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

Composing the Light

The various steps and settings outlined here will help ensure that your composing process is efficient and quick. The process requires using layers and scenes to maintain performance, as outlined in Part 3. These steps will enable you to save scenes that simulate a rendered appearance, thus mimicking rendering contrast.

1. Pick a camera view. Pan, orbit, zoom, and use Position Camera to achieve your desired view (Fig. 18.29).

2. Turn off the detail layers.Toggle off the component detail, especially vegetation. Hiding the detail will make it easier to turn on and adjust Shadows. Use an Off scene, as discussed in Chapter 14, to quickly hide detail.

3. Hide the edges and make the textures visible. Do so by selecting View ⇒ Edge Styles and uncheck all the edges. Make textures visible by going to View ⇒ Toolbars ⇒ Styles and clicking Shaded with Textures (Fig. 18.29).

Fig. 18.29: Select a camera view, turn off component details, and hide the model edges. Make sure the textures are visible.

4. Set the Light and Dark settings. Open the Shadow menu and set the Light slider to 75 and the Dark slider to 30 (Fig. 18.30).

Fig. 18.30: Set the Light and Dark settings before you compose light.

5. Compose light. Turn on the Shadows tool. Move the Time and Date sliders ...