Rendering in SketchUp

Texture Character and Reflection 
High reflective values affect the appearance of texture 
character. The higher the reflective value of a surface, the less visible the texture character 
will be. The reflected surroundings dominate the texture image.
Fig. 21.27: 
The color 
of a material affects its 
reflectivity. The hovering 
balls in SketchUp range 
in color from white to 
black (top). When ren-
dered, the color affects 
the rendered material 
(bottom).

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Part 5: The Iterative Rendering Process
Texture Color and Reflections 
Reflection can be affected by how light or dark the surface 
color is. In real-world terms, darker colors absorb more light than they reflect. This real-
world aspect holds true for rendering. Darker surfaces, even with shiny conditions and 
high reflection values, will reflect less of their surroundings in comparison to lighter tex-
tures and colors (Fig. 21.27).
Transparency
Transparent materials have a range of opacity and reflection. The more transparent a material, 
the less reflective it will be (Fig. 21.28, Fig. 21.29). IRPs also allow transparent materials to 
refract light: light passing through a see-through surface bends and distorts, depending on 
the type of surface. For example, when you look through a glass of water, the world becomes 
distorted and warped due to refraction.
Fig. 21.28: 
The glass is set with a higher opacity that allows more light to pass through and illumi-
nate the interior.
Fig. 21.29: 
The glass is set to be less transparent, causing it to be more reflective.

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365
Chapter 21: Texture Values