SketchUp Materials for Rendering

Keywords:SketchUp,Materials,rendering,Client Presentations

Materials are an important aspect of a Photorealistic rendering.

IRender nXt automatically uses textures, color and images from the SketchUp model. You can add additional effects, such as reflection or bump maps effects for more realistic effects.

You can also create new SketchUp materials from the IRender nXt Libraries .

Material Types

There are three types of materials based on how the IRender nXt material was created:

• SketchUp Materials - meaning the nXt material was originally created from an existing SketchUp material
• Library Materials - meaning a new SketchUp material was created from an existing nXt .ArMaterial are handled in different ways.
• User Materials - this is a SketchUp material where the first texture has been modified by the user using the Advanced Material Editor.

SketchUp Materials

The nXt material was originally created from an existing SketchUp material

Changes to the texture made with the SketchUp material editor are applied to the IRender nXt material when it is next rendered or edited.

If you change the first texture in the IRender nXt material, using the Advanced Material Editor, then the material type is changed to User. No changes are made automatically to the SketchUp texture and future changes made to the SketchUp texture are not applied to the IRender nXt material.

Color changes will be synchronized between the nXt material and the SketchUp materiel.

Color changes made in the Material Wizard are used to alter the color in SketchUp. However you will not see the colors change dynamically on the texture as you change them.

Transparency is synchronized between the nXt material and the SketchUp materiel.

Other settings are stored on the SketchUp texture and used for rendering and later edits..

Library Materials

A new SketchUp material was created from an existing nXt .ArMaterial.

When the SketchUp texture was first create from the .ArMaterial material, a texture was created for the SketchUp material.

Future changes to the SketchUp texture are not applies to the IRender nXt material, and future changes made to the textures in the IRender nXt material are not used to alter the SketchUp material.

You can update the SketchUp texture to match changes in the .ArMaterial by re-saving the .ArMaterial and reloading it into SketchUp.

If there is no texture on the material, then color changes will be synchronized between the nXt material and the SketchUp materiel.

Color changes made in SketchUp have no effect on the nXt texture.

Color changes made in the nXt editor will not be transferred to the SketchUp texture.

Transparency is synchronized between the nXt material and the SketchUp materiel.

Other settings are stored on the SketchUp texture and used for rendering and later edits..

Custom User Materials

A material is marked as User if it was originally created from a SketchUp material, and then the user altered the first texture using the nXt Advanced Material Editor.

Future changes to the SketchUp texture are not applies to the IRender nXt material, and future changes made to the textures in the IRender nXt material are not used to alter the SketchUp material.

If there is no texture on the material, then color changes will be synchronized between the nXt material and the SketchUp materiel.

Color changes made in SketchUp have no effect on the nXt texture.

Color changes made in the nXt editor will not be transferred to the SketchUp texture.

Transparency is synchronized between the nXt texture and the SketchUp texture.

Other settings are stored on the SketchUp texture and used for rendering and later edits..

See also

• Getting Started
• Lighting