This is the companion page for Chapter 5 of the book Architectural Design with SketchUp.
On This Page
From the Book
This chapter of Architectural Design with SketchUp introduces methods for creating photorealistic renderings of SketchUp models and illustrates how you can use those for highly polished presentation images. It covers how to establish a rendering workflow, gives an overview of rendering software, and presents techniques for setting up the rendering environment, lights, materials, and entourage.
Go beyond the book:
Check out my tutorials on this site in the Rendering category
Rendering Software for SketchUp
The following list is an up-to-date version of the list of available rendering software that is included in the book. URLs change and – as it turns out – rendering software can also come and go over the years. I’ll try to keep this list as up-to-date as possible.
SketchUp-Integrated:
| Name | Tutorials | Student Version? | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArielVision | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win only |
| Brighter3D | YouTube | Free option | Win only |
| Caravaggio | discontinued | ||
| Enscape | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| IRender nXt | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win only |
| LightUp | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| PodiumxRT | Link | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| Raylectron | Link YouTube | No | Win only |
| Render[in] | Link YouTube | Yes (Free) | Win/Mac |
| Renditioner Pro | discontinued | ||
| Shaderlight | discontinued | ||
| SU Podium | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| Twilight | Link YouTube | Free option | Win only |
| Visualizer | discontinued | ||
| VRay | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
External Programs with Exporter Extension:
| Name | Tutorials | Student Version? | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Paintbrush | discontinued | ||
| Artlantis RT | Link | Yes (Free) | Win/Mac |
| Bloom Unit | discontinued | ||
| D5 Render | Link YouTube | Yes | Win |
| Indigo | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac/Linux |
| Kerkythea | Link | Free software | Win/Mac/Linux |
| KeyShot | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win only |
| LumenRT | Link YouTube | Maybe | Win only |
| Lumion | Link YouTube | Yes (Free) | Win only |
| Maxwell | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac/Linux |
| SimLab Composer | Link | Yes | Win/Mac |
| Thea | Link YouTube | Yes (Free) | Win/Mac/Linux |
| Twinmotion | Link YouTube | Yes (Free) | Win/Mac |
External Programs:
| Name | Tutorials | Student Version? | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightwave | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| Unreal Engine | Link | Free software | Win/Mac/Linux |
| Vue | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
AI Rendering and Visualization:
This is a new category of visualization services that largely emerged after the publication of the third Edition of this book and is therefore not covered in it. These services use a view of your 3D model, complete with various prompts to generate one or more renderings or illustrations that can then be used for visualization or ideation purposes.
| Name | Tutorials | Student Version? | OS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arko | Link YouTube | Yes ($) | Win/Mac |
| SketchUp Diffusion | Link | Part of subscription | Win/Mac/iPad/Web |
| Veras | Link YouTube | Yes | Win/Mac/Web |
Other generative AI tools to keep an eye on:
- Adobe Firefly – The forthcoming 3D to Image tool should be useful for visualizations.
- Stability.ai – The Reimagine XL tool provides variants of a scene that you can upload.
SketchUp Models In This Chapter
Below are two of the models that you can explore interactively in your browser (click and drag to orbit):
You can view and download all models from this chapter on the 3D Warehouse.
Links In This Chapter
Updated links beyond those that were mentioned in the software listing above will be listed here:
- See table above for rendering software links
- sketchupartists.org/sketchup-styles/
- twilightrender.com/index.php/downloads/
- twilightrender.com/index.php/tutorials
- polyhaven.com/hdris
- hdrmaps.com/freebies/
- hdri-hub.com/hdrishop/freesamples/freehdri
- kerkythea.net/cms/index.php/downloads/resources
- textures.com/browse/hdr-spheres/114552
- pauldebevec.com/Probes/
- lalighting.com/ies-viewer/
- ieslibrary.com
- lithonia.acuitybrands.com/resources/technical-downloads/photometricdownloads
- mcmaster.com
- textures.com
- ambientcg.com
- texturify.com
- mtextur.com
- architextures.org
- hermanmiller.com/resources/3d-models-and-planning-tools/product-models/
- maglin.com/resources/product-data/
- fotosketcher.com
Sample Videos From This Chapter (from the 2nd Edition)
You can access all Chapter 5 videos using the password from the book on Wiley’s companion site: www.wiley.com/go/schreyer2e
All Chapter 5 videos:
- 0501: Layered styles explained
- 0502: Intro to rendering software (included here)
- 0503: Rendering with Kerkythea (included here)
- 0504: Improving rendering materials (with Twilight)
- 0505: Spot and IES lights (with Twilight)
- 0506: Making a rendering presentable in Photoshop
Next Steps
- Check out my tutorials on this site in the Rendering category.
- Don’t forget my Freebies page for materials and 360-degree environments.
- Need to generate seamless textures (with AI)? Try these sites:
- Need more IES light files? Try these sites:
- Need more HDR environments? Try these sites:
- Need to create your own normal maps?
- If you don’t own Photoshop, then try out these free image editors:
- A forum for rendering topics is at forums.cgarchitect.com
- Some inspiring rendering websites (not necessarily done with SketchUp):
- Visualizing Architecture by Alex Hogrefe
- Plankton Group
UP NEXT:
Chapter 6 discusses various techniques for making with SketchUp.
Discuss This Chapter
Use the discussion area below to add any comments, tips, tricks etc. for this chapter…