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:

In SketchUp, you can set a few preferences for how the software works overall and how files are saved. To access these preferences, select Window > Preferences (Windows) or SketchUp > Preferences (MacOS) from the menu bar. Most of these preferences are on the General pane, which you click in the sidebar on the left. As shown in the following figure, your options include Saving preferences at the top and Software Updates preferences at the bottom.

In SketchUp, you can create and edit styles so that you can apply your preferred style settings with a single click. Tip: If you want to develop a sketchy edges style, check out Style Builder. To create a new style, follow these steps:

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:

In the way clothes say something about the people wearing them, SketchUp styles convey information about your model. The sketchy edges style suggests that your model is still a work-in-progress whereas a finished concept might show a full-color mockup of a modern building with transparent window glass and limestone brick, custom paint colors, and a slanted metal roof.

The Soften Edges feature may remind you of a stick of butter or a chocolate bar that got too warm in the sun. In SketchUp, however, the Soften Edges feature does nothing to compromise your model’s structural integrity.

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). You also discover how the SketchUp inference engine helps you place those lines and faces on your desired axis.

Downloading, Installing, and Activating We want to make sure that you have everything you need to get started. For new SketchUp users, we recommend reading Getting Started with SketchUp for all the information about downloading, installing, and activating Sketchup.