SketchUp Success for Woodworkers

[davidheim1]

SU Success cover.jpeg

Just published by Spring House Press: My new SketchUp book. I've organized it around what I call my Rules for Success--the basic good practices you need to follow in order to make SketchUp behave. Rule #1 is, Always Work With Components. #2, Draw Once, Make as Many Copies as You Need. #3, Keep Measuring and Moving to a Minimum. And #4, Work in SketchUp as You Do in the Shop. I also have chapters on using the Follow Me tool, ways to use imported images, a brief disussion of rendering, and a rundown of the plugins I find most useful.

You can preview the book by following this link:
https://issuu.com/springhousepress/docs/9781940611686_issuu_preview?e=9435859/59008656
The book has a cover price of US$24.95, but you can get it for less from Amazon.com. Or from me directly, via my Etsy shop.

[pilou]

Excellent!

SketchUp Success for Woodworkers will have you downloading SKetchUp after breafast and drawing detailed and useful plans by the time the dinner bells rings!

[davidheim1]

Merci, frenchy.

[tuna1957]

David, The book looks awesome. Best of luck with it.

[davidheim1]

Thanks, tuna. Much appreciated.

[db11]

David - I have a friend who is a very talented woodworker (original, contemporary designs) who I've convinced to try SU to replace the 2D software (MacDraft) he currently uses.

I'll be coaching him and trying to help him short-circuit the learning curve by pointing him to the best and most pertinent learning resources. I've taken a gander through the preview of your book, and it looks like a great option for him from the outset.

So, I'd like to point him your way: can you give me the Etsy link you reference? There doesn't seem to be any click-through from the Issuu site and I try to avoid Amazon whenever possible. (plus I'd rather see all the revenue go directly to the author).

Once he's mastered the basics I also plan to point him to Dave R's book... and I've already given him the Design, Click, Build link. If there are any other particularly good woodworking-specific SU resources/tutorials that you know of, please pass on your recommendations.

Thanks.
Doug

[db11]

Also, Dave R. — if you see this, I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

[davidheim1]

Doug,
Thank you for the good words. Here's the link to my Etsy shop. You picked a good time to visit it--I'm having a Mother's Day sale right now. 10% off everything. I hope the book proves usefiul to your friend.
Best,
dh
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DavidHeim?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

[db11]

Thanks David,

I'll forward the link to him, and I'm sure it will be a big help in wrapping his mind around how to use SU.

[HornOxx]

great and for certain not only for woodworkers

[davidheim1]

Thanxx, HornOxx.

[HornOxx]

... besides all the good tips and tricks, the many instructions and tool hints I notice your excellent and very tidy layout - is there someone who helps you, e.g. with Adobe Indesign or did you do all this yourself as well?

[davidheim1]

Producing the book was a collaborative effort. Here's how it went:
Early on, the publisher chose the squarish book size. With that, I came up with the basic format of a column of type on each page and the illustrations to one side. I produced the book--text and illustrations---directly in Adobe InDesign. (Big time-saver: I could write and copyfit all at once, and plan the arrangement of images so they fell on the same spread as the text they accompany.) After I submitted the InDesign file to the publisher, they hired a freelance designer to refine my layout, changing the type faces and twiddling the arrangement of images on some of the pages.
If I'm ever fortunate enough to do a "Son of SketchUp Success," I'm sure I'll work in much the same way, but I'll begin with a format and typography that the designer devises.
Best,
dh

[Wolfarelli]

Hi David, it looks like a great book in a very nice and clean design. Is there any store I could buy it in digital form, please

Regards,

Wolfarelli

[davidheim1]

Wolfarelli,
I'm sorry, but ink-on-paper is the only version of the book. No digital version, I'm afraid.
Best,
dh