How to Make Your Life in SketchUp a Little Bit Easier…
A favorite saying of mine is…
When in doubt, sketch it out!
I’m constantly sketching out a design that I’m working on. Whether that’s with a pen and paper or through a 3d model in SketchUp. Sometimes it’s just a little drawing to explain a detail to a contractor. And sometimes it’s a 3d model of a house that allows a client to see what their new kitchen will look like when they’re standing in front of the sink.
My all time favorite tool for modeling in SketchUp is the SpaceNavigator 3d Mouse by 3Dconnexion – found HERE on Amazon. It has saved me time and stress on my index finger from all the scrolling I was doing before while working. It makes for smooth and easy fly-through navigation in a model.
SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse
This pressure sensing device allows for seamless navigation in programs like SketchUp, AutoCAD, Photoshop, and more. It’s great for flying through a 3d model in SketchUp or easy zooming in and out in other programs.
Need a Demonstration? Ok...
This first video shows what it’s like to navigate through a model in SketchUp using the Orbit command and the scrolling wheel on a regular computer mouse. As you can see it’s not necessarily a smooth transition to fly around the model.
This second video shows what it’s like to navigate through a model in SketchUp using a SpaceNavigator 3d Mouse by 3Dconnexion. As you can see it’s a super seamless transition to fly around the model.
Once you get the hang of driving this thing, you’ll be able to easily fly around your model. You can take clients on a little tour around the outside, then glide right on in through the front door. It’s does take a little getting used to though. I’m right handed so I use a standard computer mouse with that hand and use the SpaceNavigator 3d Mouse with my left hand. After a while it becomes so natural.
The graphic below shows how you can use the pressure sensitive navigation is many different directions.
