# Front and back

**URL:** <https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979>\
**Category:** SketchUp\
**Created:** [December 7, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979 "2018-12-07T21:45:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gerp124](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gerp124](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/gerp124)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979/1 "2018-12-07T21:45:56Z")

</div>

i can’t figure out how sketchup assigns front and back to the faces of a 2D shape.

intuitively i would expect that the face i see when drawing it should be the front, but alas, every now and then it decides the back should be facing me, the human, looking at the screen.

it usually seems to do this when interacting with other objects on the screen, like drawing a rectangle inside of a larger rectangle.

thanks in advance for any help

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DanRathbun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/danrathbun/32/500_2.png) [@DanRathbun](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DanRathbun)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979/2 "2018-12-07T22:10:05Z")

</div>

SketchUp has a special rule that when drawing upon the ground plane, that the face is orientated facing **down** in preparation for a subsequent Pull-Pull operation.

Other faces in 3D space are orientated depending upon which direction you draw the vertices. (Ie, clockwise or counter-clockwise.)

Also be sure to bookmark and read:

> **[SketchUp best practices and applied principles | SketchUp Help](https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-best-practices-and-applied-principles)**
>
> Table of Contents Introduction Drawing efficiently in SketchUp Drawing basics Combine inference points with fixed directions when drawing Extrude a profile along a line with Follow-me The Push/Pull Scale and Rotate (PSR) method Movin

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gerp124](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gerp124](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/gerp124)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979/3 "2018-12-07T22:19:51Z")

</div>

Thank you very much Dan, and I apologize if I’ve been lazy- internet searches can often be like trying to find a specific needle in a needle stack.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DanRathbun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/danrathbun/32/500_2.png) [@DanRathbun](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DanRathbun)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979/4 "2018-12-07T22:23:41Z")

</div>

You should definitely read all of Chapter 1 in the online User Guide.

> **[Creating a 3D Model | SketchUp Help](https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/creating-3d-model)**
>
> Before you can model your great idea, you need to know the basics of 3D modeling. From there, you can add modeling techniques to your skillset. Are you new to creating 3D models? The following Help Center articles help you warm up your modeling...

Also watch the official SketchUp introductory video tutorials linked on the SketchUp Learning portal …  
[https://www.sketchup.com/learn](https://www.sketchup.com/learn)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gerp124](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gerp124](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/gerp124)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/front-and-back/82979/5 "2018-12-07T22:27:11Z")

</div>

Thanks again Dan.