Hey SketchUp community! We’ve just launched the latest track in SketchUp Campus and this one is aimed directly at you professionals. SketchUp for Landscape Architecture & Site Design was built by a professional landscape designer and deals with complex modeling challenges such as terrain and grading, imported references and heavy vegetation — and even suggestions for how to collaborate on a large model across your entire team.
Courses include:
Creating a Base Model
Terrain & Grading
Materials & Textures
Furnishings & Entourage
Working with Vegetation
Context Modeling
Optimization, Collaboration & Revisions
If you’ve used SketchUp for any length of time, you’ve likely come up against the challenges of working with a site model, and now we’ve got an in-depth guide for you. Take these courses at your own pace and on your schedule. Have a look now.
Hi @sdowse197. Good question. There’s no science to this step. I just estimate the heights based off of the location relative to the top or bottom of the slope. See below for example. If the height difference is 1 foot, and the end of the curve is about mid-way up the slope, then I enter 0.5’ for the height. Then 0.25’ for the height of the curve midpoint. Then draw arc and line using those verticals to snap to.
Alternatively, it may be easier, especially if you have a lot of curves, to use the Sandbox-Drape method instead. See below where I just connect the top and bottom with lines. Then sandbox. Then copy the flat plane up above the new sandboxed slope and drape to form the outline of my sloped path. Then group and delete the extra bits you don’t need and that’s it. This method may be less accurate, though faster, as it assumes a straight slope all the way whereas the previous method gives you specific control of where you exact elevations are along the path.
Thanks so much for your prompt response. Your answer was so incredibly detailed and relevant. It’s really helped me…
Your lessons are terrific. I’m still working my way through the Landscape & Site Design track. It’s really enjoyable and I’m really increasing in speed and confidence…
Hi there, Tom Tom’s extension doesn’t work for SketchUp Pro 2020, and when the cad file imports there’s 3 faces complete. I’ve had to redo this tutorial 3 times and everytime I start again I have to redraw the entire cad file almost from scratch. I’m super frustrated. Is there a clean file that you can put out there for 2020 users so that we don’t waste 1/2 day fixing the file? I want to learn the next level of items but this tutorial is making me pull my hair out.
Thank you I had no idea we needed to install the Lib2 before the edge tool. This helped, there is still one hole in one of the sides that I can’t get to close by tracing with my pencil tool but at least I’m not spending 1/2 day each time trying to fix the file manually.
OK, thanks to your video I was able to create the groups, when I click on the pavement it’s pulling up the stroke only instead of the whole item. What’s going wrong?
Have you confirmed you’re not still on ‘X-Ray’ face style from the tracing lesson? Should be under View/Face Style. check that first before we try the next thing.
Hi there, just wondering, when I go to group using the selection tool in Artisan, I hit the arrow key on the main palette and when I right click to group, it exits out of the selection that I’ve made using the Artisan selection tool. Not sure why it’s doing this, am I doing something that you didn’t do? TYIA
Hey there! Im using sketchup 2021 for students on windows 10 64 bit, and I’m trying to take this course. however, the files attached won’t work and so is the PDF with extentions. what could have gone wrong?
BTW I love youre courses, they are absolutly perfect so far! I want so bad to take this one as well!!
It seems that this tutorial is out of date with the 2022 version of SketchUp Pro and it is a little confusing to us on the steep part of the learning curve. Is there some synopsis of the changes in process and procedures that could help us?
