Rendering in SketchUp

Fig. 13.8: 
By using the Texture Swapping method, you can add texture to solid colors.
Component Detail types
Tables 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 list some common details used for interior, site, and architectural 
settings. There are endless objects in the real world. However, collectively, the items listed here 
will help you complete a rendered scene. The component equivalents for all these elements are 
available on the websites discussed later in this chapter.
table 13.1: 
Interior Details and Potential Components 
air
conditioning
appliances
 
area
carpets
artwork and 
pictures
 
base 
boards 
bedding
 
bedroom 
sets
beds
blinds and 
window 
coverings 
books 
shelves 
books 
chairs
coffee 
tables 
computers
crockery 
doorjambs 
doorknobs 
doorstops 
electric 
cords 
electric 
outlets 
fixtures
flat screens
food 
furniture
glass walls
glasses 
lamps
laptops
living room sets
office
furniture
partitions
pillows
plants
silverware 
sofas
table
thermostats 
trash cans 
vases
vents 
wall lights
window 
backdrops 
and exterior 
scenes 
steps
mechanical 
furnace
mechanical 
water heater
piping 
washers 
and
dryers
decor

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Chapter 13: Component Details
table 13.2: 
Site Details and Potential Components
arbors
backdrops
 
banners
bike racks
 
boulders
buildings - 
general
canopy 
structures
 
cars
chimneys
fences 
fire pits
fountains
kiosks 
lighting: in-
ground
lighting: 
pedestrian
lighting: 
street
lighting: wall 
lights 
manholes 
newsstands 
outdoor 
kitchens
parking 
meters
people
pergolas
playgrounds
railing
sculptures 
and art
street signs 
swimming 
pools
traffic lights 
transporta-
tion stops 
trash and 
recycling 
containers 
tree grates 
utility meters 
and boxes 
vegetation/
flowers
vegetation/
shrubs
vegetation/
trees
vegetation/
vines
fire hydrants
table 13.3: 
Architectural Details and Potential Components
chimneys
doors
exterior light 
fixtures
gutters
HVAC
sky lights
solar panels 
windows
plaques
ornamentations
light fixtures
awnings 
rails
steps
fire escapes
Building Volumes and Fenestrations
Buildings benefit from additional details unrelated to components. By including fenestrations 
(openings) in the form of 3D volumes, you can greatly enhance a building’s graphic appeal. 
Typical elements that can be modeled are parapets, overhangs, and reveals. Good components 
can provide similar detail, such as extruded windows found at DynaSCAPE Sketch3D’s 
website (
http://www.dynascape.com/sketch3D.html
).
For more information on adding detailed volume and extrusion to buildings, refer to Google 
SketchUp for Site Design (Fig. 13.9, Fig. 13.10, Fig. 13.11). 

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Part 3: Modeling Detail
Fig. 13.9: 
The rendered building has only base details (Shaderlight).
Fig. 13.10: 
The building fenestration and extrusions are added to the base model improving 
the building look (Shaderlight).
Fig. 13.11: 
Additional exterior details, such as wall lightings and downspouts, are added. 
Contextual interior furniture is added, rounding the building detail.

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Chapter 13: Component Details
premade Component Websites
The following three websites (Trimble 3D Warehouse, FormFonts, and DynaSCAPE Sketch3D) 
are well suited to provide the types of component details you can use. Collectively, they offer a 
broad assortment of free and commercial components. The resource website for this book (see 
Chapter 2) provides direct links to these resources.
These three websites require that you download components one at a time. Although this 
can be inconvenient, it is to prevent piracy and illegal sharing of models that might occur if 
components were packaged in groups. 
Using the reference material in this chapter, make sure you download any components 
into an organized Component Library (Fig. 13.12). Regularly spend time downloading them, 
and collect them when you’re modeling a project. You will quickly build up your Component 
Library. 
3D Warehouse
3D Warehouse is a search engine for 3D models. It’s the single, largest repository of SketchUp 
models on the Web (Fig. 13.13). SketchUp users, companies, and institutions upload their 
models to the Warehouse for others to view, download, and freely use.