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

Methods

Three general types of post-processing methods are used to modify images:

• Light and Color Adjustments: Modifying color, contrast, and lighting levels.
• Effects: Adding atmospheric effects such as haze, blurred objects, and photo grain.
• Entourage Modification: Placing realistic grass, enhancing water, and including backgrounds, skies, and objects. You’ll learn more about these methods in Chapter 32.
• Combined Methods.

For best results, you can combine methods when it is appropriate. For example, haze, grain, and clay overlays will enhance the realism in exterior renders. Similarly, interior renders will benefit from adjusting the lighting levels, fixing hotspots, and altering color hue/saturation (Fig. 31.6).

Fig. 31.6: Multiple effects and alterations were made to the image used for the cover of this book: the original render (1), a background image in the process of being added (2), a clay render overlay enhances shadows and contrast (3), interior scene rendered separately and combined into the overall image (4)

Using Original Images and Layers

Before altering the image, make a copy of the original image by saving a copy of the file or duplicating the original image layer. A copied or duplicate layer of the graphic will allow you to compare or undo any modifications.

Fig. 31.7: Layers are just as useful in Photoshop as they were in SketchUp.

The typical Photoshop process ...