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Table of Contents
● New - Look at the Video Tutorials
● New to Version 1.6
● Install
● Brief Introduction
● User Interface Items
● Sample Tutorial - Exterior Model
● Sample Tutorial - Interior Model
● Omni Lights
● Clipmap Help
● Bumpmap Help
● Settings
● Tips and common problems
● SU Podium FAQ
● Front Face, Back Face - why some some faces don't render
● Advanced Lighting Tutorial
● Advanced Exterior Tutorial
● How to get support
● Other Information such as how to use the free libraries
1. Double click on SU Podium_16_Setup.exe file from your CD or from the file you downloaded. This begins
the installation process.
SketchUp 6 users - select the default location or use the browse button to find the folder that SketchUp Pro is
located. You should install Podium in \Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 6\.
SketchUp 7 users - use the browse button to find the folder that SketchUp 7 is located. This is typically located
in \Program Files\Google\ Google SketchUp 7\
Note - do not try to install Podium in the Plugins folder. The install program will do that for you and create a
folder for Podium.
Windows 64 OS users. Please note SketchUp is usually located in the \Program files (x86) directory. You will
most likely need to install Podium in this location: \program files (x86)\google\google sketchup 6(or7)\
Restart SketchUp. You can access Podium from the SketchUp Plugins pull down menu. Pick the Show option
from the Podium menu to display the Podium interface.
If you purchased the full version, when you start Podium for the first time, you will be required to enter your SU
Podium serial number that comes with your purchase. If you purchased Podium as a download product, you
should have received an e-mail with your serial number. If you purchased Podium CD version, you should
have received an e-mail with your serial number. If you have not received a serial number with your purchase,
please contact support@cadalog-inc.com and one will be sent to you.
If you have not already created an account on www.suplguins.com Regsitered User area, It will be a good idea
to do so. The Registered User area will give you access to the Light Fixture libraries, the Plants&Trees plug-in,
textures and also provides a place where you can download Podium again. This site also has important utiltiy
plug-ins for Podium. The Regsitered User area is open for all users, include customers who are using the
evaluation version. However, the Light Fixture and Plants&Trees plug-ins can only be used by paid customers.
To register, click here.
Uninstall
It's best to use Podium's uninstall program to uninstall Podium completely. To uninstall, use the Windows Start
key and select All Programs. Then select Podium from the list of Windows Programs. From the Podium menu,
pick Uninstall. Then browse Windows for the Podium folder. When you find it, click on unins000.exe. Vista
users - you will need to opens Windows explorer and to the Podium folder typically located \Google SketchUp
6 (or 7)\plugins\podium. Then pick unins000.exe to completely uninstall Podium.
Install problems
The most common problem encountered after installing Podium is not being able to find Podium from the
Plugins menu inside SketchUp. If you cannot find Podium from the Plugins menu, it has not been installed
correctly. The most common reason for this is that Podium was installed in the wrong folder. The
recommended solution is to Uninstall Podium as instructed above. Then reinstall it. Make sure SketchUp is
closed when you reinstall Podium. Pay careful attention to what folder Podium gets installed. It must be
installed in the Google SketchUp 6 or Google SketchUp 7 folder. Do not install it in the Plugins folder.
(Windows 64 OS users note that SketchUp is installed in the Program files (x86) folder.)
Versions
Podium 1.6 is the latest version of Podium. It supports multi-threading so is the fatest version of Podium.
However, you must have MAC OS X 10.5(Leopard) or greater for Podium 1.6 Mac to run. Therefore we are
making Podium 1.5 available to customers who still are using Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger). The installation of both
versions are similar. They both will install for SketchUp 6 and SketchUp 7 automatically. However, there are
important differences in the location of the program files.
Close SketchUp. The SU Podium 1.6 Mac version download file is a zip archive which can be easily expanded
using Mac OS X's built-in tools such as Stuff-It. Once expanded, it contains a Mac OS X "Installer Package".
Double-clicking on the package will launch "Installer" and walk you through the Podium installation. After
installing, open SketchUp, click on Podium from the Plugins menu and enter your serial number.
SU Podium will be installed at the following location: Home Directory -/library/application support/podium/. The
files installed in the podium folder are podium_load.rb and podium.bundle.
Further, an additional two files are installed as aliases so that SketchUp will know were to find Podium. There
are installed in the Home Directory - /library/application support/google/google sketchup (6 or 7)/plugins/
The Preset and Texture files are stored in this location: Home Directory -/Documents/Podium/.
The SU Podium 1.5 Mac version download file is a zip archive which can be easily expanded using Mac OS
X's built-in tools such as Stuff-It. Once expanded, it contains a Mac OS X "Installer Package". Double-clicking
on the package will launch "Installer" and walk you through the Podium installation.
SU Podium will be installed at the following location: Macintosh HD -->/Library/Application Support/Google
SketchUp 6 or 7/SketchUp/plugins/ Within that folder, it will install two things: The folder Podium.suplugin and
the file podium_load.rb Texture folder is located at: /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 6/SketchUp/
plugins/Podium.suplugin/textures/ Podium Presets are locates: /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp
Known issue with Podium 1.5 - Mac error #<Errno:EACCES Permission denied
If you get this error message - #<Errno:EACCES Permission denied - /Library/Application Support/
GoogleSketchUp /SketchUp/Plugins/Podium.suplugin/textures,
Your user account does not have permission to write a textures folder in the Podium.suplugin folder. Podium
needs to create the textures folder when it firsts renders to save textures from the SketchUp model. If it can't
create this folder, it will not complete the render.
Your login account does not have permission to write to Podium.suplugin. You can unlock that and give your
account permission to write.
SU Podium is a photo-realistic rendering software program that works entirely as a plug-in to Google
SketchUp Pro or Google SketchUp, 6 or 7, Windows or Mac.. We will be referring to SU Podium as “Podium”
in this help page.
Podium works entirely inside SketchUp and uses SketchUp’s surfaces, textures, groups, views, background
color and shadows to produce a photo-realistic image. If you are already familiar with SketchUp you will notice
that Podium does not require you to learn a lot of complicated rendering techniques to create photo-realistic
renderings.
