For those who don't know, in my real life I am a graphic designer. I've been working with the "holy three" for years: Photoshop, Illustrator, and (more recently) InDesign. I can say with confidence and pride that I know these programs inside and out. I'll crank out a tri-fold brochure in record time. I'll put together a 20' trade show exhibit under any deadline. Need an 80 page catalog? No sweat. Shenanigans? I can make you a photo of Barack Obama shaking hands with Rush Limbaugh while getting swallowed by a shark. (Wow, there's an image to conjure.)
What's the common denominator here? Yeah, they are all two-dimensional media and I am becoming antiquated. Despite my recent (ahem) 3D video, designing in 3D has been a serious lapse in my self-education.
Well, as part of the Steve Improvement Program (SIP), and at the urging of countless people who are way more with the times than me, I have finally decided to start learning Google Sketchup.
I've been fooling around with it for a few hours now and am totally frustrated. (Frustration: another mini theme for this weekend.) I've watched a number of the video tutorials, all of which are well produced and have a very soothing lady's voice narration, but I am still floundering. I am stuck in a 2D world in the 20th century.
So, you Sketchup masters, help! Hit me up with your absolute killer basic suggestions for beginner Sketchup users. What is the most basic advice you can offer? What is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you started. What was your "aha" moment? Hey, you like to write? Write up an "Absolute Beginner's Guide to Sketchup", or "Top 5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Sketchup", or something, and send it to me — zrammedia(at)gmail(dot)com — and I'll post it here as a guest blogger entry. You'll be read by countless (3 or 4) people and live in digital infamy. And you'll be my hero. And you'll have good karma for the rest of your life.
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Update: I decided to remove the Nails video I posted yesterday. My appologies to those who were offended by it. I should have thought that through a bit more!
These guys have a blog of sketchup /woodworking videos - http://www.finewoodworking.com/blog/design-click-build
ReplyDeleteThe best videos I've seen for free is at sketchupforwoodworkers.com but I'll see what my technical writing skills can come up with sans threat of coma!
ReplyDeleteMike: it's your mission. Your destiny. Learn me on Sketchup in simpleton terms like I be.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Mike. In addition to SketchUp for Woodworkers, I would watch (and follow along with) the the 3-part series on SketchUp over at The Wood Whisperer:
ReplyDeletehttp://thewoodwhisperer.com/category/video/sketchup-video/
...and here's another good resource:
ReplyDeletehttp://craftsmanplans.com/sketchup.htm
wow ive im not mistaken, that was about 32 counts of kiddie porn, 2480 fake boobs, 52 pairs of "discovery channel boobs", and 12 counts of pot smoking, and just a tad disturbing to boot
ReplyDeleteit was like an aboriginea jerry springer lol
but i agree with ya on sketchup, ive used alot of map-making programs that are way easier then sketchup for 3d stuff, only issue is they really arent printable or atleast not anything u can follow from
i have a cabinet to do soon and if i could pull my head out and fihure out sketchup i know it would help immensly, even after about 30 vids thayt are supposed to be very good im still feeling like a monkey screwing a football..
o i almost forgot, also 1 count of man-degradation i think even at felony level..lol
Your video went over the line with the soft child porn. You need to stick with wood stuff and stay away from this crap. Just sayin....
ReplyDeleteDon, Bob, et al...you are right. My appologies on the video. If only the Lady Antebellum video had been embeddable. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteHow much time do You want to spent on Your computer before You go to Your shop? Won't You over-plan Your projects? You might end up abandon an idea just because You find yourself unable to model it in Sketchup or any other tool! You can do a lot more than what any computer program allows You to model.
ReplyDeleteAs hobby woodworkers, we only have to explain and document what we want to achieve to ourselves and our projects are very often one-shots. A pencil and some paper work best for that.
I've used Sketchup twice for modeling ideas and show them to my wife for approval and that's OK, but I'd never go further with that tool simply because it will never be as flexible as is a pencil and a sheet of paper.
Being a reader of Your blog for some time I'm aware of Your critical view of things and I hope that You allow me to throw back some critics and point You back to the essentials of woodworking that is: being in the shop and working on the real wood!
