Half-rectangular Block 

   

This block was my first successful attempt at creating a digital 3D object. Prior to using SketchUp, I had a brief encounter with Blender, a software too complicated for my overly-ambitious design. The moral of the story is to start simple, no matter how complex the project.

The half-rectangle block I made is simply a series of basic shapes as can be seen from the side – rectangles, triangles, and squares. Any intricate objects can be made from this simple building blocks. I’ve also learned this in graphic design. Ever since I started to break graphics down into the basic components I’ve had more success making better visuals. This iMac screen, for instance, was made from an “assembling” of very basic shapes.

The same simplicity applies to 3D design. I can approach every project with basic building blocks in mind to maximize ergonomics for users as opposed to focusing on unnecessary embellishments.

 

Coffee Cup

My goal was to make a paper coffee cup with a lid. I first made a simple coffee mug to get used to manipulating simple blocks into more complex shapes. I then looked at real paper coffee cups to help me visualize the different layers of the cup. I notice that all the components of the coffee cup from top to bottom are just different forms of cylinders.

Two tools that were especially helpful in making this model were the Offset tool and the Resize tool. Every shape in the coffee cup was made using either or both of those tools. With experience making vector graphics with Illustrator, I found SketchUp very rudimentary, which is actually good for beginners because we have to learn to work with the most basic tools.

Thanks for all the downloads on 3Dwarehouse, guys!