How many courses do you offer?
Four; three core courses and our new Total Planting Plans course.
Our Foundation course is designed for complete beginners or those students with some experience of using SketchUp but are in need of a refresher. Our Intermediate course looks more at the day to day work of a Garden Designer or Landscaper and explains how SketchUp can be utilised. Our Layout for SketchUp Pro course teaches students how to produce professional presentation documentation, including how to print their designs to scale.
The new addition to the SU4GD family is our Total Planting Plans course which teaches students already competent in SketchUp how create plant symbols, plant libraries, planting plans and reports all within the SketchUp interface.
Which course do I need?
We find that most students benefit from starting at the beginning and sitting our Foundation course. We want you to take as much away from your time studying with us as possible, and so we want to be sure that you're up to speed, and that we don't use up too much of your Intermediate course time going over Foundation course material.
However, that's not to say you can't go straight onto the Intermediate course.
If you are experienced in the basics of SketchUp and are considering missing the Foundation course, we will ask you to send us an example of your Sketchup work which we'll be able to break down and check that you're using the software in the correct way. We'll then be able to advise whether we think you'll benefit from sitting the Foundation course first, or perhaps booking an hour or two of one to one study to fill in any gaps that we can see in your knowledge before going on to the next level.
Do I need to book the full course or can I pick and choose?
No. Students can book and study each of our three core courses separately but if you're considering sitting the whole thing, (not including Total Planting Plans), you'll save money by booking them as a block.
How long should I wait between sitting each of the core courses?
One of the keys to using SketchUp is practice and so we recommend that students leave at least three to four weeks between sitting the Foundation course and the Intermediate course in order to do so. Layout for SketchUp Pro is a different program and so leaving such a space isn't necessary. There's no rush to complete the full course so you should judge how far apart you sit your courses according to your own learning style and how much new information you can take on board at a time.
Do you provide course notes?
Yes. Each course comes with comprehensive set of course notes for you to refer back to.
Do you provide post-course support?
Yes. Students shouldn't feel that once their session ends, they can't come back to us with questions. We're always available to help out, and if you feel that you need a refresher, you're able to book one to one sessions with your tutor in one or two hour slots.
What are my study options?
We offer three options for study.
- If you're based in the UK, we offer in person one to ones where your tutor will visit you in your home or office to
deliver your course in person. We're also able to provide this service to small teams. Please get in touch
if this is something you'd be interested in arranging for your team.
- Distance Learning. We provide remote one to one training where students utilise the screen sharing capabilities
of Zoom and receive the same one to one tuition as that received during an in-person one to one.
- Group sessions. Students are able to attend group sessions of no more than 6 students at a time. We believe
that running groups of more than this size risks some students not receiving the tutor attention that they require
that can result in them leaving the session not having learned as much as we believe they should expect to.
You're UK based, can I study from abroad?
You most certainly can. We offer our courses delivered over Zoom and so studying from anywhere in the world is possible. We have students from as far afield as Australia, Germany, Ireland and the US. If you're far enough away from us, we adjust the timings of our courses and split them up if necessary to ensure that neither you or your tutor are sitting up working into the small hours.
Please note that if you are based overseas, you will be invoiced via PayPal and as such, a small administration fee will be added to the cost of the publicised course. Please contact us for a quote before booking.
What computer do I need?
We teach both Mac and Windows users. The two versions do have some slight differences but are on the whole very similar so whichever is your choice, we've got you covered.
You can view SketchUp's full minimum hardware and software requirements here but in addition, and in order to future-proof your machine, we recommend that you have at least 16GB of RAM installed.
What do I need to sit the course?
- A Mac or Windows machine with the minimum hardware requirements as specified by SketchUp.
- SketchUp Pro installed and working on your computer.
- A mouse with a central scroll wheel. The magic mouse supplied with iMacs will work, but it is not ideal due to its
sensitivity and we strongly recommend purchasing an additional USB mouse with the scroll wheel. Trackpads on laptops or MacBooks are not suitable for use with Sketchup and you won't be able to sit our courses
without a mouse.
Which version of SketchUp do I need?
Sketchup Pro. Sketchup for Web is not the same program and you won't be able to sit the course using this version of Sketchup.
How long do I have to complete my course(s)?
Students are required to complete their courses within six months from the initial booking date. Any request for rescheduling beyond this timeframe will require a new booking at the full price of the relevant course.
What is your cancellation policy?
Payments are non-refundable except in the event that a course can not run due to a lack of minimum numbers, or tutor illness. In these cases an alternative course date will be found, or alternatively, a refund will be issued should the student prefer.
Can I rebook my course date?
In the event that a student requests to reschedule their appointment, a non-refundable administration charge of £75 (or the equivalent) will apply. The administration charge must be paid in full before the rescheduled appointment can be confirmed. If a student fails to pay the administration charge, the company reserves the right to cancel the rescheduled appointment, and the client may forfeit any deposits or fees previously paid.
Are you affiliated to SketchUp or Trimble?
No, we are completely independent. SketchUp for Garden Design was simply set up in order to pass on the knowledge and techniques gained over years of experience of using the software as a garden designer, in order to make other designer's lives easier and give them the option of learning how to use SketchUp in a friendly, relevant and affordable way.