Marc, you know, I've always kind of been of the "Ready, Fire, Aim" school of doing many things, especially in the shop. When I plan out designs, I typically make very rough sketches on paper and mostly work from a design in my head. That has always worked pretty well and I doubt Sketchup will become my go-to tool for simple designs.
ReplyDeleteIt has been my fussing with the entertainment center that has caused me trouble. I just can't quite realize on paper what I have in my mind. (Probably learning a little more technical drawing would serve me better.) I'd like to be able to move shelves around and resize things without so much erasing and redrawing.
But your point is well taken. I really don't like this much preliminary design. I know that is probably not a professional approach, but well...I ain't a pro. And I'll probably always end up making more scrap wood than I should.
So my verdict is still out on Sketchup. If it can actually get me to spend MORE time in the shop, that's a plus. But if it just ends up keeping me in my office longer than using a pencil on a napkin, I'll ditch it. I do know that I spent way too much time fussing with it this weekend and didn't cut a single board.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteIn addition to my suggestions on LJ, I'll leave you with two very important(IMO) thoughts.
1) I think you're trying to bite off too big of a chunk at one time. It took you YEARS to get to where you are with your graphic design skills so don't expect to become a SU expert overnight. Only learn 5 new steps at a time. Use those and get familiar with them before adding more skills. And in this learning phase, don't be afraid to use both methods. Get some napkin time in so you can get out to the shop. Oh, and the learning phase never stops, new features and approaches are constantly being either added(new versions) or discovered(by getting input from others).
2) And as far as trying to talk you into moving over to the dark side... although an initial napkin sketch might in fact be quicker quicker in the beginning, you are likely to need to make revisions later. When you do, you’ll most likely be left in the dust(pun intended) with the napkin approach.
Rance
I'm in the "Sketchup is good for woodworking" camp. You save a lot of time thinking through how the parts will get connected, at least on all but the simplest projects. It's also a great tool for visualizing the final result, and once you get the hang of it, it's almost as fun as being in the shop. The best tutorial series I've seen on Sketchup for woodworking is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm
He takes you through a simple project (a nightstand) and covers all the basics of components, groups,layers, scenes etc. plus giving a lot of tips along the way.
If you would like a really good set of tutorials on su go to swamp road woodworks at http://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm joe is really awesome in su as it pertains to woodworking and tells it in video that is so understandable (at least so far, I have only completed the first 2 videos of 8 in the beginner section plus I need to rewatch his video on primitives
ReplyDeleteI got SketchUp based on Mathias's tutorials and found them as good a place to start as the tutorials on Google. My tips that helped me? Don't know yet if I'll come up with 5 but here they are.
ReplyDelete1) Remember to create components or everything tries to run together. If you draw a table leg, stop and make it a component. Then make the apron. Make it a component ... You get my drift. You can always go back and edit a component.
2) Making copies of components, say for things like table legs where you'll have 4 of them, works ok if you're skilled enough at figuring out how to rotate them and can calculate in advance how many you'll need. More importantly, you'll have to be able to interpret how making an edit to one of them will effect the copies because copies of components end up with the same edits. I find it simplest to draw each leg individually and call it "Leg 1," " Leg 2" etc.
3) Understand what will copy and what won't when you select an area to copy. Something I picked up from Mathias's tutorials - specifically on making mortise and tenon joints or, on my current project, tongue and groove. This is also a good place to learn how to use the different views, specifically the x-ray view.
4) Learn to watch the axis color on the direction you move things. It can become very important for accurate measurements.
Like you, a simple pencil sketch has been my typically MO on design. Using SketchUp on the current table project made me aware of some measurement issues and design steps that I wouldn't have thought of if I'd gone straight from pencil to build.
Call me Byrdie. My first comment for you although I've been reading your blog for about two weeks (catching up on old posts) and have been watching Mathias's blog for some time now. I don't have a web presence yet except for a couple videos on my YouTube channel (ByrdMann2010) but I'm hoping we get to know each other because we have some interesting connections I'll fill you in on if I get another opportunity.
Thanks for posting all you do. I really appreciate all you share. You've given me some great ideas and a couple tips. I hope to reciprocate.