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.
Chapter Sections:
- Let’s Get Visual!
- Overview of Photorealistic Rendering Methods
- Rendering Software
- Perfecting the Components of a Rendering
- Rendering Tips and Tricks
- Making Renderings Presentable
Go Beyond the Book
These are my most recent tutorials posted in the Rendering category on this site:
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.
Tutorial Videos for this Chapter (Playlist)
The following YouTube playlist contains my collection of Rendering and Visualization videos:
Links for this Chapter
Related links to relevant websites are listed here. See table above for rendering software links.
Textures / PBR Materials:
- 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/ – SketchUp’s PBR material library
- textures.com – Texture library
- ambientcg.com – Texture library
- texturify.com – Texture library
- mtextur.com – Texture library (has SketchUp extension)
- architextures.org – Parametric textures (has SketchUp extension)
- Need to generate seamless textures? Try these sites:
- Need to create your own normal maps?
HDRI Maps / IBL:
- polyhaven.com/hdris – Environments
- hdrmaps.com/freebies/ – Environments
- hdri-hub.com/hdrishop/freesamples/freehdri – Environments
- lightmap.co.uk/hdrlightstudio/freestudiohdrimaps/ – Studio environments
- kerkythea.net/download/resources/ – Environments
- textures.com/category/hdr-environments/114552 – Environments
- pauldebevec.com/Probes/ – Spherical probes
- ambientcg.com/list?type=hdri – Environments
IES Light Data:
- lalighting.com/ies-viewer/ – Viewer for .IES files
- ieslibrary.com – Library of IES files
- lithonia.acuitybrands.com – Manufacturer database
- download.erco.com – Manufacturer database
- usa.lighting.philips.com – Manufacturer database
Miscellaneous:
- sketchupartists.org/sketchup-styles/ – Collection of SketchUp styles
- Check out my Freebies page for (some) materials and 360-degree environments.
- For entourage, check the 3D Warehouse and these manufacturer websites:
- fotosketcher.com – A small software to “sketchify” images.
- If you don’t own Photoshop, then try out these 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
Discuss This Chapter
Use the discussion area below to add any comments, tips, tricks etc. for this chapter…
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Chapter 6 discusses various techniques for making things with SketchUp.