3D drawing with the “Square” tool

I had already told  you how to draw a rectangle or a square in a previous lesson.

What I’m still here to tell you is that when you draw the rectangle from left to right or from right to left or you type in the dimensions, SketchUp will complement the rectangle in that direction. In other words, you signdraw a rectangle from left to right, type 300; 200 and click the Enter key, you know that SketchUp must count 300cm to the right of the starting point of your drawing.
Do the same, to draw the rectangle from right to left, then SketchUp counts 300cm to the left of the starting point of your drawing.
Type any negative numbers, eg -300, -200, then the drawing is drawn in the opposite direction of your   mouse pointer.
This is just for your information, but you must try when you have some time.

Ok, we will continue with the 3D drawing with the “Square” tool.

We will do this with the same tool, thus we will only make use of the blue axis, thats the vertical axis.
In the first example we will create a cube of a flat rectangular surface.
The first thing you do is move your mouse over the first endpoint locations (1), DO Not click.
Then move your mouse over the green axis until you’ve reached the second endpoint (2).
Move the pointer vertically, parallel to the blue axis, and click when you’ve reached the correct height (3).

The first upright rectangle is created.

The second wall is actually easier. Click the first endpoint (1), move the mouse pointer over the second endpoint (2) and click.
SketchUp will automatically know what you want to do.
The same for the third wall.
Click the first endpoint (1), move the mouse pointer over the second endpoint (2) and click.

The fourth wall in the same way, but this time, I am taking little more difficult example.
I first click the first endpoint, and move the mouse pointer over the edge of the lower surface. When I reach the midpoint of this edge, I will follow the red shaft (1), and when I’ve reached the desired depth I click the second endpoint (2). This gives me a slanted upright wall.
And for the last wall i click the first endpoint, and then the second end point (3).
The later wall is also filled up.
If you want to remove the excess area, choose the Eraser tool in the tool bar and click the edge of the area that you want to remove (4).

 

Also an upright rectangle draw a blank drawing area is two times nothing.
Move the “Rotate” tool on the drawing area so that the blue vertical axis on the red or green axis, depending on what position you want to draw the upright rectangle.
Draw a rectangle, and you’re done.

You can also use the “Back” and “Left” buttons in the “Views” toolbar.

Normally SketchUp uses gray color inside of a figure and blue outside.
This is easy for us to make a distinction between the inside or the outside of a plane.
But sometimes this can go wrong, for example when certain parts of a 3D figure, as in this example when I have two upright walls that are drawn in the opposite direction.
To give the same interior and exterior color to both these walls, right click on a wall and select “Reverse Faces” in the drop-down menu.
More on this topic in lesson 18.

 

With a little practice, it is simple to add a second upright rectangular on the same axis with the same height as the first.

First move the mouse pointer over the reference point (1) in the first upright rectangle (this is the rightmost vertex on the green axis).
Move the cursor over the axis (green axis) and that will align the new rectangle (2).
Click the first endpoint of the new rectangle (3) when the correct starting position of the second rectangle is reached.
Move the mouse pointer diagonally across the second reference point (4).
Move the mouse pointer over the green axis (5).
Click when you have reached the correct size for the new rectangle. (6)

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