If you’re going to use SketchUp to draw a 2D plan, the first thing you need to do is orient your point of view. It’s easiest to draw in 2D when you’re directly above your work, looking down at the ground plane. You also want to make sure that you’re not seeing things in perspective, which distorts your view of what you have.
Create a new SketchUp file by choosing File→New.
Depending on the template you have set to open when you create a new SketchUp file, you may already be in a 2D view. If all you see are the red and green axes on a white background, you can skip Step 2. Remember that you can always switch templates by choosing Help→Welcome to SketchUp and clicking the Templates section of the dialog box that pops up.
Choose Camera→Standard→Top.
This changes your viewpoint so that you’re looking directly down at the ground.
Choose Camera→Parallel Projection.
Switching from Perspective to Parallel Projection makes it easier to draw plans in 2D. At this point, your modeling window should look like the one shown.
Feel free to delete Sophie. That little diagonal line that’s visible in your modeling window when you’re in Top view is a top view of Sophie — the 2D person who appears in every new SketchUp 2014 file you create. To get rid of Sophie, just right-click her and choose Erase.
