Rendering in SketchUp

2. 
Turn off the detail layers.
 Toggle off the component detail, especially vegetation. Hiding 
the detail will make it easier to turn on and adjust Shadows. Use an Off scene, as dis-
cussed in Chapter 14, to quickly hide detail.

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Chapter 18: Composing Light
3. 
Hide the edges and make the textures visible. Do so by selecting View 
F
Edge Styles and 
uncheck all the edges. Make textures visible by going to View 
F
Toolbars 
F
Styles and 
clicking Shaded with Textures (Fig. 18.29).
Fig. 18.29: 
Select a camera view, turn off component details, and hide the model edges. Make sure the 
textures are visible.
4. 
Set the Light and Dark settings. Open the Shadow menu and set the Light slider to 75 
and the Dark slider to 30 (Fig. 18.30).
Fig. 18.30: 
Set the Light and Dark settings before you compose light.
5. 
Compose light. Turn on the Shadows tool. Move the Time and Date sliders to modify the 
direction, length, and strength of shadows. Once you’re happy with the results, turn the 
shadows off and go the next step (Fig. 18.31, Fig. 18.32, Fig. 18.33).
6. 
Adjust the Solar North setting only if you’re working with SketchUp Pro and you’re not 
happy with your results. Alter the angle of Solar North to rotate the source of light for a 
better vantage point.

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Part 4: Setting Light with Shadows
Fig. 18.31: 
Compose light by adjusting the Time and Date sliders on the SketchUp Shadow menu.
Fig. 18.32: 
Continue tweaking the settings.
Fig. 18.33: 
The final result
7. 
Turn on the Detail layers you want for the rendered view. Create and use an On scene, as 
reviewed in Chapter 15, to quickly toggle on the detail (Fig. 18.34).
8. 
Save the scene. With the shadows set (but not on) and the appropriate detail visible, cre-
ate your scene. The scene will retain the shadow settings and detail. Return to this scene 
prior to rendering (Fig. 18.35).
9. 
Save multiple scenes. Repeat the process of setting up multiple rendering views.

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