Daytime Rendering – SketchUp to Photoshop by Alex Hogrefe. Another superb quick and easy tutorial by Alex. This tutorial will create a daytime rendering by exporting images from SketchUp to Photoshop. This means no external rendering programs are needed. 3D Warehouse – There are thousands of tree models, both 2D and 3D, available with a simple search. However, you do have to be careful, as some of the models in the 3D warehouse can have quite a large file size. My recommendation as you find models that you like is to create a collection and start saving models to it for easy access later.

SketchUp is a free 3D modeling program which can be use to design 3D models of buildings, a new piece of furniture for your home, exhibit booth, stage, part or other objects. When you design a model in SketchUp, it appears in a simple drawing – which can show shadows colors and material textures, but does not process reflections, lighting from lights or the sun, etc.

SketchUp was released in 2000 as a general 2D and 3D modeling software. It was then acquired by Google in 2006. It was renamed Google SketchUp and had a free and Pro (paid) version. Trimble Inc purchased SketchUp from Google in 2012. It continues to grow and be used by millions around the world.

Rendered SketchUp model showing lights and reflections.

Bakery La Sfornata 02 (Bari) Italy by Robert Emanuel Fisher Rendered with IRender nXt

To see your model as a high-resolution photo-realistic image, you will need to render it. to render from SketchUp you’ll need to download and install a rendering plugin.

Check out our list of SketchUp Rendering Plugins

Any of these will help you create great SketchUp Renderings.

How to do it render in SketchUp

For exterior scenes, you will get good renderings because of the software shadows and lighting of the renderer and the natural reflection of glass and other transparent objects. In the image below, the water in the pool was marked as reflective and given a bump effect.

Cafe by Edgar Lopez Rendered with IRender nXt

For interior scenes you need to do a little more work, adding lights, and more reflective materials.

Dining Room by Jeremias Daniel Ceballos Tejeda rendered with IRender nXt

A rendering plug-in can really improve the images of your SketchUp models.

(Images on this page were rendered using IRender nXt. For more images, visit the IRender nXt Gallery)

To see your model as a high-resolution photo-realistic image, you will need to render it. To render from SketchUp you’ll need to download and install a rendering plugin.

See the Plugins Page for information on some rendering plugins which you can use to render your SketchUp model.

Read More:

SketchUp and Photoshop based tutorials (sometimes additional software depending on tutorial). Learn how to perfect your modeling with new post-processing skills, techniques and easy to follow step by step instructions provided by highly talented professional contributors.

Making of Townhouse – a digital watercolor by Benedict Martin Caliwara

This NPR technique is suitable for quick conceptual design presentation, producing such remarkable similarity to traditional watercolor paintings.

Photoshop Breakdown: modern office building by David Drazil

David Drazil is an architecture student from the Czech Republic, currently finishing his studies in Denmark. The final image was originally an entry for the 3D challenge held by SketchUp Texture Club. The goal was to create the best possible visualization depicting the building, designed and modeled in SketchUp by Quốc Hữu Trần. The SketchUp model was the only thing provided for the competition. David says ” I was attracted by the theme and its freedom”. In this great tutorial David guides you through his detailed workflow.

Architectural Elevation: digital watercolor effect for presentations by Benedict Martin Caliwara

Learn how to apply a digital watercolor effect to an architectural elevation. All building elevations and construction details are directly exported from SketchUp. Rendering and layering procedure is done using Adobe Photoshop. You will need a basic knowledge of Trimble SketchUp and some photo editing skills for this tutorial.

Click on image to view tutorial

How to Populate Your Render – seamlessly by Simon Oudiette

In this in-depth tutorial, Simon goes over the steps that he takes when adding people to an interior render. With these tips, its sure to make a huge impact on your work.

Digital Watercolor Painted in Photoshop by Thanet Chanasakul

In this tutorial, I will be showing how to edit render output images, giving it a feeling and effect of watercolors through the use of Photoshop. You will need some knowledge of SketchUp and rendering, including post processing in a photo editor.

Click on image to view tutorial

Making Of: “campus aerial” illustration by Kirk Fromm

This short tutorial shows the steps taken to create an aerial rendering of a school campus partially from a photograph.

Making of Carillon: a digital watercolor tutorial by Benedict Martin Caliwara

In this tutorial, we will explore the different techniques of applying watercolor effects in digital rendering using a different combination of various software.

Click on image to view tutorial

Making of “Fellowship” rendering by Kirk Fromm

Kirk Fromm is a internationally recognized architectural illustrator and leading provider of NPR (non photo-realistic) renderings, using a combination of both traditional and digital techniques in his workflow. This project was commissioned to show the impact of a theatre addition on an existing senior residential facility.

Making of Silver Mountain Condominiums by Les Chylinski

Les Chylinski combines traditional and digital rendering techniques to produce refined architectural renderings for his clients. In this step by step progression, Les has documented his workflow of a winter scene using Adobe Photoshop over a SketchUp output image.

