- Getting Started
- Pulling Objects into 3D
- Pushing Objects into 3D
- Using Measured Push/Pull
- Inferring Push/Pull
- Cutting Openings
- Erasing Edges with the Eraser Tool
- Selecting Edges and Surfaces with the Select Tool
- Copying Objects
- Moving Edges and Surfaces with the Move Tool
- Drawing 3D by Subtracting Elements
Cutting Openings
Another cool feature that you will want to take advantage of in SketchUp is using the Push/Pull tool to "cut" or create the illusion of openings in shapes.
Suppose you've just drawn a rectangle that represents a wall. For example, see the wall in Figure 5.9.
Figure 5.9 A 3D wall.
Now say that you want to cut a window into that wall. How could you do it?
The Push/Pull tool has a special property—you can cut objects right out of existing 3D objects. Here's how it works:
- Click the Start Using SketchUp button and click the human figure that appears in the Engineering–Feet template to select it; press the Del key to delete it.
- Draw the 3D wall, such as the one you see in Figure 5.9.
- Draw the 2D outline of the window you want to cut into the wall. You might use a rectangle, as shown in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10 A 3D wall with a rectangle.
- Click the Push/Pull tool in the toolbar.
- Push the window outline through the wall to the other side. The part you've pushed disappears, leaving a cutout, as you can see in Figure 5.11.
Figure 5.11 A 3D wall with a window.
So that's the trick—to create a cutout, push a shape through a 3D object until the shape disappears. Very cool.