Rendering in SketchUp

Fig. 8.9: 
The Color Category options under the Edit tab
picker*
This option allows you to choose how you view and select solid colors for materi-
als. There are four selections: Color Wheel, HLS, HSB, and RGB. The default is the Color 
Wheel (Fig. 8.10). HLS stands for Hue, Lightness, and Saturation. HSB stands for Hue, 
Saturation, and Brightness. RGB, which stands for Red, Green, Blue, is the typical color 
assortment found in most programs. However, selecting HLS from the pull-down menu is 
usually a better option.
Depending on which setting you pick from the drop-down menu, the area below will have a 
menu customized to the selected color value option. 
Surface Shading 
A common complaint 
about SketchUp is that colors appear 
overly bright or do not accurately repre-
sent RGB values as displayed in Photo-
shop or similar software. This is because 
SketchUp applies shading to all surfaces 
to allow for depth and 3D. This shading 
can create many variations in a single 
color, depending on its location and posi-
tion in a model. Because of this shading, 
using the Color Wheel or RGB does not 
allow for a precise adjustment of a colors, 
tone, and value. 
The HLS option is used most often for 
editing and adjusting colors in SketchUp 
(Fig. 8.11). It allows for the greatest con-
trol of color and texture display in your 
model (Fig. 8.12). Using HLS, you can 
tone down bright colors, create more 
Fig. 8.10: 
Color Picker is the default setting for SketchUp 
color editing.
Fig. 8.11: 
The HLS option is the preferred color-editing 
option.

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Part 2: Textures
sedate and muted tones, and lighten or darken a color. It is strongly recommended that you 
set HLS as the default for your colors and adjust the settings to see the results. Play around 
with the three sliders to better understand the results.