Rendering in SketchUp

Fig. 29.26: 
The resulting rendering with the Exposure level set to 5

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area Lights
Area lights have high Candela settings to ensure they render properly. As with spotlights, a 
baseline of 3000 is a good place to start. In Fig. 29.27 the area lights are placed into the fixture 
(Fig. 29.9). The rendered scene uses an Exposure setting of +5 to achieve good lighting results 
(Fig. 29.28)
Fig. 29.27: 
Area lights highlighted in blue (left); area lights placed in SketchUp (right)
Fig. 29.28: 
Rendering of area lights

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Combined Lighting
By using the point-light and spotlight baseline values and setting the exposure range between 
+5 and +7, you can combine the lights in a single render (Fig. 29.29, Fig. 29.30). Area lighting 
could have been easily inserted and would also have fit within the settings.
Fig. 29.29: 
The red circles indicate point lights; the blue circles represent spotlights.
Fig. 29.30: 
Rendering of the combined point and spotlights

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postproduction
Performing the postproduction process in a photo-editing program will do much to enhance 
your final images and you should include it as an essential part of your rendering process 
(see Chapter 31). Using the Photoshop 
F
Levels tool, you can expose and adjust the simulated 
lighting for better effects. In addition, during postproduction, you can use the Lens Flare filter 
to create the illusion of light sources.
Skylight portal
Skylight Portal uses specific settings to achieve lighting. First, lighting must be set using the 
SketchUp Shadow menu (see Part 4). Light should be directed to stream through openings and 
portals, especially the portals that have a Skylight portal placed over them (Fig 29.31). The 
Shadow menu does not have to cast light into the scene because the Skylight portal will sample 
the ambient light established by SketchUp. However, it does provide a nice, if not unique, effect 
that most other IRPs do not currently have.
Next, you should set the Shaderlight Render Setting menu to Interior (GI) under Scene 
and then set Physical Sky to Lighting. You could also use the native Shaderlight HDRI images 
(Moofe and Preset). Set Exposure to 0. Increasing the exposure will dramatically brighten the 
scene. In the rendered scene, a background was included because the scene is visible through 
the portals/windows (Fig. 29.32, Fig. 29.33).
Fig. 29.31: 
Using the SketchUp Shadow Menu, the lighting is set to stream through the window. This enhances the 
quality of lighting brought into the scene by the Skylight portal.

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