Design Studies 20 ‘Show Off’ Project How to make a computer monitor In Google Sketchup By: Liam Jack

Google Sketchup is a powerful program when it comes to creating and modeling 2D and 3D ideas for design and structure. The limitations of the program are only set out by the imagination of the user. Below are a few of the complex ideas modelled by this program. From intricate house designs to parts and pieces of more complex machines, Google Sketchup makes designing complex things a breeze. All you need is a little experience and you’re ready to go.

In this tutorial for Google Sketchup, we will be using the program to create a computer monitor, much like the one you are viewing this presentation on. The difficulty is easy to medium, depending on how accustomed you are to the program. Your finished design should look something like the model pictured above.

How to move the camera around 1. If you press down or click the scroll wheel and move you mouse around, you will rotate the camera to change the angle of view you are currently looking at. 2. If you hold down the shift key and click with the scroll wheel, you will move the cameras placement, ultimately being able to fly around the world horizontally. 3. If you simply scroll the scroll wheel on your mouse, you will zoom in and out changing how close you are to your project.

Using the line tool 1. After opening up Google Sketchup, look to the top left hand side of your screen for a button marked with a pencil. 2. With this tool you can click to start a line, drag your mouse to a desired location, and then click again to end the line. 3. If you want to create a closed shape, after creating a line of course, click again in the spot that you ended your first line and repeat step 2 to another location. Repeat this step until all sides of your shape are completed.

Using the shape tools 1. Much like creating a line, select the circle tool in the top left hand part of your screen. 1. Again in the top left part of your screen, select the rectangle button to draw a rectangle. 2. Start by clicking a center part for your circle, drag your mouse out to the desired radius and click again to finish the circle. 2. Start by clicking in one corner of your desired shape, and diagonally draw a line to the other corner of your shape to complete a perfect rectangular shape.

Using Advanced Tools 1. Start by selecting the arc tool in the top left hand of the screen. 2. In the same way you drew a line, draw the beginning of your arc as shown. 3. After drawing a line, move your mouse perpendicular to it. You will see an arc form, and depending on how far you move your cursor away from the line, that will determine the magnitude of your arc. 1. Begin by drawing a simple rectangle. This can be done with any shape, but for now we will use this. 2. Select the push/pull tool in the top left hand portion of your screen. 3. Click the top face of your created shape, and drag up to give it height. Click again to leave it at its new dimensions.

Begin with your base 1. Begin with drawing a medium sized rectangle, and using the push/pull tool to raise its height up by a small amount. 2. Using the pencil tool, run your cursor around the top edge until a small blue dot appears. This is the middle of your rectangle. Proceed to draw a line through the exact middle of your shape, as shown. 3. Next draw a small circle on your created line, using the circle tool. Then select the eraser tool in the top left of your screen to erase the unneeded line as shown to the right.

Add detail to the base 1. Using the arc tool, again find the middle of your edge (the small blue dot) and draw the line halfway between your existing line as shown. Bring the arc up until it turns light blue. 2. Complete the rest of the arcs around the outer edges of the rectangle. 3. Using the push/pull tool, remove the arc areas by pushing down on it until it turns dark blue. Release your mouse to have it disappear. 4. Erase the existing perpendicular lines as shown, and again use the push/pull tool to turn the circle on the face to a cylinder protruding out from it.

Create the screen component 1. Begin by drawing a rectangle that is the same width of your circle. 2. Use the push/pull tool to bring it up to a proper height. 3. Again using the push/pull tool, add the width to screen and then using the draw tool, make diagonal lines connecting the corners. 4. Draw small rectangles of equal size and shape in all four corners. 5. Draw one big rectangle connecting the inner corners of your four small rectangles, as shown. 6. Erase all lines except for the large rectangle you drew, and use the push/pull tool to add a slight amount of depth to your screen.

Mount the screen component 1. Select the arrow tool from the top left part of your screen. 2. Left click and drag to create a highlighting box around your entire created computer screen. After that, right click it and select “Make Group”. 3. In the top portion of your screen, select the button with the four red arrows on it. This allows you to take your grouped object and move it around. Do just this by clicking your built computer screen and moving it along the ground so it looks like the pictures to the right. Make sure the screen is centered (look for the red cross hairs in the middle of the object)

Mount the screen component cont. 1. Using the same tool you used to move the screen to the base, click and hold right at the bottom middle of your screen. 2. Vertically drag up the stand to move the screen up with your cursor. Make sure you center the screen again after the move with the small red cross hairs that will appear during your move. 3. Your finished monitor placement should look like this. Try as hard as you can to have perfect edges and no gaps.

Grouping/Editing your monitor 1. By left clicking and dragging a box around your constructed monitor, the whole thing should light up in blue. 2. Right click the highlighted pieces and find the ‘make group’ option. Click that and a large blue box should appear around your entire constructed monitor. 3. To edit your newly made grouped object, double click in the area that the large blue box encloses.

Adding detail to your monitor 1. Start by using the line tool to draw a T shape as shown in the bottom right hand corner of the monitor. Remember to look for the small blue dot to see if you’re in the middle. 2. Using the rectangle tool, draw small shapes roughly of equal size. Then draw a larger one to simulate the diversity of the buttons on a real monitor. 3. Use the erase tool to remove excess lines.

Adding detail to your monitor cont. 1. Begin by doubling clicking your monitor until nothing but the screen component is outlined with a grey box. 2. Draw small squares in each corner of your monitor, making the bottom of each square in line with the horizontal component of your screen as shown. 3. In your newly made squares, use the arc tool to create a shallow arc. Place the curve of the arc facing the outermost corner of your monitor as shown. 3. Use the push/pull tool to push the arc area away. This should delete it, and create a curved feature as shown. Then use the erase tool to remove all extra lines.

Adding Color to your monitor 1. Begin by selecting the paint tool in the top left portion of your screen. You will see a menu appear that says materials. Click the lower drop down menu and select the option colors to see what is pictured to the right. 2. Depending on what part of the monitor you want to color, you will have to select that component. Do so in the same way you did before while constructing the monitor. To the right you will see an idea for a color scheme for the monitor.

Adding a picture to the screen 1. Begin by selecting the file button in the far top in the left hand corner. Then click on the ‘import’ option. 2. Make sure you have a file saved to your computer with the extension ‘jpg’. Select the image and then press open. 3. Start by placing the image in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. Then scale it to fit the height of your screen. After that select the scale button at the top to stretch the image to the full dimensions of your monitor screen.