Use images and textures for faster rendering

Fractal Tree created with RpTreeMaker

SketchUp, and most renderers, do an excellent job rendering images and texture materials.
For background objects, and other objects for which 3D detail is not important, use images instead.
There is a free plugin for SketchUp - RpTreeMaker - which can be used to create tree images which can speed up your rendering time.

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Use Panoramic Views to reveal entire model

SketchUp model by Boothy rendered as a Panorama with IRender nXt and viewed in a web page. You can spin, zoom, look up and look down on the entire scene.

Create a full 360 degree panoramic image which can be turned into a movie and embedded in a web page.

A Panoramic image is created by rotating the camera while rendering to create a full 360 x 360 degree image.

You can create Panoramic Views by check the make Panoramic View check box on the Render Setup Tab dialog.

Most software to process Panoramic Views requires that the aspect ratio be 2:1 (e.g. 2000 x 1000) pixels. So the rendering resolution will automatically be set to a ratio of 2 to 1.

You can view the flash movie made from the Panoramic image here: Panoramic Viewer

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Rendering Tip - Use Lighting Channels for quick lighting adjustments

Lighting Channels isolates the effect of light sources on the final rendering, so that:

• Balance illumination in scene without adjusting individual lights.
• Create dusk and nighttime scene by quickly lowering the intensity of sun and sky.
• Get results faster without having to re-render the scene.
• Quickly adjust the final rendering to get the lighting effects desired.
• Adjust both the sun and sky to create dusk, or nighttime renderings.
• Add 'self glow' to objects - such as TV monitors, or illuminates signs, and adjust them the balance with the rest of the scene.

Balanced lighting using lighting channels.

 

Lighting Channels is an important new feature of IRender nXt which lets you quickly adjust light sources - sun, sky and/or artificial lighting - individually quickly to balance the brightness and light balance of your rendering. (Now: Fully Integrated into the Batch Renderer.)
You can quickly adjust the intensity of each channel with a slide bar and immediately see the effect on the final rendering. This will saves time both in determining the relative intensities to use for light sources and in fine tuning the final image before publication.
While rendering, or after the rendering is completed, you can use the Lighting Channel Wizard to modify the rendered image by changing the intensities of the lighting channels. You can then adjust the intensity of the light sources, or save the Lighting Channel sttings to reuse the same channels in future renderings.

See:  Lighting Channels

Rendering Tip - Use Self Glow for backlit objects

(Self glow applied to television screen)

Self Glow illuminates a surface as if it had light shining on it, without actually making it a light.

* Balance illumination in scene without adding additional lights.
* More realistic signs, monitors and projection devices.
* Faster rendering times.

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Use Procedural bump maps or materials for water

if your renderer has special procedural bump effects they can be used to make realistic water which will reflect buildings, sky and other background objects realistically.

• Distorted reflections to represent water ripples.
• More Realistic highlights from reflection of light.
• Realistic transparency caused by ripples and reflection of light.

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Tip of the Week - Use 2 Pt Perspective for vertical alignment

Due to the type of default perspective that SketchUp use, sometimes buildings can become distorted. Using two point perspective can correct these types of distortions.

Two point perspective, sometimes called ‘2D’ in SketchUp, will keep the vertical lines of your model parallel to each other.

If your rendering software supports 2 pt perspective, use it for better renderings when ever you are looking up or down on models with vertical lines.
 

SketchUp image in 2 Pt Perspective. Vertical lines are vertical.

SketchUp image in normal perspective. Vertical lines angle out.

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Use reflective surfaces for better detail

(Not a photo. This Photo Realistic rendering was created using IRender nXt from a SketchUp model.)

When making your first renderings you will probably think of adding mirrors and lights ,adding reflective properties to surfaces as well will make image even more realistic.

A reflective floor can make the difference between a flat image and a Photo Realistic image. The same is true of metal, wood, plastic and other surfaces... Read more...