The SketchUp model that you see on your screen will be what is rendered in the final image. What you see on
your screen will be referred to as the render scene. If you want to change the angle of a scene or get a closer
“shot” of your model, use SketchUp’s zoom, pan or rotate commands to change the render scene. You can
apply the standard SketchUp textures and colors to surfaces and get an effective rendered image. Download
additional high resolution texture images from the Registered User page on the www.suplugins.com web site.
You can also apply SketchUp’s background colors and shadows to get effective renderings.
The final image that is created by Podium is a bitmap and can be saved as a JPEG or PNG file as well as a
higher resolution HDR file. By default, the rendered image file is saved to the /Plugins/Podium folder on
Windows and ~/documents/podium/ folder on the Mac. You can change the folder where you want to save the
output image file from the Settings menu.
You can change the resolution size of the rendered image by pick the Arrow icon in the Podium dialog box
and then picking Render Size. In the free, evaluation version, there are only two render sizes available.
Getting Started
Back to TOC
To display Podium’s user interface, pick Podium from the SketchUp Plug-in menu and pick Show. This will
display the Podium user interface.The three main options that are displayed are: Preset settings, the slider bar
to apply lighting to a face, and a slider bar to apply reflection to a face.
Click on the Arrow Icon in the Podium dialog box and you will see another pop out menu. Infomation about
Render Size, Render All scenes, settings are discussed in the UI Items chapter.
2. While the surface is highlighted, pick a value for reflection by moving the Reflect slide bar in the Podium UI.
5. Click on the Preview image to obtain a larger resolution of the rendered image.
Podium will create renderings of your SketchUp scene by simulating the reflection of light on each SketchUp
face. By default, Podium applies Sky Light (Global Illumination) to the scene. By applying reflection to faces,
you can create photo-realistic images that reflect the skylight and objects in the model. In addition, by putting
textures or color to faces, the rendered image will look photo-realistic.
You can also change daylight environment to night or evening environment by changing SketchUp’s
background color (found in SketchUp's Style menu). For example, you can create an evening like effect by
choosing a dark background color in SketchUp.
You can create different day light effects by using SketchUp shadows. When you turn SketchUp shadows on,
Podium recognizes the position of SketchUp's sun and the sun becomes a source of light.
Podium also provides "artificial" lighting in the form Light Emitting Surfaces and Omni lights (or point lights)
which will provide further realism to your image.
The Light slider bar controls how much light is applied to a face or a group. When Light is applied directly to a
face, the face becomes an LEM type light. The face will emit light. It is the easiest way to create light. For
example, you may want to create the effect of a fluorescent light illuminating a room. Create a face on the
ceiling, select the face, then moving the Light slide bar to the right. When rendered, the face will displayed as
a source of light. When Light is applied to a face, it is referred to as Light Emitting Material or LEM. An LEM
will emit light in one direction. It is very simple way to create artificial light BUT LEMs are the slowest to render.
So be careful how many faces you turn into LEMs. The more you have, the slow the rendering will become.
Light can also be applied to SketchUp groups to create Omni Lights or point lights. Omni lights simulate a light
bulb where light is emitted in all directions. These types of lights render much faster than LEMs. Further,omni
lights emit light in all directions. Omni light groups can be tiny specs and these groups can be placed into light
fixtures to create realistic interior lighting. Please examine the Registered User area of www.suplugins.com
and download the large light fixture libraries. The light fixture libraries are plugins that allow you to drag and
drop hundreds of lights into SketchUp. Each light fixture has omni light in them so will automatically be
rendered with light. If you only evaluating Podium, you can not access these libraries but you can download
some free light fixtures skp files to try out.
To get an understanding of how Podium works, we have provided several beginning tutorials. Podium-Exterior
is a SketchUp model of a simple structure. Podium-Interior is also a SketchUp model of a simple room design.
You can download the models that come with these tutorials from the tutorial pages. When you finish with
these two basic tutorials, please take a look at the omni-light tutorial and the new interior tutorial. Then go on
to the more advanced Lighting and Exterior tutorials.
Note: Podium employs Global Illumination (GI) and Ray tracing to create photo-realistic images. Ray tracing
simulates the path of a ray of light as it would be absorbed or reflected by various SketchUp surfaces. GI is an
algorithm that takes into account not only the light which comes directly from a light source like Sky Light
(direct illumination), but also subsequent cases in which light rays from the same source are reflected by other
surfaces in the scene (indirect illumination).For more information about Ray tracing and GI, please read about
it in Wikipedia.org
Podium has a simple user interface as described in the Getting Started section. The main dialog box displays
Light and Reflect slide bars and a Preview button. The are a few other options in the user interface that should
be explained before proceeding to the tutorials.
At the top of the main Podium user interface, is a list of Preset .xml settings. Presets will be explained in detail
in the Preset section of this help web page. For now, use the default.xml preset.
Render Size
Click on the Arrow head icon in the main Podium user interface. This will reveal Render Size, Settings and
Help options.
There are several render size options in the full version. The evaluation version only provides 230 X 150
(Preview) and 500 X 500. In all other respects, the evaluation version is the same as the full version.
Settings
The Settings menu is where you can control the speed vs quality and jaggy vs smooth settings. It is also
where you can pick between JPG and PNG output formats and what folder you want your image files to be
saved to. Settings is discussed in more detail in the Settings sections of this help desk.
Preview
When Preview is on, Podium will display a Preview of the rendering as it is occurring. The default Preview
image size is 230 X 150. When you pick a larger image size such as 640 X 480, the Preview will only display a
small portion of your rendering as it is occurring. You can Preview the entire image size by clicking inside the
Preview image area. This action will display a new window which shows a static image of the rendering. Click
on the larger window to make it disappear.
Podium-Interior model is a simple model of a room. The goal of this exercise is to experiment with Light effect
to create a new source of direct light and use reflection to simulate a mirror. Outside Sky Light will also
influence the interior lighting.
Texture has already been applied to this model. SketchUp’s background color has also been changed to a
darker grew. Shadow settings are turned off. You can examine what materials are being used in the model by
going to the SketchUp material browser and selecting the InModel tab.
