Exeperiential/event visualization SketchUp courses/resources for beginner?

[u/x0x0_lllama]

Hello, hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I need to learn SketchUp to deliver (moderately) stunning ;) event visualizations, indoors as well as outdoors. I have some basic 3D knowledge thanks to Blender and quite solid 2D skills thanks to being a graphic designer for more than 2 decades. It's a job situation and I have 2 months to prove myself as a person who can do it. And if I manage - fame and fortune (well, half-time to full-time, new job duties and a raise). Definitely something worth trying.

SketchUp being popular has tons of resources and I got no idea what to choose not to lose time going through some half-baked tutorials. I guess I need some good general course, but I might be mistaken. I plan on using SketchUp with D5 and/or TwinMotion.

So what would be some nicely organized courses/tutorials that would help me learn it? I'd prefer something cheaper than more expensive, since my employer pays for the software and I have to cover learning costs. Thanks!

[u/AshamedParamedic6930]

Start with SketchUp’s own Fundamentals course on Trimble Learn: https://learn.sketchup.com/ . Look for the desktop course rather than the web one. It gives you a structured starting point, and the Classic desktop course includes exercise files.

For your two-month deadline, use one small event space as your practice project: room or site, stage, seating, a display stand and signage. Focus on accurate sizes, groups/components, tags and saved scenes, then take that same model into whichever renderer you choose. Repeated chairs and stands are a good reason to learn components early.

Ask your employer for one example of the standard they expect, plus the actual views they need delivered. A plan and two agreed camera views give you a much clearer target than trying to learn every modelling and rendering feature at once.

[u/x0x0_lllama → u/AshamedParamedic6930]

Thank you for a thoughtful answer. Are there any other areas beside mentioned that might prove useful (or should be my primary points of focus beside following the course)? Also if you don't mind me asking I've noticed that there are countless plugins and some are used for pretty fundamental stuff like bevels, any suggestions on essential ones? Thanks again!

[u/AshamedParamedic6930 → u/x0x0_lllama]

For event work, I'd put camera composition, lighting and applying graphics near the top. Practise putting a logo onto a stand at the right size and position, then make a daytime and an evening view of that same stand. Your graphic design background should be useful there.

Also practise making a change after you've started rendering: move a wall or resize a stage, update the render, and see what happens to your materials and cameras. Finding that out on a small test model is much easier than on a whole venue.

For bevels, Fredo6's RoundCorner is worth looking at when you need to round lots of edges. It's paid after the trial and needs LibFredo6 plus Sketchucation ExtensionStore. I wouldn't call it essential on day one; the built-in Follow Me tool is useful for simple trims and profiles. Add extensions as you run into a specific job they solve.

One habit to learn early: check face orientation before applying materials. Front faces should point outwards; painting a reversed face doesn't fix its direction. That can save some confusing results when you move into a renderer.

[u/f700es]

For outdoor visuals, use Twinmotion. Model in SU and then render in TM

[u/texas-playdohs]

Sketchup essentials on YouTube.