Google® SketchUp® and SketchUp® Pro 7 Bible

Preface

SketchUp is an example of a great idea that has succeeded because it accomplishes exactly what it is setting out to do. It allows an alternative medium for all those visual thinkers that frequently sketch out ideas and concepts on napkins or whatever scraps of paper happen to be around.

I am one of those people, and I find that I am very reluctant to throw away any little scrap that has a sketch on it. These scraps become a source of inspiration and the building blocks upon which great ideas are formed. But, this habit has the unfortunate result of filling my office filing cabinet with folders full of little scraps.

These folders and scraps aren't the easiest system to search through, so finding the exact scrap that I need to inspire me isn't always easy. Another drawback to this system is that often in my hurry to capture a great idea, the concept is lost in the poor representation that I scribble down in my hurry. Let's see was that a circle or a square knot?

SketchUp provides a solution for both of these dilemmas and often makes it possible for me to springboard my rough sketch into more than the scribbled scrap of paper can show. I've found that SketchUp hasn't replaced my constant need to scribble, but by redrawing the quickly drawn sketches into SketchUp, new concepts are revealed and SketchUp lets me look at the drawing in a whole new way.

SketchUp provides a way to flesh out the crude drawing and refine it so that I can more easily share the idea it represents with others. ...