Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Architectural Design with SketchUp
Figure 5.27: How similarly sized shapes triangulate upon exporting
Environment
Any of the objects that we render in SketchUp exist (if only virtually) in some environment. A
building, for example, is situated in a landscape or urban environment, which at the ground
level may have objects like trees, but above that has a sky (possibly filled with clouds) and a sun
(as the obvious exterior light source). Another example is a small object, such as a statue, that
would be rendered in a studio setting, with virtual artificial light sources such as point lights
and spotlights. In the first case, the environment might be quite visible through windows, but
in the second case, the background can intentionally be quite abstract and blurry. Either way,
the background provides some context, scale, and possibly color balance to the rendered scene.
Another feature that can be accomplished by the environment is lighting. Background
objects can reflect or diffuse light and influence the mood in the scene. Likewise, if an image
is used for the background in a rendering, it can actually be the main or even the only source
of lighting in the scene. This technique is called image-based lighting (IBL), and it is useful
for creating realistic lighting scenarios—especially when high–dynamic range (HDR) images
are used as a background.
Let’s explore some of these effects.
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Sky (Physical Sky, Sky Color, or Sky/Environment Image)
Any rendering software available for SketchUp usually is at least capable of rendering a
physical sky. This is useful because SketchUp already has a physically correct daylight (and
shadow) system built in, which can be enhanced by adding sky color, clouds, and haziness
to the accurate sun shadows. The physical sky calculations ensure that atmospheric haze and
sky darkening toward the zenith are reproduced properly.
Figure 5.28 shows the effect that a physical sky adds to a rendering. It still looks barren,
but at least the lighting mood and the sky look more realistic and true to the time of day.
Depending on your rendering software, the physical sky system may also add clouds and
provide a parameter for “cloudiness.”