Rendering in SketchUp

Fig. 29.12: 
The Shaderlight Candela menu 
option

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Chapter 29: Shaderlight Simulated Lighting
Before you place an emitter, and after you select a 
light Type, enter the desired candela value to set the 
light strength. The settings provided are initial baseline 
candela values for the different light types.
Once an emitter is placed in the model, its candela 
strength can be adjusted. Simply select the emitter 
(with the SketchUp Select tool) and open the Shad-
erlight Lighting menu. With the emitter selected, 
change the candela value; you can edit only one emitter 
at a time.
Color
Two color options are available for lighting. The first 
option sets the light’s color. The second option allows 
you to edit the color using RGB or HSB settings. You can 
edit a light’s color and its Candela setting after the light 
has been placed. Most settings retain the default color 
of white. Experiment with Color settings once you are 
comfortable working with simulated lights.
Shaderlight render Settings
To render simulated lighting, you’ll need to set specific
options in the Shaderlight Render Settings menu
(Fig. 29.13).
Use the settings as described here:
1. 
Under the Scene options, set the option to Inte-
rior (GI).
2. 
Under Update, keep Auto. The Update option will 
be changed to Tile based on the quality level of 
the rendering.
3. 
Under the Lighting section, from the pull-down 
menu, select Artificial Lights Only. Skylight Por-
tals will use different settings.
4. 
From the pull-down menu under Background 
Preset, select Lighting Environment.
Fig. 29.13: 
The Shaderlight Render Settings 
menu used to render simulated lighting
Light editor
The Shaderlight Light Editor is activated from the Shaderlight main menu (Fig. 29.11). You 
can select the various lighting options from the Type pull-down menu. Once you’ve picked 
a lighting option, the SketchUp cursor turns into a lightbulb, allowing you place the light 
emitter.
Fig. 29.11: 
The Shaderlight main menu and Lighting menu
The Light Editor has three functions:
3
3
To select and place a lighting option
3
3
To set light strength
3
3
To set light color
Light Strength
The strength of an emitter is measured by Shaderlight in candelas (Fig. 29.12). Candelas 
represent units of luminous intensity. For example, a single Shaderlight candle is equal to one 
real-world candela (hence the name). One candela is equivalent to 1.2 watts. In Shaderlight, the 
default Candela setting for lights is 125. This is equivalent to a 100-watt lightbulb. However, 
exposure plays a big part in lighting up a scene, working in tandem with the Candela setting. 
Some specific candela strengths and Exposure settings are provided in the following sections 
to help you get started with lighting.