SketchUp Modeling from an Image: A Furniture Leg from a Photo

Ufuk ŞEN

November 5, 2026Updated: November 9, 20265 min read1

Building a SketchUp model from an image lets you use a photo you have as a drawing template. In this short lesson we model a furniture leg from a single image. It is a practical method for anyone who wants to draw a part without dimensions quickly. Interior designers and furniture designers in particular use this technique often.

SketchUp Modeling from an Image: A Furniture Leg from a Photo

We recorded this lesson in 2012. So the interface on screen looks a little different from today’s SketchUp. But the tools we use are the same, and the method still works. (The video is in Turkish; this guide walks through the key steps in English.)

What’s in this video?

Choosing the right image: why do you need a parallel view?
Importing the image into SketchUp as an image.
Switching to the Front view and a parallel camera.
Drawing a half profile with Line and Arc.
Spinning the profile around a circle with Follow Me.
Making final adjustments with Scale and Push/Pull.

The right image for a SketchUp model from an image

The first step is finding a suitable image. We stress this right at the start of the video. The image should face you straight on, in other words a parallel view. In a photo with perspective, lines get narrower as they recede. That makes it very hard to get the profile right.

For example, catalog photos or front shots of a product are a good start. An image with a plain background also makes things easier. That way you see the edges more clearly.

SketchUp modeling from an image: importing the picture

After choosing the image, we open File > Import. Then we tick the “Use as Image” option. This option places the image in the scene as a flat picture. Next we click a suitable point for the image and set its size.

Once the image is in the scene, we switch to the Front view. Then we turn on Parallel Projection from the Camera menu. At this point the perspective disappears and everything looks straight on. This is really the most useful setting when you draw over an image.

Drawing the half profile with Line and Arc

For a symmetrical part, there is no need to draw the whole profile. We draw only half of the leg. The Follow Me command will complete the other half on its own.

First we pick a starting point on the exact center axis with the Line tool. Then we switch to the Arc tool and trace the curves over the image. In the video we do not try to match the line exactly. Our goal is to show the technique, not to copy the dimensions. We even add a bit of our own interpretation to the profile.

When the profile closes, a face forms. The face is the cross-section that will spin into a solid model. At this stage you no longer need the image. So you can select it and delete it.

SketchUp modeling from an image with Follow Me

Now we need a path to spin the profile around. So we draw a circle at the top of the part with the Circle tool. The circle’s radius should reach the outermost point of the profile.

Then we select the circle’s face with the Select tool. Next we pick the Follow Me tool and click the profile face. In an instant, the furniture leg turns into a full turned part. When we switch the camera back to perspective, we see the model in 3D.

If you want to see the Follow Me command with other examples, take a look at our molding, railing and dome examples. The same logic works for parts such as vases, lamp bases or newel posts.

Final touches: Scale and Push/Pull

Once the model is built, you can play with the proportions. For example, if you hold Ctrl with the Scale tool, the part shrinks or grows from the center. You can also lengthen or shorten flat faces with the Push/Pull tool. That way you get legs of different lengths from the same profile. This makes building a SketchUp model from an image useful even for series production.

Tips for SketchUp modeling from an image

Here are a few suggestions for using this method more efficiently:

Note a known dimension before you import the image. Then bring the model to that size with Tape Measure.
Draw the profile inside a single group. That way it does not mix with other geometry.
For complex curves, a few short lines also do the job instead of Arc.
For large jobs such as a building facade, photo matching is the better method.

If you want to model a building from a photo, see our PhotoMatch course. If you are new to the program, our basics lessons explain the tools one by one. You will find the current command names on the SketchUp help page.

Summary

In this lesson we showed the method of building a SketchUp model from an image with a short example. First we chose a parallel image and imported it as an image. Then we drew the half profile and spun it with Follow Me. In short, a single photo is enough to model a symmetrical part.