rectangle, circle and the push/pull tool. We will learn how to work with groups and components, we will take a look at the practical model library, use various special tools and learn how to present and visualize our projects in an appealing way. Ultimately, the course should get you ready to implement your own ideas in SketchUp and bring them to life.

To make sure you don't get bored and see results right away, everything is based on learning by doing - so we won't spend a lot of time on theory, but will always draw real objects directly. This is project-based learning, starting from a simple box, to a desk, staircase, a complete interior situation and more. This way you learn to approach the sketching process in a wholistic way and always apply new knowledge directly to enhance your learning experience.

What do you need?

Not much! With the following tools you can start 3D modeling right away:

a PC or Mac
a computer mouse with clickable mouse wheel (you can also use the trackpad but with the mouse it will be faster)
nice to have: a large screen

Who this course is for:

Anyone who wants to plan and visualise ideas and projects with a simple, intuitive and free software DIRECTLY in 3D.
Woodworkers, Carpenters, Joiners, Hobbyists, Makers and DIY Enthusiasts.
Designers, architects, interior designers.
Creative minds of all kinds, who want to visualize thoughts and express ideas.

SketchUp - All you need to know!

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction and Setup3 lectures • 6min

The Basics: Line, Rectangle and the Push/Pull Tool6 lectures • 28min

Making a Box with a Dovetail Joint3 lectures • 17min

Round Shapes and Objects2 lectures • 9min

The first Piece of Furniture6 lectures • 28min

The SketchUp Shortcut Training Course5 lectures • 19min

Groups and Components8 lectures • 36min

Geometry in SketchUp3 lectures • 12min

Building a Staircase4 lectures • 13min

A special Tool: Follow Me5 lectures • 13min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: