Suite+ Intermediates+ +Teachers+Notes

8/9/2019 Suite+ Intermediates+ +Teachers+Notes

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COPYRIGHT © AJ Box Ltd 2009 - You are allowed to store, copy, translate, distribute this sheet if unchanged

Sketchup TrainingSuite

Teachers Notes




One Page Summary of Sketchup Suite

What it is:A set of 10 training films and starter Sketchup models that

guide you through absolute beginner and intermediate levelskills in using the Free version of Google Sketchup. Thefilms use the same starter file so students are working onthe same model they see in the film. The first four films givebasic moving, creating and editing skills and the remaining6 build on these with information on creating complexshapes, measured scale models, copying and grouping

Who it can be used for:

Age 8 through to Adult where you wish to utilise 3D skillsand modeling but do not know where to start. Maybe yourstudents and staff have used Sketchup a little already, butdo not seem to make much more than basic progress.Sketchup Suite uses the 10 films to progressively build upskills, and exemplar model films showing how to createeducationally relevant 3D models using them

Examples of Projects you can use Sketchup for:

Modern Sculpture designVisualising a room in the school

Modeling a new playground

Designing a push along children's toy

Developing ideas for a new school

Re imagining the IPOD

Technical Information:The films have been created as Windows Media Files, and

will require a compatible player to view them. Though thefilms and the recordings have been created for Windowscomputers, they may be relevant for MAC users as wellprovided you have access to a 3 button mouseTechnical specs of films: .wmv 15 frames per second, monoaudio. Sketchup models and exemplars require Freeversion of Sketchup 7.0 (April 2009 onwards) or later

Free resources:

Check www.ajbox.co.uk and www.sketchupsuite.com formore information and free models, as well as searching for‘SketchupSuite’ within Google ‘Warehouse’




How to use Sketchup Suite

The suite consists of 10 modules, each containing an instructional film, and a Sketchup Starter model

Students are recommended to have both files open on thei computer at the same time so they can watch the film, and then do what it says, using their Sketchup Starter file

Students are not expected to watch the whole film at once, but to pause and rewind as necessary to ensure they can complete the task

By pressing CTRL and ‘X’ you can undo your work in Sketchup up to 50 times. Undo history is erased if you close the file

I recommend you use headphones attached to your computer so the sound of my voice issuing from 30 computers simultaneously does not cause you undue distress

The films build skills sequentially so it is a good idea to get even experienced users starting with the first film and working through to

the tenth

There is an additional film, which is free, covering basic use o colour and texturing in Sketchup, from www.sketchupsuite.com It is a part of the suite but is supplied as a free example of the style and content of the full Sketchup Suite of films

If you find staff and students are confident enough to skip films,please do not laugh at them or call into question their skills later on

when they find themselves in a huge twist of trouble... Sketchup encourages self learning but this suite has been developed to build up skills through carefully graded exercises. If people do go ‘of piste’ with their learning, encourage them to display the skills they have to all the impressionable people near to them, and then gently nudge them back on course so they pick up all the skills required to use Sketchup effectively. They will thank you later, possibly grudgingly...

The pdf tick sheet included in the suite is a good way of tracking peoples progress, and keeping them on track




Teaches how to move around in 3D space, the common shortcuts fo orbiting and shifting your view

Teaches how simple ‘snapping’ works and how changing view changes the direction that objects move in

Teaches how to use the extrude tool to raise flat shapes into 3 dimensions

Teaches how to use the built in drawing tools to construct your own shapes

What the films teach you:

1: MOVING

2: HOW TO LINE THINGS UPACCURATELY

3: HOW TO TURN FLATSHAPES INTO 3D

4: HOW TO USE THEDRAWING TOOLS




Teaches how to draw using defined sizes, and use the measurement tools to show dimensions in drawings

Teaches how to line up centres, edges and corners of objects so objects can be placed accurately in your model

Teaches how to stick items together into groups, and how to create components for common items in your model

Teaches how to create sets of copies accurately spaced apart


5: HOW TO DRAW THINGSACCURATELY, AND MEASURE

THEM

6: HOW TO USE THE BUILT INTOOLS TO LINE UP DIFFERENT

SHAPES

7: HOW TO STICK THINGSTOGETHER AND MAKE

IDENTICAL

8: HOW TO MAKE SETSOF COPIES ACCURATELY




Teaches how to create complex shapes by combining a cross section and a path together. This allows shapes such as car bodies and ‘lathed’

