PBR Materials Cheat Sheet (for SketchUp 2025)

PBR Materials Cheat Sheet (for SketchUp 2025)

by Alex SchreyerNo Comments
This image of a wood-veneer tray with a decorative brushed metal ball was exported right from SketchUp - no rendering software needed SketchUp 2025 introduced a new graphics system for materials: PBR (physically-based rendering) photoreal materials. As you can see in the image above, you can now have shiny, glossy, dimpled, and otherwise textured materials right in SketchUp's model area. You can then use that new appearance while modeling or when you export images or animations. As I discussed in my review of SketchUp 2025, the PBR materials look best when you enable one of the new environments (you can see one in the images below (in the reflection). In addition, you may need to make sure that the "Photoreal Materials" are also enabled for SketchUp's modeling area. You can do that on the Styles toolbar or in the View > Face Style menu. In this post I will give you a visual overview of the new PBR material parameters. So that the...
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Using Infrared Thermography Images with SketchUp Models

Using Infrared Thermography Images with SketchUp Models

by Alex SchreyerNo Comments
Infrared thermal imaging (thermography) when combined with SketchUp's 3D models has great potential to interactively visualize complex building science issues like heat loss, insulation, moisture leaks, and more. Being able to view 3D models instead of just 2D images makes it possible to see effects on a building's scale. All you need (beyond your SketchUp modeling abilities) is a thermal imaging camera (e.g. the FLIR ONE which is not too expensive). In this video I show you how you can take appropriate thermography images and then apply those to your model. I actually wrote about this technique a while ago in a blog post and a conference paper. Follow the link at the bottom of this post to learn more about the technique and to see more models. There are even some sample images for download in case you want to try this yourself. My finished thermography model of the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst is available on the...
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Creating a Combined Texture in SketchUp (e.g. for a Cross-Laminated Timber)

Creating a Combined Texture in SketchUp (e.g. for a Cross-Laminated Timber)

by Alex SchreyerNo Comments
In this video tutorial I illustrate a useful technique for cases where you need to combine several texture images into one material in SketchUp. I am using the example of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) here but you can employ this for many other applications. The beauty of using SketchUp for this (instead of Photoshop) is that you can apply textures to correctly-scaled objects (which you first create using SketchUp's modeling tools). Sidebar: What is a CLT? It is a large 8-foot wide structural wooden plate that can span in buildings approximately 25 feet. It is made from lumber strips that are glued in parallel layers, which alternate directions by 90 degrees. Several buildings have been constructed with these, including our Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst. How can you use this technique? Give rendering in SketchUp a try. I cover it in Chapter 5 of my book. Tutorial Video https://youtu.be/CEQU5DhdpZ4 Tutorial Steps This list shows the key steps for this technique. Watch the video for further...
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Just Published: Two New SketchUp Extensions (Random Tools & Scale By Tools)

Just Published: Two New SketchUp Extensions (Random Tools & Scale By Tools)

by Alex SchreyerNo Comments
I just published two new SketchUp extensions that were both based on Ruby code that was either previously posted on this site or in my book, Architectural Design with SketchUp". Random Tools Ever wanted to place large swaths of randomly-arranged grass in SketchUp as shown in the image above? Have you been frustrated by textures that repeat a bit too much on copied wood boards? Do I have an extension for you... Read the announcement Scale By Tools Using the provided tools, you can scale, move or rotate objects based on an image or a mathematical equation. For the equation, you can choose between a trigonometric function or a power function. It is also possible to use image data to push/pull faces or move vertices, which can be useful to create ripples on water or a heightfield topography. Read the announcement...
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Creating Variation in Textures for Rendering (Ruby Snippet)

Creating Variation in Textures for Rendering (Ruby Snippet)

by Alex SchreyerNo Comments
This post follows a theme that I explored in several other of my script examples as well: Copied objects in SketchUp don't appear overly realistic if they represent natural items; their geometry is simply too perfect. This is true for landscape items (trees, shrubs) but also for things like wooden boards (see left side in the image above): On a collection of real boards, the knots would be distributed somewhat randomly, not as shown here. Textures before (left) and after (right) Turns out, we can fix this easily with a few lines of code. Just select textured objects, run the code snippet below, and your textures are randomized enough to look realistic (as can be seen in the right side of the image above). TIP:Want to use this without coding? This script is also in one of the tools of my Random Tools extension. Drag the slider to see the result of this code Let's Explore the Code, Step by Step The following steps reference the...
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