Click on image to view tutorial

The Making of Viking Pavilion – interior daytime by Scott Baumberger

Scott Baumberger has been offering high-quality illustration services to architects, designers and developers for fifteen years. He uses a digital process to produce imagery that ranges in technique from photo-realistic to simulated watercolor effects. This flexibility allows the client to choose a rendering style that best suits the character and mood of the subject matter and resonates most deeply with the intended audience.

This series of renderings for the Viking Pavilion project (eight in all) were created for a presentation to potential donors, and especially alumni of Portland State University (PSU).

Making of Boathouse illustration by Kirk Fromm

Kirk Fromm, internationally recognized architectural illustrator and a leading provider of NPR (non photo-realistic) renderings, uses a combination of both traditional and digital techniques in his workflow. In this “Making of”, Kirk creates a hybrid that takes advantage of both methods, thus fast and flexible as well as loose and engaging.

Click on image to view tutorial

Quick Concept Sketching using SketchUp and Photoshop by Jeremy Kay

Exploring further workflows in Architectural Visualization, SketchUpArtists would like to present a NPR (Non-Photorealistic) rendering approach kindly contributed to us by Jeremy Kay. No rendering software was used in this tutorial, only basic SketchUp output, with all final work carried out in Photoshop.

The Glass House – a Photoshop Tutorialby Brent Adrian Balasbas

Based in the Philippines and studying Architecture, Brent Balasbas has kindly shared his latest tutorial on his Photoshop techniques with us. A V-Ray rendered output image of a SketchUp model (original subject, Glass House by Philip Johnson) was used in this particular tutorial.

Click on image to view tutorial

Art of SketchUp: Texture Workflow by Ken Nguyen

San Francisco based Professional designer and conceptual artist, Ken Nguyen has produced some really exciting textured SketchUp models and shows us here his workflow that he uses for these great 3D models.

The Making of Block 15 Terrace by Scott Baumberger

This image was created by Scott Baumberger as part of a competition entry for a proposed residential tower in Portland, Oregon. Being a competition, Scott wanted to provide only enough information to communicate the intended design without getting bogged down with to much detail. Scott takes us through the technique behind his workflow.

Click on image to view tutorial

Quick Architectural Marker Illustrations by Christopher Polanski

Architect Christopher Polanski recently completed a project for a client that required him to compose a series of faux-marker renderings and Chris has agreed to share his process with us here.

From SketchUp to Digital Watercolor by Nguyễn Ngọc Phúc

In this latest tutorial from Nguyễn Ngọc Phúc he lets us in on his method in creating a cool digital watercolor image from his SketchUp model. His workflow includes FotoSketcher, a free program which has the ability to convert your digital images into art automatically using fully adjustable filters…its fun to use too. He finally finishes off his tutorial with a little post processing in Photoshop to complete this superb digital work of art. Get reading!

Click on image to view tutorial

Watercolor Style Tutorial by AJ Cabalhao Aloro

This model was drawn in SketchUp and rendered in V-Ray for SketchUp. What I am trying to achieve in this tutorial is a nice simple watercolor effect using my image editor, in this case Photoshop.

The Making of 412 Broadway by Scott Baumberger

More super work from Scott Baumberger. Scott has certainly excelled himself this time with this wonderful architectural visualization workflow using SketchUp, a two minute render and Photoshop. Lots to see and learn in this highly detailed article and hopefully you will come away with new ideas, tips and techniques for your own daily workflow.

Click on image to view tutorial

Making of Aquarium of Canada by Scott Baumberger

Scott Baumberger has been offering a high quality professional service to architects, designers and developers for many years. In this step by step guide Scott shows us his work-flow in producing a digital watercolor. Software used includes SketchUp, Shaderlight and Photoshop.

Watercolor Style – SketchUp, Fotosketcher and Photoshop by Jonathan Ignas

Architectural 2D to 3D visualizer and graphic artist Jonathan Ignas shows us his technique on how to create a digital watercolor using SketchUp, Fotosketcher and Photoshop. Basic skills in SketchUp and Photoshop are necessary to successfully complete this tutorial.

Click on image to view tutorial

SketchUp to Photoshop – no render engine required by Alex Hogrefe

As the title implies, this architecture illustration tutorial doesn’t use a rendering engine. Alex has done a few other tutorials in the past that don’t involve rendering programs, however this tutorial does things a little differently, and in less time.

Soft Colored Pencil Line Technique byJason Christiansen

Jason has his own unique style and here in this tutorial he shares some of his knowledge and workflow with this NPR style and technique that will produce some really professional looking final images for presentation.

Click on image to view tutorial

Exterior Night Rendering: SketchUp to Photoshop by Alex Hogrefe

This tutorial will create an artistic night rendering by exporting images from SketchUp to Photoshop. As in some of my previous tutorials no external rendering programs are needed… saving a lot of time!