Teaches how to rotate objects and holes accurately in a model to create measured features

Teaches basic skills in applying colou and textures to models Note that this film includes promotional messages for the full Sketchup Suite package

An advanced training suite is also available which covers effective use o imported and built in textures. The use of Shadows. Producing very high quality Outputs from Sketchup.Outputting videos from Sketchup,creating Working Drawings with Dimensions, using Styles to produce high quality Presentation Visuals


9: HOW TO MAKE COMPLEXSHAPES

10: how to rotate thingsaccurately

FREE: HOW TO USE COLOURAND TEXTURES

ADVANCED TRAININGSUITE




What Sketchup cannot easily do

Full strength 3D Packages such as Maya, Inventor and SolidWorks do almosteverything. Hair, water, movement etc. The price of this is that you would needto devote a considerable chunk of your life to learning them. Sketchup is far, fareasier to use but that also means the tools are simpler. This section runs youthrough a few things it can’t do (yet) , or that require additional plug-ins toachieve.

Animated objects: You can move between camera positions, what is known asa ‘walkthrough’ but the Free and commercial versions of Sketchup cannotindividually animate objects. This means you cannot show one part sliding past

another, but there is a free plug in called ‘Sketchy physics’ that allows somedegree of programmed movement. It does work, but be prepared to go througha fairly steep working curve and the results are patchy which is why the demofilms on YouTube are generally simple ones. I gave up on using it to animatecams in a toy, but I suspect this functionality will become part of Sketchup soon

Transparent objects with semi opaque shadows: ALL items which do nothave 100% opaqueness cast no shadows within Sketchup. This is probablybecause the calculations required to make this work would slow Sketchup to a

crawl. Also, 2 shadows combined do not make a deeper shadow, just the samefixed tone, but shadows do deepen colours when they fall across them

Ferrari F430: If you see a fantastic model claiming to be made in Sketchup, itprobably was created in a full blooded heavy duty 3D package such as Maya,converted to a Sketchup compatible file format and imported in. A good exampleis a fantastically detailed mountain bike available online, with every link, gear andpart represented. I KNOW you cannot do this type of complex geometry withinSketchup, but some still claim to have drawn it themselves. The important

exception to this is someone who recreates tall sailing ships from history. Thelevel of detail is fanatical and they are genuine Sketchup models, but even on myfairly powerful computer I could not move the full textured view models in realtime.

1 Million Blocks: You CAN create a million blocks on screen, if you areprepared to wait a few years. By copying a single block, then grouping the nowtwo blocks and copying it all again, you can have a million blocks after only 21stages! But you will actually have over 8 million corners, 12 million edges and 6million faces. Like all 3D programs, really complex models slow down computers.The industry name for this is models with a high polygon count, keep thepolygons (flat shapes that make up the 3D geometry, even curves) low and your




model display will speed up, or use a wireframe view instead otherwise you

would literally wait hours for the screen to redraw after copying

Rendered (Raytraced) images: Rendering is where the computer calculates areally high quality image with realistic lighting, textures and reflections. Usuallythis takes a while for the computer (days in the past for early 3D packages!) tocalculate. Sketchup does not support this but there is an amazing totally freepackage called Kerkythea which has a plug in that extracts your model data,complete with materials, and lets you render it to produce stunning results. It isslooooooow though and you will find yourself wasting weeks of time trying outdifferent things. If your A' level students require a few really high quality imagesof their product design work, then Kerkythea is the way to go. There are also afew ray tracers and renderers for Sketchup that you can buy which do an evenbetter job, faster but they are expensive for schools

Fabric design: Because Sketchup models are made of polygons, textures donot wrap round them in obvious (to us) ways. You can download figures inSketchup and change the colour of their clothes but trying to simulate a regularrepeating pattern will prove very tricky as essentially the whole thing is made upof triangles and when you apply the texture, it draws a triangular patch of it

instead of draping it realistically. You can simulate some textures as this randomrepeat looks quite good if the texture pattern is small, but you will get nowhereusing it for clothes design

Computer Controlled Cutting: There is no facility in the free version ofSketchup to get a file out of it that can be used on a CAM machine. Thecommercial version of Sketchup includes industry standard exporters so you candrop a Sketchup model into 3DS, SolidWorks or Maya, but you will struggle toproduce the file necessary for a schools laser cutter or router from there.