Also, notice that two components are being used. One is a face-me type people component. The other is of a
3D bench. If you Zoom out of the current view you can see that the model is of a room with three walls, a roof
and a floor. Outside the structure there is a surface with Ashlar Stone texture to represent the ground.
The facing wall has a white surface that will represent a mirror.
Display Podium’s UI by picking Show from the Podium pull down menu.
Let’s use the Render size of of 230 X 150 for the Preview.
For this example, let’s add reflection to the following surfaces – a. the mirror (this is the rectangular surface on
the facing wall that has Ghost White texture), b. the floor
Mirror – Select the mirror surface and while it is highlighted, use the Reflect slide bar in Podium’s UI to add a
reflection value of 100 for the mirror.This is the maximum reflection value.
Floor – Select the floor surface and while it is highlighted, use the Reflect slide bar in Podium’s UI to add a
reflection value of 20 for the floor.
We are also going to add a new light source in the room to the rectangle on the ceiling to simulate a
fluorescent light.
Fluorescent Light. Select the rectangular surface on the ceiling and while it is highlighted, use the Light slide
bar in Podium’s UI to add a Light value of 25 for the “fluorescent” light. This is a LEM type light. It's very simple
to create but LEMs are slow to render.
Zoom, pan and rotate in SketchUp so that the room, mirror, portion of the light and a portion of the outside is
Then click the Render button in the Podium interface. (Make sure the preview button is checked).
Podium goes through several iterations and you will notice messages on the Podium interface like Shooting
Photons, Building Mesh, Ray tracing, Anti-aliasing.
When the messages have stopped and you have clear image, what you see is a preview size of your rendered
image. Save this file. It will be saved as a number to the \SketchUp (6 or 7)\Plugins\Podium folder. (On the
Mac, it will be saved in the Home Directory-\Documents\Podium folder.)
You can change the location of where the image is saved by using the Settings menu.
Increase the Light value for the “fluorescent” light by select the surface and moving the Light slider bar to the
left.
You can also increase light by changing SketchUp’s background color to a lighter color or by changing the
color and opacity of the window texture.
Notice how the mirror is reflecting the face-me component’s front view (as you would expect a face me
component to behave). Try using a much larger resolution. Notice how the rendering speed slows down.
You have now been exposed to the fundamentals of SU Podium’s features. The only other major feature left
to explain are Omni Lights and Render All scenes.
Back to TOC
Omni Light is a feature that allows you to create an independent light source from SketchUp groups. Omni
Light acts like a light bulb and emits light in all directions. Omni Light is different from applying Light value to
one surface as we did in Tutorial 1. Omni Light allows you to assign a Light value to an entire group. That
group becomes a source of light that emits light in all directions. When you render the scene the Omni Light
group will disappear and only the light it is creating will appear in your rendered image.
You can use Omni Light to create the effect of a light bulb that lights up the entire room or use it in a light
fixture that shine up a small area.
Note: If you have purchased Podium, you can register at the Suplugins.com site and have access to the
Registered User page. This page has an extensive library of light fixtures that have pre-defined omni lights
applied. Use this library freely to make effective interior light sources. Even if you only have the evaluation
version of Podium, you can download several sample light fixtures from the Registered User page.
You will notice a red cube in the middle of the model. This cube is a SketchUp group. The group was assigned
a Light value by Podium and has become an Omni Light object.
Notice how the red light spills out from the circular wall only at the gaps of the wall. Also, notice how the Omni
Light object or geometry has disappeared from the rendered image. If you rotate the angle of your view and
expose the bottom of the ceiling of the roof and then render, you will see that the omni light is reflected up to
the ceiling and to the opposite wall.
As an experiment lets change the color of this Omni Light. Select the cube (do not edit the group but just
select the whole group by clicking once anywhere on the cube). The cube group is highlighted. Go the Material
Browser and pick green from the Colors option. Drag the paint bucket to the cube and drop the green color on
the group. Now render the scene. You should have a green light glowing.
2. Add a light value to the group. Make sure you have selected the group. Then go to Podium's UI and add a
Light value to the selected group.
3. Add a color to the group (Optional). To get a colored light effect, add color to the group. You must add color
to the group and not to the individual faces of the group.
You can tell if the group was assigned a color if you highlight the group, right click, pick on Entity Info. You
should see an Entity Info. dialog box that says "Group" and a color in the color box. If you see no color in the
Group Entity Info, the group was not assigned a color.
It's not essential that color is added to the group to get an omni light. If no color is added, the omni light will
appear as a "white" light.
You can create light fixtures with omni lights by completely enclosing an omni light group with geometry and
then opening one portion of the enclosure so light can escape out in one direction.
For a simple example, create an omni light cube as described above. Turn this cube into a group. Make sure
you assign a LIght value to the omni light. Now create a larger tube shape. Place the omni light group within
the tube so that it is completely enclosed. Then open one end of the tube so that the omni light is completely
enclosed except for one end. Render the scene and experiment with colors.
For a more detailed tutorial on Omni Light, see the Lighting Tutorial. Click Here for the Lighting Tutorial
Settings
Back to TOC
The Settings menu can help you increase or decrease the speed or quality of the render depending on what
options you choose. The Settings menu also allows you to decide where you want to save your rendered
image files and what file type to save images to. The settings user interface is accessed by clicking on the
Arrow icon in Podium main user interface. The preceding menu will allow you to pick Settings which will bring
up the Settings user interface.The Settings interface is divided into two sections. The top Render section is for
controlling the speed and smoothness of the rendered image. The bottom section is for the output file.
Render Settings
Podium provides two types of render settings that will affect how fast or at what quality the rendering will be
done.
Speed/ Quality slider bar controls how many ray tracing passes will be conducted during the rendering. If you
are looking for "quick and dirty" results, push the slider bar toward Speed.
Another slider bar controls the jaggy vs smoothness of the rendered image. An often used term for controlling
how smooth or jaggy an image should look is called anti-aliasing. Generally rule of thumb for these two
controls is you will get more speed and less quality the further you move the slider bars left. But speed and
quality will also depend on the resolution size. You will also notice a considerable drop in the speed of
rendering the further right you take the slider bars.
