AW online workshops SketchUp

Beginner’s SketchUp Webinar:This is a beginner’s webinar in Trimble SketchUp. No prior experience with SketchUp is needed, but the student must be able to download and install SketchUp and be familiar with a computer.

Trimble SketchUp 8 is a free and powerful tool. The Pro version is used by professional to model and design everything from bottles to skyscrapers. We will use the free version to model a Bedside Table complete with tapered legs, mortise and tenon joinery, beveled top, and a dovetailed drawer trimmed with bull nose cock beading and a Shaker style drawer pull. We will begin by learning how to install SketchUp, setup application preferences, choose model defaults and customize a template. Next we will tour the work area and become familiar with its tools. The heart of this course is modeling the Bedside Table and producing dimensioned shop drawings and photorealistic textured images.

Intermediate SketchUp Webinar:Intermediate SketchUp builds on the Beginner’s SketchUp Webinar. This webinar will use the free version of Trimble SketchUp primarily, but the students will be exposed to the Pro version also. The focus of this intermediate level webinar is modeling non-linear components; components with circular and complex shapes.

Each part will deal with modeling a single component of a furniture piece, though the students will have access to the complete model. Part 1 will begin with an arched rail for a clock door, the arch being a simple circular curve. Part 5 will focus on modeling cabriole legs using Bezier Spline curves. Each part will include an introduction to new tools – including a few Ruby script extensions to SketchUp – that are necessary to create ever increasing complex shapes.

Some Parts of this webinar are broken into two videos called Part #A and Part #B to keep the video length reasonable. In addition, in Part 3 the student will be asked to view a video called Non-Circular Curve Tools prior to viewing Part 3. This is to demonstrate the use of the Bezier Spline Ruby script plugin that is used from Part 3 on. Each Part is also accompanied with one or more PDF files explaining the webinar in text form to aid those who may be less visual learners. Some Parts also include SketchUp model files for the students use in following along and practicing on his/her own.