Rendering in SketchUp

4. 
Insert the background image between the rendering copy and the copied portal’s win-
dow layers (Fig. 32.21).
5. 
Scale and move the background image to fit.
6. 
Adjust the opacity of the portal window layer. The goal is to make the openings slightly 
opaque to appear as if viewing out a window. Typical opacity is 10 to 15 percent.
7. 
Match and color-correct the background (Fig. 32.22).
Fig. 32.19: 
The interior rendering without background

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Part 7: The Photoshop Postproduction Process
Fig. 32.20: 
The windows in the back of the rendering are carefully masked. The background image will be placed in 
the magenta area.
Fig. 32.21: 
The background skyline is inserted into the rendering image file in Photoshop.

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Chapter 32: Detailed Postproduction
Fig. 32.22: 
The background skyline is placed behind the interior render, scaled, and color-corrected to fit the ren-
dered context.
Water Fountains and Pools
When you’re using an IRP, reflecting and transparent water can be difficult to get just right. 
The goal is to get the right balance of water texture, reflection, and transparency through the 
water. The following simple approach achieves that goal. It requires creating three renderings, 
all of the same camera view. The three renderings will be combined in Photoshop. They are:
3
3
Reflective Water: The first render is set with the water being highly reflective
(Fig. 32.23).
3
3
Nonreflective Water: The second render is set with the water surface being flat/ 
nonreflective (Fig. 32.24).
3
3
No Water: The third render is set without the water surface. Only the water container 
(pool, fountain walls, and bottom) is visible (Fig. 32.25).

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