SketchUp is one of the best tools you can use to breathe life into your drawings and get a more realistic view of how your projects will actually look like once you bring them to life. It’s a computer program that turns your drawings into 3D models and allows you to look at them from literally every angle.
This is very beneficial for anyone engaged with 3D design. The program has a wide array of applications, such as architectural design, interior design, video game design, civil and mechanical engineering, and much more.
Whether you’re a complete SketchUp beginner or you already know its ins and outs but want to improve your skills, here are the top 10 websites for tutorials, resources, and courses you should check out.
Obviously, the best place to find excellent resources is the official SketchUp site. Not only does it have a blog with regular, relevant content, but it also features a SketchUp Community forum where you can learn from experts and get all your burning questions answered.
There’s also a section where you can find various SketchUp trainers, that is, many other sites filled with outstanding resources, tutorials, and online training options.
Yet another excellent section on the website is the SketchUp Campus, where the fundamentals are comprehensively explained in great detail.
While exploring this site, be sure also to check out the official SketchUp YouTube channel, as it has plenty of videos that you can use.
SketchUp School is among the resources that you can find on the official website. It’s a video course library where you can find tutorials for professionals.
The topics are diverse, and there’s a lot of complex stuff, so skip this site if you’re still a rookie. It isn’t free, so paying for the membership would be an overkill if you still have a lot to learn.
Nevertheless, it’s an extremely good online resource with a huge collection of advanced classes designed specifically for pros. Definitely get back to it once you’ve mastered your SketchUp skills.
SketchUp Artists is another excellent resource for professionals. There’s a very useful Tips & Tricks section, where you can learn how to enhance your images with post-processing by using SketchUp in combination with various other graphics editors, such as Photoshop.
Here you’ll also find SketchUp modeling tutorials, both intermediate and advanced, together with the latest animation, modeling, and rendering packages that you can use.
There are also Styles and Techniques sections to help you further improve your skills, as well as various SketchUp styles available for download.
Furthermore, a huge knowledge base of tutorials is available as well, where you can learn how to use SketchUp with a plethora of rendering software solutions, such as Blender, V-Ray, Maxwell, and 3ds Max.
And as if all this wasn’t enough, SketchUp Artists created a section of a huge selection of other valuable resources you can find online.
SketchUcation is a community and resource center for SketchUp professionals where you can find hundreds of different models, styles, and materials, and gain access to 800 SketchUp extensions.
It has a community of 500000 users, with whom you can interact on the site’s forum anytime you want. It features tutorials for beginners, intermediate users, and advanced users, which literally makes it perfect for everyone.
This website also comes with SketchUp training. You can choose from hybrid, corporate, and intensive online training, depending on your learning style and needs. Authorized and specialized training courses are available, both of which provide you with a certificate once you complete your desired course.
If you would like to dig much deeper into using SketchUp, SketchUcation can also provide you with very affordable beginner and intermediate books.
The SketchUp Essentials is also where you can get excellent tips and tricks for using SketchUp, but also where you can get high-quality training. The online course isn’t available at all times, but you can subscribe for updates and be the first to know as soon as it opens for registration.
There are plenty of tutorials to check out, including for plugins, extensions, and speed modeling. This site is designed for rookies, so you can learn only the essentials for using the program, just like it’s stated in the name. Here you’ll also find books, forums, and downloads.
MasterSketchUp is a great resource for beginners. It features a lot of tutorials, both in written and video format, as well as extensions, books, downloads, and forums.
If you visit this site, you’ll find that a lot of resources are featured from other sites, including all of the aforementioned ones. Nonetheless, it’s useful to have them all in one place for easy access. Of course, there are original tips and tricks to explore and let’s not forget the books and downloads.
SketchUpTrainer.com is one of the best sources for SketchUp training. You can sign up for live training, online training, corporate training, and even private one-on-one SketchUp training.
If you want to learn at your own pace, you can dig into an extensive tutorial library that features more than 12 hours of remarkable content, as well as working files and feedback.
However, you can access the entire library only with the SketchUp Membership, but you can try it for free with limited access.
SketchUp tutorials by Daniel Tal is another site you don’t want to miss if you’re already on your way to becoming a pro. It’s not free, but it’s worth every dime. Don’t worry! There’s a free trial to see if it works for you.
Daniel Tal is a 3D specialist who has published several books and developed excellent methods that he shares in all his tutorials.
The video course library for mastering SketchUp modeling is available with a paid membership, which also includes the introduction to SketchUp extensions, thousands of working 3D models, cheat sheets for basics and functions, eBooks, tips and tricks, articles, and the latest industry news.
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) also has great SketchUp training and tutorials to explore. You can engage in various online courses, or dig deep into the tutorials to learn at your own pace.
Whichever the case, you’ll learn both the basics of the program and advanced techniques for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineering and video game design. There are also tutorials for using SketchUp with other rendering software solutions, such as V-Ray.
Udemy is the largest online learning platform in the world, with over 100000 courses, so you should definitely check it out for some courses for mastering SketchUp.
There are over 100 Udemy SketchUp courses to get you started, and there’s even an app for learning on the go. If you want to learn from industry experts, Udemy is definitely the place to be.
These 10 websites will put you on the right track to mastering your SketchUp skills and joining the world of experts. They will open up a whole new perspective on 3D design and help you create wonderful projects that will absolutely delight your clients.