Note: A good practice is to first render the image at higher speeds, lower quality and smaller resolutions to
examine things like reflection, lighting and the textures you are working with. Once you are happy with these
things, render the image at higher resolutions and higher quality and smoothness settings.
Output Settings. You can use the output settings to save the rendered image files in a folder of your choice.
You can also choose JPG, PNG or HDR from the Output options. HDR file type is new to Podium 1.6. High
dynamic range (HDR) renderings allow you to render a greater range of reflection and light detail than JPG or
PNG files would produce.
Other features
Back to TOC
Clay rendering
You can get clay rendering effect such as the image above by using the Color by Layer feature in SketchUp.
Pick the Layer feature from SketchUp's Window pull-down menu. From the Layers menu, select the right
Arrow icon.
Then Render using Podium. You will obtain a clay rendering effect on material with opacity of 100.
Render speed.
You will notice that the more faces you have in your SketchUp model, the slower the speed for Podium to
render it.The greater the render size, the slower the speed.Curved surfaces in SketchUp are comprised of
many flat or planar faces and will take longer to render. Using LEM as lights will dramatically slow down the
rendering proces so it's a good idea to use LEMs carefull.
Podium 1.6 takes advantage of multi-core processors so you will get greater speeds the more micro-processor
cores your computer supports. For example a dual core PC or Mac should get twice the rendering speeds of
Podium 1.5. Quad and Eight core computers will get even much faster speeds. The speeds are increased in
the raytracing and anti-aliasing portion of Podium's rendering process. The process geometry, mesh buidling
phases of the rendering are not effected by multi-core process power.
You will notice unexpected results if you use the SketchUp Sky and Background colors. Please read about this
in the FAQ section of this web site.
Soft Shadows
With Podium 1.5, if you turn SketchUp shadows on and use Sun for Shadows from SketchUp's Shadow
setting dialog box, your rendered shadows will be softer.
2. Send e-mail to support@cadalog-inc.com. We will respond and we will be happy to take a look at your
model and make suggestions.
Other Information
Back to Top
How to convert JPG images to SketchUp material libraries. As a customer of Podium, you can register on
this site and receive hundreds of high resolution texture images in JPG format. You can import each JPG
image as a texture into SketchUp and use it as a new material. You can also conver each JPG file to a
SketchUp material library so it can be used over and over. This link reviews the process of converting JPGs to .
skm.
Light Fixture Libraries, Plants&Trees Libraries and other items in the Registered User page
The Registered User are of www.suplugins.com has a large amount of resources for you to download and
apply to Podium.
● New Beta versions - new beta versions are posted on the Registered User page for free download to
paid customers.
● Light Fixture Libraries - these libraries are plug-ins to SketchUp and allow you to drag and drop
hundreds of light fixtures into SketchUp. The fixtures all have omni lights employed so you can
rendering lighting very quickly. The Fixture Library is free for all paid Podium users.
● Plants and Trees library for Podium 1.6. This library is also a plug-in for SketchUp and is comprised of
hundreds of components with PNG files. The PNG files are 2D images of trees, shrubs and plants.
Podium 1.6 will render alpha-transparent PNG files so these trees and plants can make your images
look very realistic.
● Material libraries - hundreds of JPG images to add to your texture library in SketchUp
● Podium Wizard and Podium Tools utilities. You must have these two utilities to analyze your Podium
settings.
● Current Podium versions. All current Podium versions are available from the Registered User area.
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Contents of this web site are copyrighted to © 2009 Cadalog, Inc. All rights reserved.
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New video tutorial series. SU Podium is a photo-realistic rendering software program that works entirely as a plug-in to SketchUp Pro or Google
Learn Podium fast. New SketchUp 6 or 7 (Windows or Mac).SU Podium is referred to as Podium for short.
Videos
Podium works entirely inside SketchUp and uses SketchUp’s surfaces, textures, views, background color and shadows
Read the latest e-news to produce photo-realistic images.It also works with SketchUp groups. Anyone familiar with SketchUp modeling
(March 17, 2009). Click features will find Podium to be very easy to use. It does not require you to learn a lot of complicated rendering
here. techniques.
Read the latest Tips page Podium employs a very simple user interface inside SketchUp. The two main options in the user interface are the
Click Here for compiled list amount of lighting and the amount of reflection applied to each surface.
of Podium tips
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How it works
2. While the surface is highlighted, pick a value for reflection by moving the Reflect slide bar in the Podium UI.
Podium will create renderings of your SketchUp scene by simulating the reflection of light on each SketchUp surface.
By default, Podium applies Sky Light light source to the scene.You can create an effective rendering by applying an
amount of Podium’s reflection on SketchUp surfaces. In addition,by painting surfaces with colors or texture, the
rendered image will look realistic.
You can also change the lighting and reflection effect by changing SketchUp’s background color or adding SketchUp
shadows. For example, you can create an evening image by choosing a dark background color in SketchUp. You can
also create different effects by using or not using SketchUp shadows. For interior designs, Podium also provides LEM
and omni lights which will further provide realism to your image.
Another important feature to Podium is the Light feature. This feature is shown in the user interface as Light. When
applied to a surface or a group, Light creates an artificial light source. For example, you may want to create the effect
of a fluorescent light or a TV screen illuminating a room. Light applied to a single surface will emit in one direction.
These are called LEMs. Light applied to a SketchUp group will emit in all directions like a light bulp. These are called
Omni lights.
Podium employs Global Illumination (GI) and Ray tracing to create photo-realistic images. Ray tracing simulates the
path of a ray of light as it would be absorbed or reflected by various SketchUp surfaces.GI is an algorithm that takes
into account not only the light which comes directly from a light source like Sky Light (direct illumination), but also
subsequent cases in which light rays from the same source are reflected by other surfaces in the scene (indirect
illumination).For more information about Ray tracing and GI, please read about it in Wikipedia.org.
Commercial version of Podium supports rendered image sizes (JPG, PNG and HDR) of 230X150, 640X480,
1024X768, 2048X1536, 3076X2304, 4076X3304 and the entire SketchUp Viewport resolution of your computer screen.
