Perhaps one of the most awesome things about SketchUp is the incredible community of people who use it. The designers, dreamers, doers. You are never too far from some helpful soul who is on hand to answer any question you may have. Beginner, intermediate, advanced – someone in the community has always got your back. Plus, if English is not your first language – no problem! The SketchUp squad are truly global.
So, where are the best places to seek out SketchUp help and learning resources?
Here are a few of our favourite sources.
Your Reseller
An oft overlooked resource – your UK reseller is a veritable treasure trove of SketchUp information.
Authorized resellers are people that SketchUp and its distributors have been partnering with to make purchasing and using SketchUp as easy for you as possible. SketchUp Pro resellers are local experts who provide consulting, training and support in your language and time zone.
SketchUp Campus
The release of 2019 SketchUp saw this fantastic feature fully realised.
SketchUp Campus is a unique, in-depth learning hub with SketchUp-approved courses, all created by SketchUp’s team member to make learning SketchUp convenient and simple. Oh, and the courses and transcripts can be translated into over 100 languages. Nice!
The courses consist of short videos and quizzes that make learning topics such as Rendering with Photoshop, Layout, and SketchUp Fundamentals fun, quick, and easy. Quiz answers provide immediate feedback and help you see where you’re succeeding and where you could improve.
You can take the courses at your own pace and repeat them whenever you need to. While going through them, track your progress and resume where you left off, no matter where you stop and start.
Have a go here:
- Go to https://learn.sketchup.com/
- Sign in with your SketchUp login or your Google account
- Pick a track and start learning
The learning library will grow over time and so will your skills.
SketchUp Forums
Head on over to the SketchUp Community Forum. Post your own question or rifle through other users queries and tips by filtering via topic.
SketchUp UK Social Media
Once you’ve got going with the basics of SketchUp you’ll find that there are so many plug-ins and extensions that can really up your SketchUp game.
The SketchUp UK Facebook and SketchUp UK Twitter are where you’ll find a range of handy video tutorials for SketchUp shortcuts, plus our pick of the best extensions like PlaceMaker and Profile Builder.
If you’re after inspiring content and to read about how individuals and businesses use SketchUp in their workflow, check out some SketchUp UK Stories.
YouTube
No surprises here. YouTube is awash with incredible SketchUp content. Best place to start is the SketchUp YouTube Channel. Look for more meaty topics and tutorials or head straight for a ‘Quick Win’ like this Push/Pull Tip. Quick Wins are all under 90 second videos for smart hacks that take seconds but could save you hours of pulling your hair out.
Aaron from the SketchUp team shows you how to set up Scenes, Styles, and Sections and use Outliner to make it quick and easy to generate drawings in LayOut.
Yes, the front page of the internet has a SketchUp forum with nearly 8,000 subscribers in there providing tips, tricks, feedback and, sometimes, just some good ol’ fashioned inspiring work to get your creative chops around.