Chapter 5
Rendering in SketchUp
This chapter introduces methods to create photorealistic renderings of SketchUp models and use them for highly polished presentation images. It covers setting up a rendering workflow, gives an overview of rendering methods, and presents techniques for setting up the rendering environment, lights, and materials.
Key Topics:
- Non-photorealistic rendering methods in SketchUp
- Principles of photorealistic rendering
- Overview of rendering software
- Using free rendering software for a sample model
- Using commercial rendering software
- Rendering components: environments, lights, materials, objects
- Tips for successful renderings
- Making renderings presentable
Let’s Get Visual!
An important—arguably the most important—aspect of a designer’s workflow has always been the presentation of the work. In school, this consisted of desk crits and pinups, and in work life, it encompasses presentations to clients and banks, for example, and even town hall meetings. In any of these situations, the designer’s work has to be presented clearly, accurately, enticingly, and convincingly. This is the case for anything from hand-sketches through renderings to fabrication drawings.
Let’s take a look at how SketchUp can help us with this.
What Is Already in SketchUp?
A major strength of SketchUp has always been its inclusion of presentation capabilities in the modeling environment. Many other CAD software packages fail to offer this combination—they typically separate modeling from ...
