Practise SketchUp Basics in Your Browser

Tip: The toolbar shows shortcut badges (O, H, Z, Space, E, L, R, P, M, G). Use them or click the buttons — both work without memorising shortcuts.

Seven-lesson outline

Read the objectives and shortcuts before you practise. Each lesson tracks real actions, not clicks or timers.

1. 1. Meet the workspace — 2 min

   6 steps

   Recognise the toolbar, viewport, axes, and measurement fields that SketchUp uses for every tool.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Click the toolbar — the row of tool buttons at the top or side. — The toolbar shows the active tool. SketchUp changes hints and measurement behaviour to match that tool.
   2. Click the modeling viewport — the large area with the red, green, and blue axes. — The viewport is your view into the model. The axes help you keep directions consistent.
   3. Click the red axis — the solid red line that represents the X direction. — Red, green, and blue always mean X, Y, and Z. Inference snaps to them while you draw.
   4. Click the instructor panel — the text area that explains the current goal. — In real SketchUp the Instructor and Status Bar change with the active tool — they teach as you work.
   5. Click the Measurements field — the small value box at the bottom of the workspace. — Measurements lets you type exact dimensions instead of guessing — a core SketchUp habit.
   6. Click the status bar — the hint line beneath the viewport. — Status, Instructor, and Measurements work together so you always know what the active tool expects.

   Sources: help.sketchup.com — Completion: You can name every part of the workspace. SketchUp keeps those same regions even as tools change.

2. 2. Navigate without moving the model — 3 min

   4 steps

   Orbit, pan, and zoom the camera to inspect a model without changing its geometry.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Orbit the view — drag with the Orbit tool or hold the middle mouse button and drag. — Orbit changed the camera. The box stayed in the same world position — navigation never moves geometry.
   2. Pan the view — shift the camera sideways without rotating. — Pan moved the camera sideways. The model did not shift in the world.
   3. Zoom in until the box fills the target zoom range. Use Z or the mouse wheel. — Zoom changes camera distance. The model scale in the world did not change.
   4. Restore the full view with Zoom Extents (Shift+Z). — Zoom Extents finds everything visible — a habit worth keeping in every session.

   Sources: help.sketchup.com — Completion: You moved the camera, not the model. That distinction avoids most early confusion.

3. 3. Select, erase, undo, and escape — 3 min

   6 steps

   Distinguish the active tool, the selection, and the model content.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Activate the Select tool — press Spacebar or click the Select button. — The active tool determines what a click will do.
   2. Select the highlighted edge (edge_target). — Selection marks geometry. It does not change it until you run a tool.
   3. Deselect by clicking empty space in the viewport. — Clicking empty space clears the set without erasing anything.
   4. Switch to Eraser (E) and erase the small disposable edge at the top. — Eraser deletes content. Selection alone never deletes.
   5. Undo the erase — press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS). — Undo restores content regardless of which tool was active.
   6. Start any tool, then press Escape to cancel the operation. — Escape cancels the current operation. The model waits for the next complete action.

   Sources: help.sketchup.com — Completion: Tool, selection, and content are three separate states — that separation keeps control predictable.

4. 4. Draw with axes and inference — 4 min

   3 steps

   Use inference to draw edges on axis and complete a closed face on the ground plane.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. With Line (L), draw one edge parallel to the red axis from the origin. — When the edge snapped to red, inference was telling you it stayed on the X axis.
   2. Draw a second edge from the new endpoint, parallel to the green axis. — Two axis-aligned edges give you a corner that inference can close later.
   3. Switch to Rectangle (R) and draw a closed rectangle on the ground plane to create a face. — SketchUp builds a face when it sees a closed, coplanar loop of edges.

   Sources: help.sketchup.com — Completion: Closed, coplanar edges become faces — the surface everything else builds on.

5. 5. Turn a face into volume — 3 min

   2 steps

   Extrude a rectangular face into a prism with Push/Pull at the target height.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Select the rectangle face (not its edge) for Push/Pull. — Push/Pull operates on faces, not loose edges.
   2. Activate Push/Pull (P) and drag the face upward. Type 900 if you prefer to enter the height. — A face plus a distance is all Push/Pull needs. The height came from the cursor or a typed value.

   Sources: help.sketchup.com — Completion: One face plus a distance made a solid form — the core of early massing.

6. 6. Move and organize geometry — 4 min

   5 steps

   See sticky geometry, undo it, group the prism, move it, and make a component instance.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Move the raw prism without grouping — drag it with Move (M) and see the neighbour stretch. — Raw edges and faces stick together. Neighbours deform when you move them raw.
   2. Undo that sticky move — Ctrl+Z or Command+Z. — Undo restored the shape. Now isolate it before moving.
   3. Make a group from the prism — select it, then use Make Group. — Groups isolate geometry — the container moves, the neighbours stay put.
   4. Move the grouped prism along the red axis — the neighbour should not stretch this time. — Grouped geometry moves without deforming its neighbours.
   5. Create a component instance from the supplied chair definition. — Components share a definition. Groups copy geometry; components share it.

   Sources: help.sketchup.comhelp.sketchup.com — Completion: Isolation changes everything: groups copy, components share.

7. 7. Build your first room shell — 6 min

   5 steps

   Combine rectangle, Push/Pull, grouping, and navigation to make a 4 m × 3 m × 2.7 m grouped room shell.

   Steps & what success looks like

   1. Draw a 4000 mm × 3000 mm rectangle on the ground plane for the footprint. Type the dimensions if you like. — A precise footprint is worth getting right before you extrude.
   2. Push/Pull the floor face up to 2700 mm. — The shell height came from a single typed value — measurements beat guessing.
   3. Make a group from the prism so it is isolated. — Grouping immediately is the habit that prevents sticky-model pain later.
   4. Orbit the camera to inspect at least two distinct viewing angles. — Inspecting from two angles is how you confirm proportion in 3D.
   5. Review the shell — footprint, height, grouping, and inspection all complete. — Rectangle, Push/Pull, grouping, and navigation — the same four habits behind Model a Small House.

   Sources: help.sketchup.comlearn.sketchup.com — Completion: Room shell complete. Try Model a Small House, Design a Room, or the official SketchUp Campus Fundamentals course next.