Learn how to construct a 3D welcome sign for a community park using SketchUp. This comprehensive tutorial covers processes starting from creating a new file, drawing shapes using different tools, saving and grouping elements, to creating guides and deleting them.
Key Insights
- The tutorial begins with the creation of a 10-sided polygon with a 1-foot radius. This polygon, also called a decagon, forms the base of the sign. The construction includes creating copies, drawing rectangles, and using the push-pull tool to extrude shapes.
- Next, the guide explains how to construct the vertical post of the sign. This involves creating guides with the tape measure tool and drawing a square in the center of the crosshairs. The square is then extruded to form a post and a pyramid-like point is added at the top.
- Finally, the tutorial demonstrates the addition of a nameplate across the posts. It covers creating new guides, drawing a rectangle, and dragging it across the posts using the push-pull tool before grouping the resultant object. The guides are then deleted to complete the sign.
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So the next object we're going to make for our course will be the community park sign, just like this example. This example says Community Park, but I would like our sign to say our name—so mine will say Derek McFarland’s Park, but yours should say your name’s park.
If you would please, let's go to File > New from Template > Architectural Inches. I do not want to save this current file, so let's select No. Then let's first erase our tool and delete the man.
Because we never want to work in an unsaved document, I will first go to File > Save As. We will save this file as welcome sign—your initials, so I will have my initials dm.skp. And I'll click Save. So let's first go to our Polygon tool right here.
And if you notice, our sides automatically say 6. We want this to be a 10-sided polygon, so I will type in 10, Enter. Then, drawing in this location here, I will click and, along the green axis, I will type 12 for a 1-foot radius. OK, next I will zoom in and orbit around and go to my Move tool.
Click this, and I want to make a copy of this, so I will hold down the CTRL key on my keyboard to make a copy. Then, dragging along the red axis, I will type in 4 feet, 4 inches, Enter. Next, I will go to the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle connecting from this point to this point.
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Next, I will go to the Eraser tool and erase this edge, this edge, this edge, and this edge. Now, I would like to extrude. Go to my Push/Pull tool, click this, and I want to click and drag this up, 12, Enter. Then next, I want to go to the Offset tool right here, and offset this top edge 2 inches, 2, Enter.
Now, I want to recess this top portion. Go back to my Push/Pull tool again, and I want to push/pull this face down, 4, Enter. Now, before we go any further, let's make this object—our planter box—a group. So, I'll go up to my Select tool, triple-click, right-click, and choose Make Group.
I will save my file. Alright, so now we need to make the vertical post for the sign. But to do that, we need to find the center of our planter box—right here and right here—to place our sign.
We could draw a line across to do that, or we can use the built-in guides in the Tape Measure tool. So, if I click the Tape Measure tool and look down at the bottom, under my tooltips, CTRL = Toggle Create Guides. If I press CTRL, you can see that I have a little plus with a dashed line, which means guides; without it, that means no guides.
I will make sure I have the plus sign. Then, I can click on any edge, and it will automatically create a guide from that. I will click this, and this will allow me to infinitely go along the green axis to create these guides.
I will snap right to the center point until I see that purple circle, and I will click. Then I’m going to zoom in a bit and orbit around. I want to create a guide from this point along the red axis by clicking right here.
We can also make guides from existing guides. So, if I click this guide right here, I can make a duplicate guide along the red axis to this point right here. You can also create a guide in an angled direction by clicking from one point to another, and it will automatically create a guide.
I will undo that last guide. Now, I want to make my post right at the center of this crosshairs intersection. If I were to use the Rectangle tool, these snap to the corners, so I want it to be centered.
So, I’ll press Escape and use the Polygon tool, and I’ll change my sides from 10 to 4 for a square. I will type in 4, Enter. Now you can see that I have a diamond shape or a rotated square.
Click right in the middle—I know I’m making this shape, but I can't snap it to be inscribed to the edge. If I look down at the bottom tooltips, CTRL = Circumscribed. If I press CTRL, it will circumscribe that to the edge. CTRL again would toggle it to inscribed.
From here, I will type in 2, Enter. Then, going to my Push/Pull tool, I will click this face, drag up, and type in 48, Enter. Next, I will do a Zoom Extents, and then save my file.
Alright, before I copy this shape over, I want to add a point at the top of my post. I will use Auto-Fold to achieve this. So, if I go to my Line tool here, and click and connect the corners to create an X at the top…
Then, without selecting anything, if I go to my Move tool and click this top point at the crosshairs, then move my cursor up, I can move this point around. I’ll constrain it along the blue axis and click 2, Enter, to make a point for my post.
This will automatically create a folded pyramid on top of my post. I will do Zoom Extents, go to my Select tool, triple-click this post, right-click, and choose Make Group. Then, using the Move tool, I’ll press CTRL until I see a plus next to it. I will click this guide, which is at the center here, and copy it to this guide point right here.
Now, I no longer need my guides, so I can go to the Eraser tool and erase this guide, this guide, and this guide. I will save my file. Now, let's finish this video by adding a horizontal board across our post for our nameplate.
Let’s go to the Tape Measure tool to add more guides. Click the Tape Measure tool, then click this bottom edge right here. Going up along the blue axis, I will type in 24, Enter.
Then I’ll click this guide again and go up 18, Enter. Next, I will click this edge right here and, going along the green axis, I will type in 1. Then, clicking on this guide, I will go in 1 again along the green axis. Now, let's create our board by going to the Rectangle tool and creating a rectangle within this shape right here.
I’ll click that, and then go to my Push/Pull tool and click and drag this across until it snaps to this point right here. Then, I will go to my Select tool, double-click, right-click, and choose Make Group. Instead of erasing guides individually, I can go to Edit > Delete Guides.
That will delete all the guides in the model. Next, I will do a Zoom Extents, and then save my file. Finally, in our next video, we will finish our sign face to complete our welcome sign by adding 3D text with our name on it.
I will see you in the next video.
