Rendering in SketchUp

Fig. 8.3: 
The 
Paint Bucket 
applicator

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Part 2: Textures
Create Material* 
Selecting the Create Material button will launch a new Materials menu with the Edit tab and 
associated options. The menu will contain a swatch of the current selected material including 
the default (no color). Create Material allows you to generate a new version or copy of the 
selected material or create a new texture (Fig. 8.6).
Default Material 
As you’ll see in Chapter 9, initial model surfaces in SketchUp have no color, meaning they 
are set at the default. Selecting the Default button removes any color or material that was on 
an applied face; it is a model’s starting point, but it does not serve any useful purpose when 
rendering. You should not remove colors, textures, or surfaces using this option because all the 
surfaces should have a texture or color. 
Eye Dropper/Sample Paint* 
The Eye Dropper allows you to select a material or color that has already been applied to 
a face. The tool can be accessed when both the Select and Edit tabs are active. As long as 
the Paint Bucket tool is open, you can use the Alt key as a quick shortcut to activate the Eye 
Dropper. The Eye Dropper is a key tool used often when texturing a model (Fig. 8.7). 
The Select and edit Tabs
The Paint Bucket menu is organized under two categories: Select and Edit. The various Paint 
Bucket tools are described here (Fig. 8.4).
The Select Tab
When the Paint Bucket Tool is opened, Select is the default category. Under the Select tab, you 
can choose and apply native SketchUp materials using the Paint Bucket applicator. Native 
textures can be selected from the material pull-down menu (Fig. 8.5).
Fig. 8.4: 
The Paint Bucket tool 
and the Select and Edit tabs