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If not, create that section now, cutting horizontally through the model and looking down, and position it to view the first floor of the model. If you created your first-floor section plane already, make that the active section cut.Select “top” from the standard views menu, also in the Camera menu.In the Camera menu, select “parallel projection.” SketchUp will be set to “perspective” as the default.With all the prep work done and a professionally organized model to work with, you’re ready to create a plan scene. Plan view of a 3D model in SketchUp - model by John Luttropp, available on 3D Warehouse Once you define a style and save a scene, your model will revert back to that style each time you navigate back to that scene.
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Style choices are preserved scene by scene. SketchUp provides a wide array of default styles to meet the goals of your drawings. Do you want to see materials, shaded objects, or all grayscale linework? Use styles to define the appearance of edges, section fills, colors, and materials. Avoid that potential rework by creating all the sections you’ll need before saving scenes.
Sketch up update#
Section planes added after you define a scene will show up in each previous scene you’ll need to go back and hide the section plane and update each scene you’ve already created.
Sketch up pro#
Pro tip: add all of your section planes before you save any scenes. Manage section plane visibility and whether the active cut is on or off in the Styles menu. Use the Move tool to shift the planes up and down or side to side. Select the Section Plane tool - and click on a face in the model to orient the section cut. Section planes cut through the model to show a cross-section of the walls and spaces within. Styles menu interface and active section plane in SketchUp - 3D model by John Luttropp, available on 3D WarehouseĬreating a plan view and creating sections in LayOut are essentially the same, both done using the Section Plane tool. While you can manipulate models and toggle tags off and on in LayOut, it’s much easier and improves performance if you set those details in SketchUp. It’s good practice to think about doing ‘SketchUp stuff’ in SketchUp and ‘LayOut stuff’ in LayOut. LayOut’s real strengths are in creating and organizing 2D assets that sit on top of your model, like title blocks and annotations. LayOut and SketchUp work hand-in-hand, but each does its own thing very well.
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While making a floorplan in LayOut can be as simple as creating a section cut in your SketchUp model and clicking “Send to LayOut,” there are a few things to consider before moving into LayOut that will make your life much easier.
Sketch up how to#
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Sketch up series#
A series of menus on the right side of the screen give you tools for dialing in your document and drawing settings, including:
Sketch up full#
After creating a plan and building out your full drawing set, these icons smooth out navigation in LayOut and presenting to clients. Icons on the right side of the top navigation toolbar - can be used to add pages, navigate from one page to the next, or start a presentation using your document. There are a few handy features worth pointing out right off the bat. Customize both mouse and keyboard shortcuts from the preferences menu to tailor the program to your workflow. Navigate more precisely in LayOut with a three-button mouse the scroll wheel zooms in and out and the scroll wheel button pans across your drawing sheets. Some tools act similar to SketchUp, while others feel more like desktop publishing or drafting program controls. Navigation in LayOut is slightly different from what you’re used to in SketchUp. You can revert away from this setting if you decide you want to see the prompt again each time. If you often use the same sheet size or document setup, set a default template to automatically open with your preferred settings when you start a new LayOut document. These can be found under "My Templates" in the initial document creation. Once you fine-tune your settings, select “File > Save as template” to have this as a starting point. When creating a plan in LayOut, make your own templates so you don’t need to manually adjust settings each time you start a new document.
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