Before modeling anything in 3D, you have to learn how to sketch in 2D.
Sketching is the backbone of modeling in SOLIDWORKS. It’s a set of tools used to create the fundamental elements of geometry in SOLIDWORKS. It’s combined with just about every tool that’s used to create geometry. If you want to create solids, surfaces, sheet metal and more, you’ll first begin with sketch geometry. Simply put, when you want to create things in SOLIDWORKS, it always starts with sketching.

Although sketching is incredibly versatile and fundamental, it’s also simple yet complex. We’ll break this down into two parts: basics and advanced. In this article, we’ll focus on the basics—everything you need to know to understand the basics of sketching in SOLIDWORKS. When you’re ready to take it to the next level, check out the advanced sketching article. Here’s everything you need to know to get started with sketching in SOLIDWORKS.
How to Sketch in Three Simple Steps
- Get in sketch mode
- Use sketch tools to create the Sketch geometry (more on this in the advanced article)
- Exit sketch mode
That’s all there is to it. I say that facetiously, of course. Why else would I have two separate articles dedicated to sketching? What I really mean is these three steps aren’t created equal, because 99.9 percent of the work is done in step 2. But when it comes to learning how to sketch in SOLIDWORKS, these three steps are the workflow you’ll need to commit to memory.
Step 1—Get in Sketch Mode
How to get in Sketch mode is another way of saying how to get started with sketching in SOLIDWORKS. Because it’s so versatile, there are seemingly endless ways you can access the tools. But the simplest, most straightforward way to do this is through the sketch ribbon on the CommandManager.

Think of this introduction as a cautionary tale of learning to walk before you run. There are so many ways to access and leverage the sketch tools. Think of the sketch ribbon bar as your home base for sketching—it’s an easy place to always come to for the tools. You should familiarize yourself with the basic commands here in the sketch ribbon before you move on to creating other, more advanced features.
Creating Your First Sketch
Click sketch and then define the plane on which you’ll create the geometry (more about this later).

In the above image, you can see how to create your first sketch. To create your first sketch, you’ll need to start by beginning a new sketch. You can’t use the sketch tools unless you’re within a sketch—you can call this Sketch Mode. How do you know you’re within a sketch? Look at the sketch ribbon and if you see “Exit Sketch,” you are within a sketch. Think of it logically, like this—you can’t exit from a place you weren’t already in.

So, make sure you’re in a sketch. I know it sounds simple and perhaps we’re belaboring the point, but believe me, one of the most common frustrations of people who are learning SOLIDWORKS is not being able to use the sketch tools because they didn’t realize they weren’t in the right place to use them.
Beware—The Frustrations of Choice
SOLIDWORKS is versatile and flexible, allowing you to work the way you want. But with that versatility and flexibility are potential areas of confusion and frustration for beginners.
Pro tip—Listen to SOLIDWORKS. SOLIDWORKS is always communicating with you; you just have to understand the language. Check out the nuances between the three potential messages you can get when starting a sketch.



You’ll notice that the first step to creating sketch geometry is different depending on where you’re at in your model. It comes down to whether you have existing geometry or not. This is because SOLIDWORKS is a 3D modeler, but sketches are 2D. You define the 3rd dimension by selecting a plane or planar face.
But it doesn’t stop there. SOLIDWORKS supports both preselection and post-selection. This allows you to save time by either picking an entity and then choosing the command or vice versa. The three images above are an example of post-selection, where the command is picked first and then the entity is chosen. Below is an example of preselection, where we will first pick the front plane and then add the geometry. Notice how now there’s no message.

If you want to become an expert in sketching as quickly as possible, I recommend that you focus on these first steps, which essentially are just understanding how to start a sketch and knowing when you’re in sketch mode. This can literally save you hours when you are learning how to sketch.
Step 2—Using Sketch Tools to Create Sketch Geometry
Once you check off the box of learning how to start sketching, it’s time to move on to mastering the art of sketching in SOLIDWORKS. Here’s where you’ll spend a lot of time getting experience with the tools and learning the tips and tricks. The next article in the series will focus on the advanced concepts. This article is a beginner’s guide to sketching, so we want to introduce you to some of the core fundamentals of creating sketch geometry. Here are the three things you can use to create sketches:
- Entities—these are the actual geometry like lines and circles.
- Geometric relations—these can be geometric or size relations like horizontal, perpendicular, tangent or equal.
- Dimensions—these are sizes like length, diameter or distance.



Those are the ABCs of creating sketch geometry. But there’s a lot more to it. Let’s take it up a notch and introduce you to some important concepts about sketching in SOLIDWORKS.
When you create geometry, you’ll notice that it’s either blue or black. These colors are important. The difference is that blue sketch geometry is underdefined and black sketch geometry is fully defined. See the image below to visualize the differences.

Notice how the only entities that can move are the ones in blue.

Officially, it’s best practice to fully define your sketches but it’s important to note that this isn’t a hard and fast requirement. How do you fully define your sketches? That’s up to you. It all depends on your design intent.
What Is Design Intent?
Design intent refers to how your model is created and how it will behave and adapt to changes. In the example below, the circle is defined as being in the middle and is defined as 3 inches away from the left edge.


Note how the entities adapt to changes in the design. This is design intent.


Step 3—Exit Sketch Mode
So, you’ve created sketch geometry. Now what? Now you’re ready to turn it into 3D solid geometry. To do this, you’ll need to exit the sketch by either clicking the exit sketch button or skipping this step and going directly to the features tab to create solid geometry.

Congratulations! You’ve now learned everything you need to know about sketching in SOLIDWORKS to go from beginner to advanced. But this is just the beginning of your journey in learning SOLIDWORKS.
Pro tip: Sketching is one of the most versatile tools in SOLIDWORKS and it’s worth the extra effort and practice to truly master the tools to become an expert user.