🐕
🐩
Week 2

Drawing Tools & Precision Modeling

How do I draw accurately in 3D?

Welcome Back!

Last week, you learned how to move around in SketchUp and build your first 3D box. Now it's time to make things accurate.

In the real world, a table leg can't be "sort of" 2 feet tall — it has to be exactly 2 feet. This week, you'll learn how to type exact dimensions while modeling, so your designs come out clean, stable, and professional.

By the end of this lesson, you'll build a complete table with four legs — using precise measurements.

What You'll Learn This Week

  • Use the Line, Rectangle, Circle, and Offset tools
  • Type precise dimensions while you model
  • Use the Eraser tool to clean up geometry
  • Build a simple table with accurate measurements

Let's Begin

10 minutes

1. Warm-Up: Recap Navigation

Before we start drawing, let's make sure you still remember how to move around in SketchUp. Open the model you saved last week (week1-studentid-firstname-lastname).

Quick practice:

  1. Orbit around your box 360°
  2. Pan to the left
  3. Zoom in on one corner
  4. Press Shift + Z to see everything
If any of these feel unfamiliar, review Week 1 before moving on. Precision comes after comfort.
Reminder: Always save your file in Google Drive with the format week#-studentid-firstname-lastname.
15 minutes

2. The Line Tool with Dimensions

The Line tool is the most basic — and most powerful — drawing tool in SketchUp. Every shape starts with a line.

How to use the Line tool:

  1. Select the Line tool (or press L)
  2. Click once to start a line
  3. Move your cursor — a line follows
  4. Click again to end the line

Typing exact lengths:

Try this:
  • Draw a line in any direction
  • Before clicking the second point, type 5m
  • Press Enter — the line locks to exactly 5 meters

Drawing a closed shape with Line:

  1. Draw a line going right — type 4m, press Enter
  2. Draw a line going up — type 3m, press Enter
  3. Draw a line going left — type 4m, press Enter
  4. Draw a line going down — type 3m, press Enter

You just drew an exact rectangle — without using the Rectangle tool!

Pro tip: SketchUp shows colored hints (red, green, blue) when your line is perfectly aligned with an axis. Watch for these "inference" lines.
15 minutes

3. The Offset Tool (Creating Wall Thickness)

In real life, walls and objects have thickness. A wall isn't a flat piece of paper — it's a solid object. The Offset tool lets you create a smaller or larger copy of a shape, inside or outside the original.

How to use Offset:

  1. Draw a rectangle using the Rectangle tool
  2. Select the Offset tool (or press F)
  3. Click on the rectangle's edge
  4. Move your cursor inward or outward
  5. Type an exact distance — like 20cm — then press Enter

Why this matters:

  • Walls in a house have thickness
  • A picture frame has a border
  • A tabletop has an edge
Try this:
  • Draw a rectangle 5m × 4m
  • Use Offset to create a 30cm border inside
  • Push/Pull the inner rectangle down by 10cm

You just created a simple tray or picture frame!

Offset works on any closed shape — rectangles, circles, even complex curves.
20 minutes

4. The Circle Tool & Cylinders

Round objects are everywhere — cups, pencils, tables legs, pipes. To make them in SketchUp, you use the Circle tool and then Push/Pull upward.

How to make a cylinder:

  1. Select the Circle tool (or press C)
  2. Click once to place the center
  3. Move your cursor outward — a circle grows
  4. Type an exact radius — like 5cm — then press Enter
  5. Select Push/Pull (or press P)
  6. Click the circle face
  7. Pull upward — type 50cm — press Enter

You just made a cylinder — perfect for a table leg!

