Google Sketchup for Dummies

I recently taught a Google Sketchup introductory class to my Woodworking group - after sampling some of the video tutorials Aidan has available I sought out and purchased the book that references them (this book!). I've found it invaluable as a reference and recommend it to anyone thinking about using Sketchup - it's well written, simply presented and provides ample guidance for the self-learner. It also provided me with some good ideas on presentation when delivering a classroom session on the topic. I plan to present several more classes in Sketchup with a focus on the woodworker and small project design. The book can be used as reference with little adaptation. Sketchup is one of those programs that can be taken in small chunks for a beginner to get up and designing, or it can be explored in depth to produce some stunning presentations, integrated into an entire project plan with examples, production details, animation and movement, multiple perspectives and even cutlists for woodworkers (using the Cutlist plugin). Kudos to the conception and execution and to Aidan Chopra, both the writer of this guide and the Google Sketchup advocate.

This book along with the online videos will get you up and running fast. It's see one, read one, now do one. The online videos are the key to doing the book as sometimes the books doesn't contain all the information for completing the project. So you have to write down the dimensions from the video into the book. This is what I did and I was able to follow along with the book and complete the projects. In a word "excellent."

I am a retired professional engineer, architect, and 3D graphics artist/instructor. I have been using SketchUp Pro for about 3 years mainly for creating Earth and space structures that I later import into Daz Bryce for rendering. This well written, light-hearted, and extremely thorough book is an essential asset for begineers and a valuable reference tool for anyone using SketchUp. Computer software manual writers can often times get over zealous with methods and confuse everyone but themselves. Fortunately Aidan Chopra is not one of those people. If you want to draw most anything you can imagine you need to do two things. First download the free version of SketchUp and second buy this book. You will be very pleased with both actions.

I bought the book because I wanted to get started using SketchUp to draw a house construction plan. I wanted to see what the house would look like in 3-dimension. I reviewed the on-line training files and got a good understanding of what SketchUp could do, but, as one might expect, there was not a lot of "how-to-get-started" information. The book is well written and easy to follow. It is set up based on a training theory I like, trial and error. The base example is a house sketch with vague dimensions. As you begin to follow the instructions, you make mistakes. You quickly learn how to erase your mistakes and re-start. After a bit, I began to have something worth saving. Once saved, it became a means of re-starting after "big" mistakes. It is truly a learn-by-doing tool. I haven't used the book for the more complex features of the program. I got what I wanted and the price of the book was a small price to pay for the lesson. I used to use MacDraw years ago on a Mac. This is the best casual drawing tool I've seen since then.