Using colour and shadows in 3D

Applying colour and shadows can be just as rewarding in 3D as it is in 2D. Get up to speed with help

pplying basic colours and shadows to your threedimensional SketchUp models is straightforward. By using the Paint Bucket tool, you’ll be able to add colour in only a few mouse clicks. Adding and manipulating shadows is just as easy. If you haven;t got SketchUp, you can download the free version SketchUp Make, at www.sketchup.com

APaint entire components

The fastest way to change the overall look of your model is to paint entire components at once. When you click the Paint Bucket tool, a Materials dialog appears. Use the slide bar to select any colour you prefer, such as orange in this example. Now move your cursor to one of the model’s components and click it to change its colour.

In this month’s Core Skills article, I’ll apply colour and shadows to one of my four-armed construction mech designs. When you paint a complex model, you can either select entire components or you can choose to select individual surfaces as you see fit. Shadows are applied to the entire model in one go. Just follow the three steps below and you’re in business!

Colour individual surfaces

Right-click a component and select Edit component to colour individual details. Select the surface you want changed and colour it just as you did in the first step. The overall component keeps the colour you gave it earlier, but the selected detail acquires the new colour (grey in my example). Duplicate components in your model are changed in the same way.