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Site created and maintained by NetSolutions NA Copyright © SU Podium
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New video tutorial series. 3. Why are some of my lights disappearing/not showing?
Learn Podium fast. New When you have a large number of omni lights, occasionally some will not display. Until this is fixed in the next release, the solution is to
Videos move some of the lights ever so slightly in one or other plane. A couple of mm or 1/4 of an inch should be sufficient, and this will be
undetectable in the final render.
Read the latest e-news
(March 17, 2009). Click 4. How do I use omni/spot lights?
here. Omni lights are dealt with in detail in the lighting tutorial. Put simply, an omni light shines equally in all directions and they are the same as
what other applications call 'point lights'. To create one, define some simple geometry (a simple square is sufficient), group it, and in the
Read the latest Tips page main Podium window, assign a light strength to the group. Make sure you do not assign light strength to the basic geometry. The size of
Click Here for compiled list the group multiplies the strength of the light. Spot lights are currently experimental, and are based on adding a line perpendicular to the
of Podium tips omni light group. Currently, spot lights are not directable, and only point downwards, but this is being addressed in the next version. Spot
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lights are not recommended for novices, but if you are determined to use them, there are some templates in the forum here:- http://www.
Read the latest FAQ websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/supodiumforum/vpost?id=2183793&highlight=spotlight
section New category -
known issues/ bugs
5. Why can't I see any shadows?
You haven't turned the shadows on in SketchUp. You can click on the icon on the the Shadow palette toolbar, or check the box at the top
Cart of the floating Shadow Settings dialog. Podium renders using a method called 'Global Illumination', which effectively calculates the effects
Checkout of indirect light bouncing around a scene. Therefore, with the shadows turned off, the effect is the same as with no direct sunlight, for
example on very overcast days.
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My Cart (Cart is Empty) 6 Why don't Podium's shadows match SketchUp's
This is a bug. The fix is to copy all objects and paste them into a new file. Ctrl+A will select all Sketchup Objects, but check that all layers
are visible, and that no objects are hidden.
With Podium 1.6 and using the default.xml preset, the sun and omni lights are set brighter than they were with Podium 1.5. Sometimes an
exterior rendering with concrete or asphalt textures will appear glaringly white giving a white-out effect. There are several ways to deal
with this:
A - most likely you have shadows turned on and therefore the sun is a light source. You can lower the brightness of the sun by using the
Dark slider in SketchUp's Shadow Settings dialog box. This will lower the sun's brightness in the rendered image.
B - move the position of the sun by manipulating time and month slider in the Shadow settings so the sun's position is not directly
overhead the concrete or asphalt ground texture.
C - darken the background in SketchUp's Style menu.
D - lower reflection value on surfaces that have the white out effect.
E - use old15.xml preset which was the default preset used in Podium 1.5 and general renders images darker.
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Read the latest e-news The most important thing is to save the image in the same directory as the original and add '_bumpN' to the end of the filename. The N
(March 17, 2009). Click refers to a number which determines how noticeable the effect is, with higher numbers giving more noticeable effects. For example
concrete.jpg will become concrete_bump3.jpg of you want the bump depth to be 3. This is a reasonable medium setting.
here.
Read the latest Tips page 3. What are clipmaps and how do I use them?
Click Here for compiled list Clipmaps are similar to transparency maps, but work differently in SketchUp and Podium. Clipmaps rely on creating a similar 'mask',
of Podium tips but the mask resides in a separate file. If you aren't comfortable with using an image editor, you will struggle with creating these.
Otherwise, you need to start with your base image, and make the background plain white and save your image. Next, create a new layer,
Read the latest FAQ set the foreground colour to black, and background colour to white. Fill the new layer with black. Go back to the main image, and create a
section New category - selection mask of the white background. The easiest way to do this is with the 'magic wand' tool or its equivalent. Then use your 'invert
known issues/ bugs mask' tool, delete the background layer (with the original image on it) and cut the selection out of the currently-displayed, solid black
layer. If you have done everything correctly, you will find that you should have cut out a solid white outline, matching your original image.
Cart This is your clipmap. Save it with the same name as the original image, in the same folder/directory, and add '_clipmap' to the file name,
so if your original file was called 'tree.jpg', your clipmap will be called 'tree-clipmap.jpg'. If you have done everything correctly, Podium
Checkout should just find the clipmap file and render the scene in the way that you expect.
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Logout 4. How do I set up realistic glass/chrome etc. ?
My Cart (Cart is Empty) Some people have difficulty with glass, and use the standard Sketchup material presets. For simple textures these are reasonable, but if
you want any degree of realism, until Podium has a good materials library you are going to have to create your own textures from scratch.
Many people just can't get glass to look right. Firstly, the colour needs to be a light mid grey, and the opacity set to around 20%. In life
most glass really is slightly grey, and it is almost never completely transparent. You might be surprised to learn that most clear untinted
glass is only 90% transparent. Grey tinted glass can be as little as 50% transparent. Note that in Sketchup, the 'Transparency' setting is
actually opacity, so a setting of 20% means that the surface is actually 80% transparent. As a rule, Podium doesn't work as well with
double-thickness glass. If you do use it, you need to reduce the opacity (or increase transparency) to around 5-10%.
In Podium, depending on how reflective you want your glass to be, select the faces you want to make reflective and set the reflectivity
slider in the main Podium window initially to between 25-35%. You can play around with this and set higher values if you want, but it is
better to start with more 'normal' values first. This is the technique for setting up reflectivity for any surface.
Chrome is more straightforward. Start with a dark grey or charcoal colour and set reflectivity to something like 85%. Again you can
increase this if you don't like the effect.
If you are still having trouble after checking these things, please post a question on the forum, together with a screenshot and preferably
the model as well. If it is too large, then you can try sending just the parts that are causing problems. Alternatively you can upload your
model to the Google 3dwarehouse or some other hosting facility. other hosting facility.
