Product Reviews

SketchUp is an architectural/design visualisation program that's been making waves in the Mac community since it was ported from Windows. So much so, it was nominated for best 3D product in last year's MacUser awards. The problem is, SketchUp doesn't come with a manual - only an HTML reference guide and some video tutorials from @Last's website. So, if you have a pathological aversion to HTML manuals and a dial-up modem connection, you're in trouble.

Enter The SketchUp Book, a third-party tutorial and reference guide. Written by Bonnie Roskes, a structural engineer with wide CAD/CAE experience with contributions by Bob deWitt, a professor of art history, the book aims to provide a complete alternative to the SketchUp docs and tutorial material. It really is a complete course covering all levels from absolute beginner to highly-advanced techniques.

First, though, the bad news: the SketchUp book isn't cheap. It's very much a home-grown product and has to be airmailed from the US. The additional postage puts a whopping $24 on the price, bringing the total to $87. The binding is also a simple cloth spine, and we're not sure how long this would hold out. The first thing we did with our copy was guillotine the spine off and have it comb bound, so that we could have it laying flat on the desk.

The book is divided into 12 chapters of exercises that have a tutorial feel, but also serve as a reference. The two final chapters give a complete exercise

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in building a construction frame as well as a guide to the program's global settings, such as Display Modes and Line Drawing Options.

The authors haven't stinted on pictures: every step is illustrated by an image with as much or little text as necessary. This makes it a pleasant read, even away from your computer, as the images help keep track of what's going on. Chapter 2, which covers the basics, is worth going through a few times to get the core concepts straight. It covers the essentials of drawing in SketchUp, and this needs careful consideration for first-timers: since you're generally always working in a 3D view, a sound knowledge of SketchUp's inferencing tools is needed and this chapter helps to build this up in carefully-graded examples. It also introduces other concepts, such as multi-copying, dimensioning and annotation, and these get their own dedicated chapters later on.

Following on from a chapter on multiple copying to speed workflow is a whole section dedicated to roofs. This may not seem much of a big deal, unless you've ever had to model multiple-pitched roofs and resolve their intersections. Again, there's an arsenal of tips and tricks for handling dormers, gables and overhangs, and the section on resolving roof junctions offers multiple methods to achieve the same result.

Working with Components and Groups is a key to efficient workflow in SketchUp, and these core concepts get their own chapters. They give multiple methods for designing components (such as doors and windows) and these cleanly and automatically cut the walls they're inserted into - a boon for any SketchUp users who've tried to work this out from scratch.

There's no CD with this book, but this isn't a great drawback as you're building the objects you use as you go along. New features in version 3 are also covered, such as a comprehensive section on materials and transparency, presentation techniques and exact dimensioning.

The SketchUp Book may not come cheap, but the information it contains is definitely priceless.