Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Architectural Design with SketchUp
When you start a rendering, your SketchUp model is processed in the background and a
window with the rendering result typically shows up right within the SketchUp environment.
Materials and lights are often handled within SketchUp as well and commonly use SketchUp’s
materials, components (for lighting components), and sun/shadow settings directly.
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If you use only SketchUp for rendering and like the convenience of having an easy and
integrated workflow, look for integrated rendering programs. The only downside can
be that these programs are designed to be so user-friendly that they might not allow
much customization.
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External programs with exporter plugin—These are often stand-alone programs that
can render scenes from a variety of 3D modeling packages (SketchUp, Rhino, Autodesk
software, etc.).
The user interface in SketchUp is similar to those of the first software group, because they
integrate into SketchUp using their own exporter plugins. When you start the rendering,
however, the 3D model data is exported and directly loaded into an external program,
which renders the image.
Depending on the rendering software, you may be able to modify any of the rendering
settings (materials, lighting, etc.) even up to a very high degree in the external rendering
software.
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This approach is ideal if you use multiple 3D modeling software and would like to use the
renderer with all of them. Because some of these programs offer extensive customization
capabilities, they are often well suited for advanced users who look for more control.
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External programs—A large variety of rendering and 3D modeling/rendering software
exists that is capable of loading 3D models using a generic file format (e.g., 3DS, OBJ,
FBX, DAE, . . .). These can then be enhanced within the rendering software’s environment
by adding materials and lights.
As long as the available import file formats are compatible with SketchUp’s export formats,
it is possible to use SketchUp’s models with those programs. Some even use the
SKP format as an input format.
It is important to keep in mind that because they don’t tie into SketchUp directly (and haven’t
been developed for it, either), rendering a model successfully often involves more work.
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These programs are best for advanced users and those who seek custom features that
only these programs offer. A benefit of external programs (which is therefore also true for
the second software group) is that they usually can handle a large number of polygons
and detailed textures quite well.
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