Rendering in SketchUp: From Modeling to Presentation for Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design

Chapter 28

Shaderlight Exterior Lighting and Backdrops

Shaderlight’s diverse exterior lighting options range from Physical Sky, which references the SketchUp Shadow menu settings, to preset and preinstalled HDRI. This chapter explores these options for setting exterior light in Shaderlight (Fig. 28.1).

Fig. 28.1: The alley render

The topics discussed include the following:

• SketchUp Shadow Menu: The SketchUp Shadow menu is used to set light strength and direction. Part 4 reviews how to use this menu in detail.
• SketchUp Dark Slider: The SketchUp Shadow Menu Dark slider (see Part 4) affects lighting in Shaderlight. The Dark slider acts as a secondary exposure setting. If not properly set, the Dark slider can cause some improper results.
• Physical Sky/SketchUp Sky: These two options reference the SketchUp Shadow menu to establish light settings. In order to use the SketchUp Sky option, you must have SketchUp Shadows turned On when rendering. You should not use SketchUp Sky for lighting; focus on Physical Sky and HDRI options.
• Image-Based Lighting/HDRI: Shaderlight comes with preinstalled image-based lighting options. These options sample light for photographs and re-create the light in rendered scenes. See Chapter 25, for a general description of image-based lighting.
• Backgrounds: Shaderlight provides an easy-to-use option for inserting background images into the render. Once placed, ...