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the issue in the point above relating to using the sky, it is more or less a case of set up your location and time of day and year, and just hit
Read the latest FAQ render. Level of detail can be important here as well. When you add things like projecting window sills, gutters, ridge tiles etc, they add an
section New category - extra dimension of subtle shadows that can improve realism a lot. Things like gutter brackets can also make a noticeable difference.
known issues/ bugs
Interiors are a lot trickier. For many scenes, you will find that you just don't seem to have enough light penetrating a room. There are 2
Cart fixes for this, first of all, use one of the modified xml scripts which improves this. Secondly, you can insert a matrix of small, low power
omni lights into your room, making sure that they are located away from any surfaces. This causes bright patches of 'burnout'. In reality,
Checkout
light bounces around rooms and reflects off all the surfaces, which contributes to the overall illumination level of a room. Most render
My Account engines (Podium included) send a much smaller number of photons (particles of light) into a scene than you would expect in life. This
Logout saves time, but means that the results need boosting by artificial means. This is where the omnis come in. When you add an evenly-
My Cart (Cart is Empty) distributed grid of small lights, you can simulate the lighting levels that you would get when light bounces off different surfaces. It should
also be borne in mind that when people try to emulate a certain look that they see in photographs, these images have been artificially
enhanced. A number of graphics programs have features which can automatically correct lighting levels. The freeware program Irfanview
in particular has a really good auto-correction feature, which can turn unusable images in to usable ones.
Level of detail is an obvious consideration, but it is often overlooked. People have created simple rectangular rooms, inserted the
standard SketchUp components, and posted questions on the forum asking how to improve their images. For example, pictures have
frames, and almost never sit flat against a wall, yet this is what some people do. Rugs have a thickness, and their edges are curved or
tapered, they are not simple flat patterned rectangles on a floor. In addition, not everything is arranged in perfect alignment, some things
are slightly askew. If you use components downloaded from the internet, make sure their level of detail is good enough. It is really difficult
to get a good image if you start with poor geometry. In the majority of cases, the standard Sketchup components just aren't good enough!
There are lots of links available where you can find some excellent components. These are a good starting point if you want a really good
image. When your model has the right amount of detail, you don't have to work so hard with textures and lighting to get a good result.
Texturing is probably the most important thing of all to get right. A really good texture is genuinely seamless in all directions and at all
scales (this means that you don't see repeated patterns in it at whatever scale it is), the right size/scale and a reasonable resolution. It is
worth spending a little time to get your textures looking just right before you render. Sometimes when you have a really good texture, you
don't need to add quite as much detail. There are lots of links on the forum to sites with some really good textures.
Finally, the only way to get really good images, even if you have taken all the above into consideration, is to learn how to look at the world
and be really critical. Look at the way the light falls on a wooden floor, in reality it is not as glossy as you might think. Be really critical and
imagine you are evaluating someone else's work, and even better if it's someone you don't like! If you can stand back from a render and
identify 10 things that you can improve, then improve them yourself before asking someone else's opinion. Being your own harshest critic
is a really good place to start if you want to improve anything!
8. Why is only a small part of the model rendering or parts aren't showing?
There are two possible reasons.
A. If you are using a version prior to 1.6.1, you may have a camera option other than Perspective. The SketchUp camera must be set to
Perspective in order for your renders to work in versions prior to 1.6.1.
B. You may have textures that were imported with components from 3DW that Podium does not like. Some components from 3DW have
textures that were created in 3DS Max or some other modeling program. For some reason, these "problem" textures will get ignored by
Podium and the rendered image may show blank spots where the textures should have been located. The only solution is a trial by error
process of using your material editor to find the texture Podium does not like. Typically the imported texture will have a non-SketchUp
like name such as OGT_TERESSA_mb_cremebru_1X1#1.jpg. (See Tip #18 on the Tip page for more information about this.)
9. What are the render presets for and how/when do I use them?
These are a range of different pre-configured render settings for different scenes. Default.xml is the default preset which combines
several variables to create the fastest rendering. Noisy settings.xml is the highest quality preset but also the slowest. What might take 2
minutes to rendering with default.xml may take hours with noisy settings.xml. There are potential of 10,000 passes but if you complete
200 passes, your rendered image will be beautiful. Old15.xml is a preset from Podium 1.5. The big difference between it and default.xml
is that lights including sun light are not as bright as default.xml. Quality.xml is a high quality and yet fast preset. It will take slightly longer
than default.xml but will produce higher quality images.
To use these presets, you just select the one you want from the drop down list. For best results, set quality to 100%. This is not
mandatory, but the effects become more noticeable this way.
If you have tried all these things and there is still a problem, try saving your images on the C: drive. Podium can experience problems with
file paths that are too long or contain anything other than the normal permitted western European alphanumeric symbols.
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3D Tutorials
This tutorial goes over the different types of lighting within V-Ray for SketchUp. These include Global
Illumination, HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, point lights, rectangular lights, and emissive
geometry.
There are several different options for adding light in VfSU. The simplest is GI or Global Illumination.
Then we have the built in lights within V-ray, and lastly we have light emitting geometry. So let’s get on
with it.
For these tests I am using a model of the new Camaro which I downloaded from here http://sketchup.
google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=a3da1cce792763fd33898df841c4de85
This tutorial was done without the physical camera. The physical camera is enabled by default, so if you
haven't actively disabled it then chances are that it is still enabled. If the physical camera is enabled your
results will not match the tutorial. So if you find that allot of your lights are showing up black or not
effecting the scene, then please check to see if you have the physical camera enabled. The physical
camera can still be used, but in order to get comparable results you will have to greatly increase the
multipliers on your lighting.
Global Illumination
Global Illumination (GI) is by far the easiest way to add light to a scene in vfsu. Basically GI simulates a
dome around the scene that emits an even light from all directions. The result is a very soft light that
does a great job at providing a good lighting basis for a scene. In order to be able to use GI you must
enable Indirect Illumination. If you don’t the side of the car facing the camera will be completely black
because it isn’t visible to the Sketch Up Sun. After enabling Indirect bounces in Global Switches disable
Default Lights. Now go to the Environment Rollout and enable GI, this is what allows us to set the
illumination for our scene. For right now you can keep the GI values where they area.
You’ll notice the nice soft shadows at the base of the car, and the nice light coverage on the front grill.
This is because the light is coming from all around the model. GI is very useful for providing quick tests
and visualizations because its easy to set up and can give good feedback on how the geometry will react
to light. In this case this is an exterior scene and the model isn’t blocked from its environment, so this is
giving us a very even light.
