In SketchUp, the Watermark feature can place a graphic in front of or behind your model. You can add a watermark for its traditional purpose: inserting a company name and logo into your model. However, watermarks have creative applications, too: inserting a background image to create a unique model setting or overlaying your model with a translucent or cutout image (such as binoculars). To add a watermark to your model, follow these steps:

Styles are shared in .style files that can be opened by any copy of SketchUp 6 or later. You must create a .style file to share a style with others. To share a style:

In SketchUp, collections help you organize styles and easily access the ones you use most often. SketchUp includes several default collections, but you can create your own and save collections to a favorites list.The In Model styles collection is particularly helpful, because it contains all the styles currently included with your model file. To see your In Model styles, follow these steps:

SketchUp provides a lot of styles to choose from by default. If those don’t quite fit the needs of your design, you can always edit them, or even create a new one. To get started, open the Styles panel and follow these steps:To create a new style click Create New Style () on the Select tab. If you want to edit an existing style, move on to step 2.

A big part of your model's style is what you see in the background. SketchUp makes it easy to customize the background including the sky, horizon, and ground to best fit the style of your model. After all, what's the use in making a Mars Rover if it doesn't look like it's on Mars? You can customize the background colors of your model in the Styles panel by following these steps:

Styles in SketchUp are a great way to help you convey information about your model without saying a word. A Style is a collection of specific settings for edges, faces, and backgrounds. A Style with pencil-drawn edges and a fuzzy color scheme can suggest your model is still a work-in-progress, while a more formal model will use colors and settings that can help make your model more photo-realistic. Using the Styles PanelThe Styles panel contains a great selection of predefined styles you can use in your model. To choose a Style: 

Using the Soften Edges feature, along with the Smooth edge property, changes the visibility of edges and can make your model look more realistic with less geometry. As an added bonus, it may also improve your computer’s performance.Understanding the edge propertiesIn SketchUp, the following properties, in various combinations, enable you to control edges’ appearance:Soft: When you soften an edge, the edge is hidden, and the faces that the edge bounds become a surface entity.

Drawing a model in 3D is different from drawing an image in 2D. This introduction to drawing basics and concepts explains a few ways you can create edges and faces, (the basic entities of any SketchUp model and also discover how the SketchUp inference engine can help.

Getting started with SketchUp is easy, and we want to make sure that everyone, no matter their skill level, has all the information they need to begin creating their own awesome models. Whether you are new to modeling and using SketchUp for the first time, an experienced modeler already familiar with CAD software, or even a SketchUp Sage, we have all you need right here to get started making awesome 3D models.