Union Tool isn't Working

Hi, I am trying to do a school project and trying to unify something to make a Turtle Sandbox, and I have no idea how to use Union or how to make sand in SketchUp, I need help please.

Make sure each of the items your are trying to “unify” are each a separate group. Select union tool and click on each group and they will form a union. (will sow 1,2) .
To make sand (one way) , use the “sandbox tool”, start from scratch an draw a grid, (or any shape that you traingulate the surface of) then use the “smoove” tool to create undulations on that grid. Change the radius of the smoove tool by entering a numerical value to affect its radius. The yellow dots of various sizes indicate the strength of the tools effect.

Note it’s not enough to make sure each of the items you are trying to unify are groups. They must be solid groups or components in order for Union to work.

Perhaps you could share your SketchUp file so we can see how far along you’ve gotten and what you need to do next.

This would make a great projected texture for your sand.
https://www.textures.com/download/soilbeach0097/32669?q=sand&filter=seamless

Also, checking a reference image can help make your sand a more realistic shape than drawing from memory.

For this sand, I used Eneroth’s Erode extension & this texture.
https://www.textures.com/download/soilbeach0082/32618?q=sand&filter=seamless

If you want to make something more realistic, I’d recommend getting a rendering extension that can do displacement mapping (Like V-Ray)…
https://www.textures.com/download/3dscans0017/126381?q=sand&filter=seamless
Or you could draw the sand yourself, then texture it with a shadow-free texture because your geometry would make the shadows.

What the heck is a union tool?

It’s part of the Solid Tools. Combines multiple solid groups and/or components into a single group.

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