Rayan Turner's Page

it's a fun build, very simple and my little guy loves his! you can build with solid wood and ply or mdf for paint grade, whichever you prefer and depending on how old your kiddos are, you can opt to leave the casters off or choose casters that have a locking mechanism. i didn't add them on mine, but my boy is crazy and i was foreseeing catastrophe. i built the cubby storage desk along with the activity table so that he would have 2 play surfaces and multiple storage options. the top storage bins on the desk are perfect for little tiny pieces like legos and race track parts. fabric storage bins can hold bigger toys on the bottom.
here is the link for the storage desk if you are interested. http://www.thedesignconfidential.com/?p=113

hahaha I completely get what you are saying. For me, it wasn't a difficult leap because I started in CADD, and it allows me to work in a similar fashion if I choose to, but it has some additional functionality built in, that you only get in 3D modeling programs otherwise...I love that when you draw a series of lines, assuming that you didn't make some sort of error and that all lines are on the same plane and in fact form some sort of quadrilateral, you end up with a solid shape. that really simplifies things and helps the process.
If you need any help getting acquainted with it, I'm happy to help...just drop me a line.

Oky dok! I will start working on a tutorial because the truth of the matter is it works in the same way. It's just that understanding what you are looking at in Sketch Up is a bit tricky since the programs layout isn't the same as CAD and it definitely isn't intuitive. BUT....once you get going, you will see it works just like pencil and paper drafting, and that is why I love it. in fact, I mainly use the little pencil icon to draw out plans because I too and a bit old fashioned when it comes to drafting. I am a die hard pencil and paper gal myself!