Even though SketchUp lets you make (just about) anything you can think of, certain forms are easier to make than others. Fortunately, these kinds of shapes are exactly the ones that most people want to make with SketchUp, most of the time. That’s no accident; SketchUp was designed with architecture in mind, so the whole paradigm the fact that SketchUp models are made of faces and edges, and the kinds of tools it offers is perfect for making things like buildings.

But what about curvy, swoopy buildings? You can use SketchUp to make those, too, but they’re a little harder, so I don’t think they’re a good place to start. Because most of us live in boxy places with right-angled rooms and flat ceilings, that kind of architecture is relatively easy to understand. I introduce you to some of the fundamentals of SketchUp modeling in terms of making simple, rectilinear buildings. By writing about how to build certain kinds of things, instead of just describing what the individual tools do, I hope to make it easier for you to get started. Even if you’re not planning to use SketchUp to model any of the things I describe, you should still be able to apply these concepts to your own creations. Working with the colored drawing axes, selecting objects, navigating around your model, and drawing things accurately are pretty key to making anything in SketchUp, so be prepared to flip back and forth while you’re getting used to how things work. I like to use paper clips as articlemarks, but I’m sure you have your own method.

Drawing Floors and Walls

Most floors and walls are flat surfaces, so it’s easy to model them with straight edges and flat faces in SketchUp. In fact, chances are good that the first thing you ever modeled in SketchUp looked a lot like the floor and walls of a building. I can think of two different kinds of architectural models that most people want to create in SketchUp; how you approach modeling floors and walls depends entirely on the type of model you’re making:

- Exterior: An exterior model of a building is basically just an empty shell; you don’t have interior walls, rooms, or furniture to worry about. This type of model is a slightly simpler proposition for folks who are just starting out.

- Interior: An interior model of a building is significantly more complicated than an exterior-only one; dealing with interior wall thicknesses, floor heights, ceilings, and furnishings involves a lot more modeling prowess.

Here’s the thing: Because everything in SketchUp is made up of super-flat faces (they have no thickness), the only way to model a wall that’s, say, 8 inches thick is to use two faces side by side and 8 inches apart. For models where you need to show wall thicknesses namely, interior models this is what you’ll have to do. Exterior models are easier to make because you can use single faces to represent walls.

Starting out in 2D

Of course, you can make a 3D model of a building’s interior in lots of different ways, but I’m going to show you the one I think makes the most sense. Basically, it involves drawing a two-dimensional floorplan that includes all your interior and exterior walls, and then extruding it up to be the right height. In my method, you don’t worry about doors, windows, or stairs until after your model is extruded; you put them in afterward, which I think is an easier and more logical way to work.

If you’re importing a floorplan from another piece of software like AutoCAD or VectorWorks, I think you’ll appreciate this approach it lets you take 2D information and make it 3D, regardless of where it comes from. Even though SketchUp is a 3D modeling program through and through, it’s not a bad tool for drawing simple 2D plans. The toolset is adequate and easy to use, and doing a couple of things before you get started will help a lot. The thing to keep in mind is that SketchUp isn’t a full-fledged drafting program, and it probably never will be. If you’re an architect-type who needs to do heavy-duty CAD (computer-aided drawing) work, you should probably be drafting in another piece of software and importing your work into SketchUp when you need 3D. If you’re just drawing your house or the place where you work, look no further SketchUp should do just fine.

Switching to a 2D view

If you’re going to use SketchUp to draw a 2D plan, the first thing you need to do is to orient your point of view. It’s easiest to draw in 2D when you’re directly above your work, looking down at the ground plane. You also want to make sure that you’re not seeing things in perspective, which distorts your view of what you have.

Coming up with a simple plan

If all you’re trying to do is model an exterior view of a building, just measure around the perimeter, draw the outline of the building in SketchUp, and proceed from there. Your walls will only be a single face thick (meaning paper-thin), but that’s okay you’re only interested in the outside, anyway.

If, on the other hand, you want to create an interior view, your life is a little bit more complicated. The business of measuring an existing building so that you can model it on the computer is easier said than done even experienced architects and builders often get confused when trying to create as-builts, as drawings of existing buildings are called. Closets, ventilation spaces, interior walls, and all kinds of other obstructions inevitably get in the way of getting good measurements; most of the time, you just have to give it your best shot and then tweak things a bit to make them right.

Drawing an interior outline

Because the main goal of making an interior model of a building is to end up with accurate interior spaces, you need to work from the inside out. If your tape measure is long enough, try to figure out a way to get the major dimensions first this means the total interior width and length of the inside of your building. You might not be able to, but do your best. After that, it’s really just a matter of working your way around, using basic arithmetic and logic to figure things out.

It really helps to make a paper drawing before you start in with SketchUp. You’ll know what you need to do, leaving all your concentration for drafting on the computer.

Adding doors and windows

You can make openings in your walls in a couple of different ways. What you choose to do depends on what kind of building you’re modeling, whether you’re using single-face or double-face walls, and how much detail you plan to include in your model. You have two options:

- Use SketchUp components that cut openings themselves. SketchUp comes with a whole bunch of doors and windows that you can drag and drop into your model. The really cool thing about these is that they cut their own openings when you place them. Here’s the catch, though: SketchUp’s “Cut Opening” components only work on single-face walls, which means that they’re really only useful for exterior building models. If you’re building an interior model, you’ll have to cut your own openings.

- Cut openings yourself. For double-face walls, this is your only option; luckily, it’s easy to do. Basically, you draw an outline for the opening you want to create, and then you use Push/Pull to create the opening it works the same way for doors and windows. Using SketchUp’s handy-dandy components As long as you’re making an exterior model, you can use the doors and windows that come with SketchUp. Without going into a ton of detail, here’s what you need to know about them:

- They’re in the Components dialog box. Choose Window - Components to open the dialog box, and then look in the Architecture library for the doors and windows.

- You can find hundreds more online. If you’re connected to the Internet, choose File - 3D Warehouse - Get Models. This brings up the 3D Warehouse, where you can freely download just about anything you’re looking for.

- They are editable. If you don’t like something about one of SketchUp’s builtin doors or windows, you can change it.

- They cut their own openings, but the openings aren’t permanent. When you move or delete a door or window component you’ve placed, its opening goes with it. Before I dive in, what follows is a brief guide to general roof types and terminology; this might come in handy for some of the explanations I give later on.

- Flat roof: Flat roofs are just that, except they aren’t if a roof were really flat, it would collect water and leak. That’s why even roofs that look flat are sloped very slightly.

- Pitched roof: Any roof that isn’t flat is technically a pitched roof.

- Shed roof: A shed roof is one that slopes from one side to the other.

- Gabled roof: Gabled roofs have two planes that slope away from a central ridge.

- Hip roof: A hip roof is one where the sides and ends all slope together.

- Pitch: The angle of a roof surface.

- Gable: A gable is the pointy section of wall that sits under the peak of a pitched roof.

- Eave: Eaves are the parts of a roof that overhang the building.

- Fascia: Fascia is the trim around the edge of a roof’s eaves where gutters are sometimes attached.

- Soffit: A soffit is the underside of an overhanging eave.

- Rake: The rake is the part of a gabled roof that overhangs the gable.

- Valley: A valley is formed when two roof slopes come together; this is where water flows when it rains.

- Dormer: Dormers are the little things that pop up above roof surfaces. They often have windows, and they serve to make attic spaces more usable.

- Parapet: Flat roofs that don’t have eaves have parapets: These are extensions of the building’s walls that go up a few feet past the roof itself.