Style Builder
SketchUp Style Builder
What is SketchUp Style Builder?
Style Builder is part of the SketchUp Pro subscription package. Style Builder allows you to create your own ‘sketchy’ edge style from lines you have drawn yourself – whether that’s on paper, or via a digital image editing program.
The Style Builder interface includes these features:
- Menu bar: Create or open files and generate templates for drawing your own strokes. The menu bar also has options for loading stroke libraries, setting preferences, and changing the model you see in the Preview pane.
- Strokes tab: Import stroke libraries from a template, folder, or other style into the Strokes tab. You can import several stroke libraries onto this tab.
- Settings tab: Set global options for your strokes, such as how the strokes fade and what effects apply to the strokes. The Settings tab is also where you name a style.
- Sets pane: Drag and drop strokes from your stroke libraries into the Sets pane. Each style typically has 3–5 sets of strokes, where each set is a different stroke length. Each set typically has at least 3 strokes so that your drawn images vary a bit, making the style look hand-drawn when applied to a SketchUp model. You can adjust a few options for the strokes in the Sets pane using the drop-down lists at the top of the pane.
- Preview pane: At first the model preview looks blurry, but as you add strokes to the Sets pane, you see a preview of your style in the Preview pane. You can use the tools at the top of the Preview pane to orbit, pan, zoom, and toggle shadows when you change the model that appears in the preview.
Managing a Style Builder Workflow
SketchUp Style Builder lets you put your own personal stamp on a project so let’s look at a simple workflow using it:
- Open a new or existing Style Builder file.
- Draw the strokes you want for your sketchy edge style either by hand and then scan or in a template you generated already.
- Import the strokes you want to use. They will appear as a stroke library on the Strokes tab.
- Drag and drop strokes from a stroke library to the slots for their corresponding length. You can make any adjustments on the Sets pane.
- Select how you want strokes to fade, the colour, and the edge effects using the Settings tab. Don’t forget to give your style a name!
- Once you’re happy with your sketchy style, save the .style file.
- In SketchUp, you can use the Mix tab to insert your sketchy edge style to your SketchUp model.
SketchUp Style Builder FAQs
In Style Builder you can apply your saved styles to your SketchUp model any time, so you don’t have to start from scratch each time.
The ‘Saving’ options enables you to decide what warning messages you see when you save your style. The ‘Strokes’ options let you decide how Style Builder handles auto-contrast and changes to the length and width of your strokes.
To access these preferences, select Edit > Preferences (Microsoft Windows) or Style Builder > Preferences (Mac OS X).
Style Builder cannot be used on mobile, so it’s recommended you create your styles on desktop to allow for greater flexibility.
SketchUp LayOut Vs Style Builder
SketchUp LayOut takes your 3D models and transforms it into a 2D model and is the tool for creating documentation from your SketchUp mode.
SketchUp Style Builder has one job; it enables you to create sketchy edge styles from your own images.
