Google+Sketchup+Page+Two

Welcome to page Two of the Google SketchUp tutorial.

 * If you missed the first page click here.**

I should address moving your project also. The mouse cursor is a black pointer by default. This is the select tool, it can select parts of your drawing. If you click down on your mouse wheel it turns into a blue sphere of arrows. This is used to rotate your viewing window so you can see all sides of your drawing. If you hold down your mouse wheel, and the right-click, a menu will pop up giving you all the controls listed on the top of the screen for camera controls. Play around with these, they are very helpful.


 * So this is your first step.**




 * This is the screen after you delete the reference lady. The Rectangle tool can be used to create rectangles or squares...also counter-intuitive...I know. Next to it are the Circle and Arc commands. The pencil draws straight lines, which are used later in the tutorial.** **The first thing that you are going to do is use the rectangle tool and place it at the origin. The origin is the absolute center of the coordinate plane. It is used for measurements throughout your project. If you don't put a corner at the origin then it is a bit harder to accomplish dimensions, but can still be done.**



**Once placed at the origin you can drag out your shape, or type in the correct dimensions. In this case, I typed them in. Make sure that one side of your rectangle is highlighted on the blue line. This will orient the back of the birdhouse vertically. This is also important because otherwise it would have to be built on its side.**

**While the blue line is highlighted, type in the dimensions of the rectangle separated by a comma. 5.5", 16.5" Hit enter to complete. Be sure to use the quotation to denote inches; otherwise the birdhouse will be larger than most human houses!...Haha, I crack myself up...**




 * When you hit enter to complete the command, it should look something like this. Next you will use the Push / Pull tool to make this a 3D board.**




 * Click the Push / Pull tool to select and use it. Then put your cursor in the center of the rectangle; click and drag until the dimension thickness in the bottom-right corner reads 3/4". This is the thickness of all of your boards.**


 * If you made it this far, Congratulations! You only have a few more steps left. It seems hard at first, but is rather easy to pick up.**
 * Click here to Continue to page 3.**