Using HDRIs
With VRay we also have the option of using an image to light our scene. Although we could use any
image, the types of images that are best suited for lighting are HDR images, or High Dynamic Range
Images. Basically what this means is that the image actually contains information that is brighter than
white, and we can use this information to add lighting to our scene. I have downloaded this image from
here (http://gl.ict.usc.edu/Data/HighResProbes/) (this image is not the actual HDR, but a jpeg)
So let’s put this HDR to use. In the Environment rollout click on the little “m” next to the GI multiplier.
This will bring up the Texture Editor. On the left next to type there is a drop down list. From the list
select bitmap option and all of the image parameters appear on the right. Now you can add the map by
clicking on the “m” towards the bottom of the window and find the image. In order for any image to be
used correctly for either GI or environment backgrounds the must be mapped using the Environment
option at the top of the texture editor. Now we need to specify the mapping, and In this case we know
that our image is a spherical image, so we will make sure that the spherical option is selected from the
list to the right. Go ahead and repeat the same process for mapping the background and then go ahead
and render.
Go ahead and repeat the same process for mapping the background and then go ahead and render.
You might notice your image is a bit noisier now, which is due to the sampling on the hdri (the example
above was done with higher quality settings which are in the frame stamp). You can also see how the
shadows themselves look a bit sharper, as well as looking as if the lighting is a bit more directional. This
is because the illumination from the image is mostly directly above our scene. You can tell by the
sharper shadows along the side of the car, the elongated shadows in the front of the car, and the shadows
underneath the side view mirror. Below is the same rendering with a jpeg version of the same file, and as
you can see the image is darker and the shadows aren’t really as distinct as they were in the rendering
with the HDR image.
Adding Lights
V-Ray supports both rectangular lights and omni lights (or point lights). We are going to go over some
of the features the omni light first. In the V-Ray toolbar the yellow ball icon will add an omni light.
After clicking the icon simply pick a point in your scene then position the light in your scene. Omni
lights will emit light in every direction, so remember that when your placing in you scene. Also
depending on the size of your scene the omni light may be small or large. The actual size of the light
doesn’t affect anything, but it’s a good idea to have it be a size that doesn’t effect moving, viewing, or
creating anything in your scene. After adding the light you need to edit the light properties. You can do
this by either right-clicking on the light and at the bottom of the menu will be an option for VRay for
SketchUp. From that option select edit light. You can also do this in the main menu bar by going to Edit
> VRay for SketchUp >Edit Light.
This will bring up the Light properties box, and there are several key parameters that we must go over.
In the intensity section there are parameters for both color and the multiplier. Color is fairly self
explanatory (the color of the light) and the multiplier will control how brightness the light. Under the
Options section is a little option that says Decay with a drop down box to the right. This option will
control how the intensity of the light changes based on how far away the light is from an object.
The default setting is Linear which basically means that the intensity of the light will not change at all.
This is not a very realistic setting because in the real world lights decay. The second option is Inverse,
which decays the light based on the inverse of the distance value. The third option is Inverse Square,
which decays the light based on the inverse of the distance squared. Inverse Square is how light decays
in the real word, so it is recommended that you use this setting. You don’t really need to know the math
of it, but just be aware that each option, from linear to inverse square, will need a progressively higher
multiplier to achieve the same amount of brightness. Here are some sample images to show different
decay. The only thing changed in each image is the type of decay.
The Sampling section allows you to control how V-Ray samples the light. Unless you are creating
caustics or using other features these settings are best left alone, so we will leave them for another
tutorial. The Shadow section has some other helpful features. First is the option to enable or disable
shadow. The Radius feature will allow you to control the sharpness of the shadow, or in other words blur
the shadow edges. Omni lights by their nature create very sharp shadows, so if you would like to
Be careful as this can increase render times and if you set too large of a value your shadows may
disappear. Subdivisions are a way to control the quality of the shadows. A lower value will allow the
render to be quicker, but may have lower quality. A higher value will have better quality, but will take
longer. Only adjust this value if you are not getting the quality that you would like for your blurry
shadows.
Rectangular Lights
Rectangular Lights are the other lights supported by V-Ray and have their own distinctive
characteristics.
The intensity of a rectangular light is related to their size. For example, a very small light with an
intensity of 10 may have just the right effect, but if the size were tripled or quadrupled then the intensity
would be greatly increased even though the multiplier is the same. Here are two images with the light at
two different sizes.
The size of a rectangular light also has an affect on the shadow quality. A small light will usually have a
sharp shadow (not as sharp as the omni light though) compared to a light which is bigger. Because the
blurriness of the shadows are controlled by the size of the light itself we really only have the ability to
turn shadows on and off. Rectangular lights do have many of the same features as the omni lights with
several differences. The Intensity controls are the same, but under Options we find many more choices.
First we’ll skip down to the No Decay option. This is similar to the decay options of the omni lights.
However, we only have the option for Linear or Inverse Square decay. Having No Decay check will
make the decay linear, while having it unchecked (the default and recommended value) means that the
decay will be Inverse Square.
Double-Sided will allow the light to emit light from both sides, not just the front face. Invisible will
make the light invisible to both the camera and any reflections in the scene. Enabling Ignore Light
Normals allows for an even distribution from the front face. Disabling this feature will force the light to
be emitted predominantly in the direction normal to the front face. The Skylight Portal function causes
the light intensity and color to be taken from the environment behind it. This is mostly used in windows
for interior scenes, but its use is not entirely effective or accurate. Store with Irradiance Map allows for
the direct light to be calculated with the Irradiance Map which will speed up calculations. In this mode
quality is controlled by the IR settings. Within the Sampling section we do find one value that was not in
the omni light settings. The subdivisions value will control the number of samples that are taken for the
rendering. The default value of 8 is usually sufficient, but with interior scenes more subdivisions may be
required.