Try this:
  • Create a cylinder with a radius of 5cm and a height of 75cm
  • Make another one next to it
  • Orbit around to check both are straight
Remember: Circle = 2D. Push/Pull = 3D. Always combine them to make a cylinder.
25 minutes

5. Build a Simple Table (Rectangle Top + 4 Legs)

Now let's put everything together. You'll build a table using:

  • Rectangle — for the tabletop
  • Push/Pull — to give the top thickness
  • Circle + Push/Pull — for the legs
  • Move + Copy — to place 4 legs

Step 1: Build the tabletop

  • Select Rectangle tool
  • Click once to start
  • Type 1.2m, 60cm and press Enter
  • Select Push/Pull
  • Pull up slightly — type 5cm — press Enter

Step 2: Build the first leg

  • Move your view so you can see under the tabletop
  • Select Circle tool
  • Place the center near one corner of the tabletop (about 5cm in from each edge)
  • Type 3cm for the radius — press Enter
  • Select Push/Pull
  • Pull downward — type 70cm — press Enter

Step 3: Copy the leg to make 4 legs

  • Select the leg with the Select tool (spacebar)
  • Press Ctrl + C to copy
  • Press Ctrl + V to paste
  • Use the Move tool (M) to place it near the second corner
  • Repeat for the remaining two legs

Step 4: Clean up with the Eraser

  • Select the Eraser tool (or press E)
  • Remove any stray lines or overlapping edges
  • Check that all four legs touch the tabletop evenly
Look what you built! A table with exact measurements — every leg the same height, every surface aligned.
If something looks wrong: Press Ctrl + Z to undo. Don't panic. Every 3D designer makes mistakes — the good ones just fix them.
15 minutes

6. Check & Save

Before you finish, take a moment to review your table.

Check your model:

  • Are all 4 legs the same height?
  • Does the tabletop sit level?
  • Are there any stray lines or overlapping edges?
  • Is everything connected? (No floating parts)

Save your work:

  1. Click the model name at the top
  2. Rename it: week2-studentid-firstname-lastname
  3. Click Save
  4. Check that it appears in your Google Drive
Use Zoom Extents (Shift + Z) to see your whole table before saving. This is a good habit — like checking your work before turning it in.

Check Yourself

Before you finish, make sure you can do all of these:

  • I can draw a line with an exact length
  • I can use the Offset tool to create thickness
  • I can make a cylinder with the Circle + Push/Pull tools
  • I can copy and place multiple objects
  • I can use the Eraser tool to clean up
  • I built a table with 4 legs
  • I saved my file correctly

Key Words to Remember

Term What It Means
DimensionAn exact measurement — length, width, or height
MidpointThe exact center of a line or edge
InferenceA colored hint that helps you align to axes, midpoints, or edges
OffsetCreating a copy of a shape at a set distance — used for wall thickness or borders
CylinderA 3D shape made by pushing/pulling a circle upward

Quick Check

Answer these in your head or on paper:

  1. What does the Offset tool do?
  2. How do you make a cylinder in SketchUp?
  3. What key do you press to type an exact dimension?
  4. What tool removes unwanted lines?

Optional Homework

Coming Next Week

Week 3: Turtle Sandbox (Beginner Project) — You'll combine everything you've learned to build a complete multi-part model: a turtle sandbox with walls and color.

Teacher Instructions

  1. Verify each student still has their Week 1 file saved in Google Drive.
  2. Review Orbit, Pan, and Zoom quickly before starting new content.
  3. Demonstrate the Line tool with typed dimensions (5m, 3m, etc.).
  4. Show how inference colors (red, green, blue) appear while drawing.
  5. Demonstrate the Offset tool for creating wall thickness.
  6. Show how to make a cylinder using Circle + Push/Pull.
  7. Guide students through building the table step by step.
  8. Assist students who struggle with typing exact dimensions.
  9. Demonstrate Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V for copying legs.
  10. Circulate the room during the table activity.
  11. Remind students to use the Eraser tool to clean up geometry.
  12. Verify each student's file is named correctly and saved.
  13. Collect exit tickets or ask quick review questions before dismissal.
  14. Note which students need extra support in Week 3.
← Back: Week 1 Next Lesson: Turtle Sandbox →