Exporting Masks from SketchUp Models for Use in Photoshop by Lewis Wansworth

It’s somewhat peculiar to begin a tutorial for SketchUp with a prolonged discussion of a certain concept in image editing called masking. But without this clarification you might not quite understand why I set up my SketchUp models in a such a very specific manner. Read more on my unique technique to help you in your daily workflow.

Click on image to view tutorial

The Making of Down the Lane by John Higgins

John Higgins shows us how he puts together an image he had in his head of an old street scene ( in Yorkshire) to complement a project he had been working on. John says that its not his usual method of modeling, but just another take on how versatile Google SketchUp can be. He also uses Photoshop and V-Ray for SketchUp in this fascinating little project.

Download full movies for free offline. Daytime Rendering – SketchUp to Photoshop by Alex Hogrefe

Another superb quick and easy tutorial by Alex. This tutorial will create a daytime rendering by exporting images from SketchUp to Photoshop. This means no external rendering programs are needed. This rendering is not meant to be realistic, but instead, provide an option for quick artistic renderings without the ‘SketchUp’ look. Quick and simple!

Click on image to view tutorial

SketchUp to Photoshop – lighting by Alex Hogrefe

People have been asking me how I create my renderings. Since I am finished with grad school, I decided to develop some tutorials that explain techniques I used throughout architecture school. Many of the techniques only require SketchUp and Photoshop. This tutorial will explain a way to create a night scene with lights, using only SketchUp and Photoshop. This technique is quick if your under a time crunch.

Create a Tile Imprint – SketchUp, Photoshop, Pixplant and V-Ray by Nomer Adona

The idea behind this tutorial is to help you to achieve a tile imprint design from scratch. Modeled in SketchUp, the textures are prepared in Photoshop and Pixplant, and finally rendered in V-Ray for SketchUp. Learn new skills with this nice little tutorial by Nomeradona.

Texture Workflow with SketchUp, Photoshop & Podium by Nomer Adona

This short tutorial will show you the work-flow in texturing a scene using Podium, SketchUp 7 and Photoshop. The methodology has been discussed before, but I would love to share it again for those of you who may have missed it.

The Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building – a digital watercolor with Photoshop by Scott Baumberger

Scott Baumberger has been offering a high quality professional service to architects, designers and developers for many years. He uses a digital process to produce imagery that ranges in technique from photo-realistic to simulated watercolor effects. In this detailed tutorial Scott shows us his work-flow in producing a digital watercolor using a SketchUp output image and Photoshop. A great tutorial and a must read!

SketchUp 2D Image Export with Alpha Mask by David Macdonald

This is the first of three tutorials concerning the exporting of SketchUp models to other applications as 2D graphics. They are progressive. You need to do them in order, as each will assume knowledge from the previous. This tutorial deals with the export process, particularly the creation of Alpha Masks for your model.

Click on image to view tutorial

USC Village – A step-by-step guide to making a “digital watercolor” architectural illustration using SketchUp and Photoshop by Scott Baumberger

Scott Baumberger has been offering a high quality professional service to architects, designers and developers for many years. In this detailed tutorial Scott shows us his workflow in producing a digital watercolor using a SketchUp output image and Photoshop.

Use Image Editing Software Inside SketchUp by Nomer Adona

This simple little tutorial will show you how to edit a texture image right inside SketchUp with Photoshop or whichever image editing software you use.

Add a Rotoscope Effect to Your Image by Rocky Vezeau

A quick and simple method in achieving a Rotoscope effect for a rendered image by Rocky Vezeau, aka ‘xrok1’. A regular contributor on the SketchUcation, Twilight and Podium forums to mention a few and now here at SketchUpArtists. ‘Rotoscoping’ is the term used when artists paint or trace over live-action film, frame-by-frame, to create an animation and it is being used in everything from television commercials to Hollywood movies.

A Watercolor and Line Drawing Ink Effect by Nomer Adona

This tutorial is not about rendering but how to compose a watercolor and ink effect using a few simple steps. I am using a rendered image in order to add depth, particularly on some main areas. I use a couple of styles and V-Ray for a render image in some of the steps.

Pencil Overlay by Sid Porobic

This tutorial has stemmed out of the need to produce attractive “hand made” images which are to be used when discussing architectural projects with clients and planning authorities alike.

V-Ray Image Post-Processing in Photoshop by Teofilo Pardo

This tutorial has been designed for those people who are not using Photoshop as much as they should in their post-processing workflow or not using it on a regular basis. It incorporates lots of hints and tips and shows what can be done in the post-processing of a V-Ray output image of a SketchUp model.

Create a Fake Render in Photoshop by Majid Yeganegi

This tutorial is going to show you how to ‘fake’ a render using Photoshop. It is very simple and straight forward and I hope you find it very useful as it could be one quick option in your work process…

Photomontage Tutorial by Teofilo Pardo

This tutorial is going to show you how to blend a render into a real photo. This is my post-processing method.