Rendering in SketchUp

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Chapter 10: Editing Textures in an External Photo Editor 
Fig. 10.6: 
Once the edits are completed, save the file.
Fig. 10.7: 
When you return to SketchUp, the texture is automatically updated to reflect the edits.

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Part 2: Textures
The changes you make to the material will affect only the applied texture in the model. Editing 
the texture does not alter or update the core material saved in your Texture Library. 
Saving to the Texture Library
Adjusted textures can be saved to the Material Library. Simply perform a Save As into the 
appropriate Texture Library folder. 
Undoing Texture Edits
If you do not like the appearance of an adjusted texture once you are back in SketchUp, you can 
undo the changes (Alt+Backspace or Edit 
F
Undo). 
Removing/Flattening Layers
If you are a skilled Photoshop user, you might add or duplicate layers when editing. Before 
saving them, make sure all of the layers are flattened. If you do not flatten any layers before 
saving, Photoshop will require that the material be saved as a new file. This will delink the 
image from SketchUp and prevent any updates from being applied to the texture in the model. 
By flattening the layers, you will allow normal saving and updating. 
Typical alterations 
Below are some typical changes that you can make to material images. Many of these 
alterations are subjective; others are objective, as described in Chapter 9. Complete as 
many alterations as needed to improve the texture. 
adjusting Levels/Brightness/Contrast
In Photoshop, select Image 
F
Adjustments 
F
Levels or Adjustments 
F
Brightness/Contrast. 
Adjusting the brightness and contrast of a texture allows you to sharpen or mute a texture’s 
surface details (Fig. 10.8). Contrasting allows texture character to stand out. For example, con-
trasting brick, concrete, tiled floor, wood grain, or home siding materials will cause the joints, 
seams, and grains to have greater depth. When rendered, the contrast will give more relief to 
the material (Fig. 10.9).
Increasing contrast can also increase color saturation. Decreasing the hue and saturation of 
material after you’ve adjusted the levels is recommended (Fig. 10.10). 

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