Rendering in SketchUp

221
Chapter 14: Organizing the Model
Fig. 14.2: 
The Model Info
F
Statistics option displays the sizes of the model. The model contains 
over 8.5 million faces of geometry, mostly due to the 3D vegetation.
Model Size and rendering
When first learning to render, try to keep the model sizes no bigger than 500,000 faces. You 
can render larger models, but they take time and need to be strictly organized. In addition, you 
might need to use a computer that meets the specifications listed in Chapter 4 (Fig. 14.3). 
Fig. 14.3: 
This interior model contains 340,000 faces, making it an ideal size for rendering (model 
by Kala Letts and Daniel Tal).

---

222
Part 3: Modeling Detail
Limitless Layers
Even with the threshold and rendering size limits, it is possible to build models of immense 
size by using layers. As shown in this example, the model used for the render has 161 million 
faces (Fig. 14.4, Fig. 14.5). However, you might not want to try this at home. The accompanying 
online material “Part 9: Twilight Render” explains how to create such large models using layers.
Fig. 14.4: 
Due to all of the trees, this SketchUp terrain model contains 161 million faces (house model by 
Avraham Zohar, site model by Daniel Tal).
Fig. 14.5: 
Twilight Render instances all the trees, making this render possible (Twilight Render v1).

---

223
Chapter 14: Organizing the Model
Layering Strategy 
Put everything on layers (Fig. 14.6). It’s that simple!
This strategy has several goals:
3
3
Use layers so that you can toggle the geometry and objects On and Off. Your abil-
ity to toggle the geometry will make it easier to model and help maintain SketchUp 
performance. 
3
3
Place all inserted and created components on their own layers. Each component detail 
type should be on its own layer. The layer name must convey the description of the 
component.
3
3
Keep layer names simple and straightforward. 
3
3
Clean up the layer list. Relocate layers that are imported from any CAD program.