There is however a plug-in for Sketchup called CadFace whichlets you export flat faces as 2D Cad files. You simply select a flatface and it instantly produce a compatible file. This probablysounds a bit like an advert but that is because I developedCadFace with my programming partner, to solve the issue ofschools wishing to output from Sketchup and realising that theschools usually used flat cutters and materials for Cad/Cam withclasses. A standard school projects such as packaging or a clock

can therefore be modeled in 3D and the main shape / net / partoutput in a Techsoft 2D Design or Corel Draw compatible file with1 click of the mouse. Details at www.sketchupsuite.com




FURTHER TRAINING AND HELP

The next step in Sketchup is to add skills that will help you make yourmodels more realistic, and produce outputs suitable for display andprojects. I recommend my Advanced Training Suite set of films andmodels. These are a resource you can dip into when you need that skill.

Advanced Training Suite Covers:Textures: How to use them, create them, stretch them and edit them togive realistic views of your work

Outputs: How to produce very high quality and resolution images andanimated films walking round and through your model, and how to use

Sketchup to create basic orthographic drawings that are suitable forGCSE and most A' Level use

Shadow, Styles and Fog: How to apply these effectively, edit styles,their limitations, and how this affects model design

The Advanced Skills Suite includes demo films and modelsshowing how to create common educational projects:

Calculator Demo How to create a retro ‘Space 1999’ type wrist cuffcalculator

FagBox Demo shows how to use graphics from programs such asPhotoshop and Fireworks to create packaging and board game parts

DVD Unit demo shows how to create a small wooden storage unit,including texturing and designing around a known item, in this case aDVD case

Demo Models: A range of models I have created for the advanced filmswhich show what is achievable using the skills taught in these modules

Finally: Sketchup has a user manual, downloadablefrom Google, but you may find it heavy going. There isalso a quick tips sheet as a 2 page PDF file whichshows you what tools do. I have included this in the filmsets but it is copyright Google.

For quick help within Sketchup I recommend you use the InstructorWindow which pops up over your work and displays a short help topicwith animated example for the tool currently selected




About this Project -How Sketchup Suite came about

I started using Sketchup even before Google took the company over. When I heard that Google

had bought them, I waited for word that it would, like other Google products, be released free. Thevery hour it happened, I emailed a big list of people telling them to try this wonderful software. Somedid but many, confused by the plethora of 3D programs available and the initially negative responseby some in the UK education community to a Cad product that could not output (It can Now, seeCadFace!) a CAM file for cutting on the equipment schools were starting to invest in, meant it madeonly limited progress at first

Now in 2009 Sketchup is starting to be seen as the realistic alternative to the heavy duty 3Dpackages that are seen as ‘Industry standard’ as many schools recognise its benefits

This is the third iteration of my Sketchup training films. The early versions started with a blank page

but it became clear that people found working this way unnerving and wanted short simple tasksthat were clearly explained, so they could pick up the skills quickly. I tested their reaction to usinga plinth in a ‘starter’ model and people found this much easier to learn with

I then went back to thinking about how people wanted to use Sketchup, and made a list of the toolsthey would need to learn to quickly gain competence, then compared this to the tools people tendedto gravitate towards when left to their own devices. From this came a list of 15 key skills, 10 of whichbecame the Beginner to Intermediate Suite, and the remainder becoming the Advanced Suite.

For most people, it is counterintuitive to steer them too much in learning 3D. By exploring Sketchup,people will pick up additional skills themselves providing they are well grounded in the main tools!

I work as a Freelance Educational Consultant designing and developing unusualprojects and running events for regular and occasional clients including schools,colleges, educational charities, companies and others. I sell some of my ideasthrough the www.ajbox.co.uk website and through other educational suppliers

All the educational resources on my www.ajbox.co.uk and www.sketchupsuite.comwebsite's that support my products are free. You may copy, email, host, and doanything you like with them provided you do not change them in any way other than

translate them into another language, and that they retain, where marked, the AJBoxlogo and website information. This does not apply to any software products such asthese Sketchup Training Suite files and the exemplars that they include. My hope isthat word of these products will spread and we can get more and more young peopleand adults working on exciting innovative and creative projects. Just to remind youthat Sketchup Suite has taken me over 4 years to develop and bring to market, andthese free resources represent many hours of my time. Please do not abuse this, andplease buy the products!

Mr AJ Booker - AJ Box LtdNottingham - UK

[email protected] - www.ajbooker.co.ukAugust 2009

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Suite+ Intermediates+ +Teachers+Notes