Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Architectural Design with SketchUp
Figure 5.37 shows a sample scene of an oceanscape in which the water plane was modeled
with a simple (albeit large) rectangle. The water ripples were added as a bump map, a
technique that is discussed in a later section of this chapter.
Figure 5.37: Ocean scene with water plane
Lighting
Lighting is arguably the most exciting part of creating photorealistic renderings. This is where
you can create spaces and moods that can’t be visualized with the same level of realism within
SketchUp. You can be very creative with light and approach your rendered scene like a theater
stage where you are in charge of placing interesting lights and illuminating the space in
various ways. The following sections review some of the common issues encountered when
executing lighting. Feel free to combine any of the following methods to get the best result.
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Ambient Lighting and Image-Based Lighting
In the absence of any direct light source, such as the sun or point lights, the scene must be
lighted by environmental illumination. Depending on your rendering package, this can be
done in one of two ways, both of which are global illumination (GI) techniques that rely on
the rendering software’s capability to calculate light scattering.