Rendering in SketchUp

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Part 6: Shaderlight by ArtVPS
Fig. 30.14: 
Shaderlight will replace all vegetation linked to a 3D plant as shown in the rendering.
Chalk Rendering
A chalk rendering, sometimes called clay rendering in other rendering programs, produces an 
image without any texture. A chalk render highlights the light and dark values on surfaces and 
cast shadows, creating ambient occlusion (Fig. 30.15). Chalk renders can be used to display the 
space, structure, and form of a rendering without the distraction of other details.
Fig. 30.15: 
A chalk rendering in Shaderlight

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Chapter 30: Shaderlight Special Features
Chalk renders make ideal overlays to 
enhance a rendering during the post-
production process. Overlaying a chalk ren-
der over a normal rendered view will help 
enhance shadows and contrast to provide 
greater depth. This method is reviewed in 
Chapter 31.
To create a clay render, follow these 
steps:
1. 
Select Chalk Render from the Light-
ing menu in the Shaderlight Render 
Settings menu (Fig. 30.16).
2. 
Set the resolution. If you are going to 
use the chalk render as an overlay, 
make sure the settings match the 
resolution and camera view of the full 
rendered graphic (Fig. 30.17).
3. 
Set Update to Auto and Quality to
60 percent. This enables the dynamic 
preview so alterations can be made as 
needed (Fig. 30.17).
4. 
Set the Shadow Range as needed
(Fig. 30.17).
5. 
The Background should be set to 
SketchUp Background. If SketchUp 
Sky is toggled On (under the 
SketchUp Styles menu), the specified 
sky color will render in the scene.
6. 
Run the render.
Chalk Render includes a value called 
Shadow Range. The lower the number, the 
lighter the Chalk Render will be. The higher 
the number, the deeper and darker the 
Chalk Render will be.
The Shadow Range can vary depending 
on the size of the render and camera view. 
A good place to start is with the value of 50. 
Lower values might be too light, and higher 
values greater than 200 tend to be too dark 
(Fig. 30.18, Fig. 30.19, Fig. 30.20).