Introduction
The 3D modeling software from SketchUp is made for a variety of 2D and 3D projects, including those in the fields of architecture, design, landscaping, video game design, and more.
Additionally, it resembles a blank canvas. The fact that SketchUp is compatible with some of the most potent tools in the 3D rendering and home design software sector is one of its main selling factors. Users can construct anything that satisfies their particular needs using the platform’s fundamental features, according to the concept.
Although SketchUp comes with a tone of built-in capabilities, users searching for a 3D rendering solution must buy plug-in in order to produce renders from their designs.
A few renounced SketchUp Extensions are mentioned below:-
V-Ray
Your 3D models will advance thanks to V-Ray, which offers real-time, photorealistic rendering and a variety of cutting-edge design tools to SketchUp.
There are various lighting tools included, including adaptive lights, global illumination, and light mixing. There is a tool called light gen that creates thumbnails of SketchUp scenes with various lighting.
You can adjust the white balance, exposure, and depth of field on actual cameras. By adding realistic light scattering, haze, and 3D fog to your drawings, atmospheric and volumetric effects give them dimension. Also included are shading, materials, rendering components, and (a great deal) more.
At the same time, not everyone should use V-Ray. Given that they will also be paying for SketchUp, it has a steep learning curve and may be expensive for certain users.
Brighter 3D
Users may quickly build renderings from a SketchUp model using Brighter 3D, a rendering plugin for SketchUp featuring noiseless rendering technology and an intuitive interface.
Support for a variety of lighting aspects, such as natural, artificial, and HDRI lighting, is provided by Brighter 3D. You can use the depth of field tool to concentrate on particular areas of a scene. You may build materials with a realistic appearance using PBR textures, and you can turn your SketchUp plans into interactive tours by using fly-by animations.
Additionally, there is an Ambient Occlusion mode that enables speedy image generation without the need to first set up the lighting.
Thea
A 3D rendering engine called Thea Render works with SketchUp to enhance your models. Features like interactive rendering, preset fog and clouds, proxy construction, and an online repository that gives users access to assets donated by Thea community members are all included.
With Thea’s Relight Editor, you may create an infinite number of images from a single rendering. From there, you may change each light source in the picture and store several light configurations for later use. Additionally, there is an AI denoiser that produces high-quality, noise-free photos as well as Adaptive Tracing, a tool created to address challenging lighting scenarios.
Light-Up
Light3-Up bills itself as the quickest and most straightforward SketchUp rendering tool available. Light-Up appears to be a little antiquated and cumbersome in comparison to programmes like V-Ray, Brighter 3D, and Thea Render. Nevertheless, it comes with some helpful capabilities that are absent from SketchUp.
For instance, the Lux analysis tool enables you to take spot measurements and exposes the distribution of direct light in your model. Additionally, LightUp enables you to rapidly add light sources to any SketchUp component by just positioning it correctly.
Enscape
Enscape, one of the top rendering plugins for SketchUp, strikes the ideal mix between simplicity of use and a powerful feature set.
Users of the Enscape for SketchUp plugin can produce photorealistic renderings, animations, fly-bys, walkthroughs, and VR presentations. Clouds, the time of day, the white mode, and depth of focus are just a few atmospheric options that can help users create emotionally powerful scenes.
Additionally, the platform makes it simple to collaborate with customers and stakeholders. Share 360-degree panoramas, still images, and movies in bulk or individually. Collaborative annotation allows users to pinpoint problem areas, communicate with their team, and make changes or requests directly in the design file.
Keyshot
KeyShot is a real-time 3D rendering tool designed to assist users produce high-quality renderings and animations more quickly. It integrates with SketchUp.The programme offers quick render times and an easy-to-use user interface.
More than 750 preset materials are available to users, and they also have the option to build their own utilising the platform’s studio, lighting, and image capabilities.
KeyShot contains manufacturing and documentation capabilities that assist you in creating technical specifications for your design in addition to rendering functions. Additionally, it comes with marketing and sales capabilities that let you produce images to draw in more clients and secure more offers.
Users looking for something that supports the full development cycle, starting with the earliest phases, might consider KeyShot.
IRender nXt
Users can generate photorealistic renderings directly from SketchUp and AutoCAD using the rendering plugin IRender nXt. The software is made for several different use cases, including contracting, real estate, interior design, and architecture.
For rendering SketchUp files, IRender nXt is the best option. It provides a range of tools to assist designers in creating high-quality images that will help them land more jobs and work with clients.
IRender nXt has a clumsy, out-of-date UI similar to Windows 95 compared to some of the other SketchUp rendering programs on our list. If you’re working inside of SketchUp, this might not be a significant deal, but it’s important to note that the platform isn’t as advanced as, say, V-Ray, Maxwell, or Brighter 3D.
