Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2019 - 66

BOOK REVIEWS

CATHERINE MANTOOTH, EDITOR

SketchUp for Scenic Design
By Delbert L. Hall
Spring Knoll Press, 2018; 112 pages
Paperback $29.20
Reviewed by Catherine Mantooth
Delbert L. Hall's book SketchUp for Scenic Design dives into the imaging software SketchUp through the unique lens
of scenic design. This narrow 112-page
text delivers easy and clear instruction for
designers, especially beginners, who want
to learn SketchUp and explore its use in
their workflow. The book, published in
2018, is specifically written for SketchUp 2018 Pro (for Windows or Mac). It is
worth noting that SketchUp has updated
its software since this book was published.
Because the book is no longer in lockstep
with the program, there are a couple of
instances where small instructions no
longer lined up or an online resource was
a bit harder to find than the author likely
intended. However, the overwhelming majority of the book still accurately reflects
the program.
The book is built around two basic
ideas: that the reader has no experience
with SketchUp, and that the reader understands basic theatrical jargon, such as
stage directions. These concepts mean
that the book is incredibly easy to read
and follow. It does not waste readers' time
explaining how theatre works, and it does
not make logic jumps the way some other
manuals and books do. Each chapter, referred to as Lessons, introduces a new
skill, which builds effortlessly on previous
skills and then ends with a challenge for
the reader to engage with the program
creatively. The book includes 15 lessons
that build up the user from understanding
drop-down menus and pallets, all the way
to modeling designs in a digital theatre
space, and even touches on developing
photorealistic models.
Each lesson takes less than an hour
to complete. The early lessons can be
mastered in less than a half-hour. Because
each lesson is such a short time commitment, and they build upon one another, you

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THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

FALL 2019

will likely find yourself working through
two or three lessons each time you sit
down with this text, maybe even more.
Almost every page of this text includes a
full-color screenshot of what you are working on or an image of the drop-down menu
that you are learning to navigate. These
images are extremely helpful for supporting and clarifying the written content. You
could easily divide the Lessons into three
larger sections. The first section, Lessons
1-4, are about basic functions. Here you
learn hotkeys, how to make and group
shapes, and how to extrude those shapes
into standard 3D objects, such as platforms, that we use commonly in theatre.
In the second section, Lessons 5-10, you
learn how to create a box set and place it
into a theatre. This is where you learn to
use the SketchUp Warehouse, a cooperative database that people have uploaded
millions of items into, and also where
you start manipulating textures and more
complex tools. This section quickly covers
the use of Vectorworks or other CAD programs in conjunction with SketchUp. The
final section, Lessons 12-15, offers finishing design touches and discusses ways
to present designs to your collaborators.
Overall, this book leads you from your initial download of SketchUp through to a
scenic design presentation.
While working through the lessons,
I found myself lost a couple of times, or
simply unable to execute instructions correctly. Each time this happened, I simply

deleted my work and restarted with increased focus. The second pass over the
work always succeeded. I should note,
for this review, that I am an intermediate
user of Vectorworks, and have been using
computer drafting in my design work for
more than 15 years. Training my brain to
use slightly different logic than what I use
in Vectorworks was the largest challenge
while working through this text. The second page of this book shows you how to
change hotkeys, but as I wanted to accurately match the rest of the book content
while I was working through it, I only altered the keys that were specifically part
of the instructions. Moving forward in my
work, I will likely change a few more hotkeys to match my Vectorworks keystrokes.
SketchUp is an easy program to jump
into, and this book makes it incredibly
quick to wrap your head around how to
use it for scenic design. I wouldn't hesitate to teach my undergraduate students
this exact content. SketchUp simply has
a lower bar of entry than other software
on the market, and with a limited amount
of time invested in the program, you can
create and present great design work. I
don't believe SketchUp will ever replace
Vectorworks or AutoCAD in the industry,
nor was that suggested within this text.
This is an additional tool for a scenic designer, one that can save time and allows
you to fully flush out design concepts
with low stakes, but maintain the ability
to look impressive, and most importantly,
can be easily altered after collaboration.
SketchUp for Scenic Design teaches you
the basic tools needed to start using the
program for theatre, and I look forward to
incorporating it into my workflow.
Catherine Mantooth is an assistant professor of theatre at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. She is a scenic and lighting
designer and takes great joy in mentoring
her undergraduate students in their first
designs. Reach her at cmantooth@leeuniversity.edu. Mantooth would also like to
thank outgoing Book Review Editor Erika
Guay for her assistance on this review and
with the others in this issue.

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