In V-Ray it is also possible to have objects emit light, which provides a lot of flexibility in how we can
add light to our scene. Effects like neon signs, glowing objects, and other things are now possibilities by
using light in this way. We will actually create these effects via the material editor, so click on the M in
the V-Ray toolbar. This brings up the material editor, and if we look on the left we have a list of all the
materials in the scene. Right click on Scene Materials then Add Material > Add VRay Material. This
will add a standard V-Ray material which is named Default Material. Right click on this material to
rename it if you like. Now click on the little plus sign next to the name of the material. This will open
the material layer structure. As you can see there currently there is only a diffuse layer in our material
right now. To add a light emitting layer, right click on Emissive Layer and click Add New Layer. Now
you will see the Emissive rollout over in the material options.
There are 3 simple options within the emissive layer; color, intensity, and transparency. Color and
Intensity work in the same way as regular light do. The transparency will be useful to allow other layers
that are underneath the Emissive Layer (like the Diffuse Layer) to be visible in the material. Keep in
mind that making the material more transparent will decrease the intensity of the light.
Comments
Anonymous writes:
Just open Environment tab in Vray 4 SU options and click on "m" next to Back ground,choose bitmap
and use the map you want(a sky pics .etc).But in my own experient,the map seems not to be reflected by
the glass of buildings,i dunno why.
Anonymous writes:
Just copy this Tuts from ASGVIS homepage . Now with my experiences, those kind of Tutorial is not
necessary. Take a look @ my works, buddy and pls leave a comment if they're good or bad rendering
Anonymous writes:
Anonymous writes:
hi...
can u help me, to setting the render for interior? i mean, is there any tips or trick to make the render
becoming more real?
thank you ^^
I often use the Vraysky for rooms with windows, as the light go through the windows make the rooms
become lively. As default setting of Vray, in Environment tab we'll see they use the Sky for type of GI
and Background, and in Camera tab, the Physical Camera is chosen as default. Just change the Primary
Engine in Indirect Illumination tab from Quasi Monte Carlo (QMC) to Irradiance map, and Secondary
Engine we use Lightcache. I often place a rectangle light behind the camera to make the room lighter,
and another rec light at the window that face the sky, the light of the sun go to the room will become
more realistic. I don't have time to explain it all, maybe you 'll find some good tricks on www.suvn.net
(my forum) or on www.asgvis.com (the homepage of Vray for SketchUp). I have a full Tutorials of
Rendering Interior using Vray for SketchUp, but it was written in Vietnamese , we'll see if I have
time to translate it into English
Image:
http://3dmention.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nursery_interior.jpg
Download.
http://3dmention.org.ua/blog/2008/10/hq-vray-interior-scene-nursery/
We are talking 'bout Vray for SketchUp, not Vray for Max bro
werner writes:
Hi!!
I am new to V-ray so please help! The light grom my GI is not as bright as that in the tutorial, the
settings are the same as in the tutorial, any suggestions why mine is too dark.
Thanks!
The Physical Camera does Effect on the exposure of the image. So maybe you can increase your Film
Speed (ISO) or decrease the Shutter speed ( Open Vray options, tab Camera). The Color mapping also
takes effect on the color balance of your render. Use HSV expotional, increase Bright Multiplier may
affect the brightness of your image. You can download the Vray 4 SU manual here to see more details
setting : http://www.4shared.com/file/51057413/6d41f84b/V-Ray_for_SketchUp_Manual.html
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SU Podium Forum
Author Comment
this thread will be the link for all useful 3d model sites and softwares. you are free
to add more links.
here are some of them. i know some of these had been shared already here.
Softlight Master
http://www.e-interiors.net - lots of beautiful model. intorduce by sepo
Registered: Feb 04, 2007 and yaza
Posts: 948 http://www.ultra3d.com - many good models
http://sketchup.google.com/bonuspacks.html
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ - shared SU models by
SU user
http://forum.sketchup.com/- shared SU models by SU forum user
http://www.creative-3d.net/ more than hundreds of interior furniture
and accessories
http://www.3dchaya.com/
Japanese traditional architecture, artifacts, tools etc in 3d
http://www.3dnuts.com/models.shtml
http://www.3d-stuff.com/models/
http://mssalih.googlepages.com/
http://modelsbank.3dm3.com/
http://www.alanhettinger.com/models.php
http://users.pandora.be/adidas3d/98/html/freestuff1.htm
http://3dplants.0catch.com/index.html - some useful plants maybe.
__________________
How will you manage the whole nation if you don't know how to manage
your own family.
nomeradona June 11, 2007 at 05:05 AM #2
__________________
How will you manage the whole nation if you don't know how to manage
your own family.
sepo June 11, 2007 at 06:28 AM #3
http://library.bimworld.com/download.php
Forum Master
Moderator
Registered: Nov 03, 2006 useful for water reflections and rain
Posts: 2,768
http://www.xiberpix.com/SqirlzReflect.html
http://www.accesscomponents.co.uk/products/product.php
http://www.red-field.com/index.htm
http://www.rocky3d.com/free3d.htm
http://web.inf.tu-dresden.de/ST2/cg/downloads/publicplants/
http://www.picnik.com/
http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/index.php
SU models
http://sketchup.computingforarchitects.com/
http://www.autodrop.net/
http://www.model3d.biz/obj/?did=21&iid=0
http://labs.adobe.com/ this is the link where you can download for free
the below:
http://wintopo.com/
a software that converts images to vector. i have seen the tutorial
converting 2d image contour lines to vector lines then save to dxf. dxf
can be imported to su.
If you have a fast CPU and need a tree close up, here is a link to a site
that is reasonably priced for an app that works well. I use this regularly
for trees in my MAX renders (never tried it with SU yet, due to some
sizes)
http://arbaro.sourceforge.net/
(an java-based tree-generator...)
Storyteller http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/
Registered: April 06, 2007 (lets ivy grow in a natural way...)
Posts: 625
render on,
tyro
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"... and they rendered happily ever after."
nomeradona June 19, 2007 at 11:38 PM #8
solo, tyro,
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Softlight Master How will you manage the whole nation if you don't know how to manage
Registered: Feb 04, 2007 your own family.
Posts: 948
Softlight Master
Registered: Feb 04, 2007 __________________
Posts: 948 How will you manage the whole nation if you don't know how to manage
your own family.
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Softlight Master How will you manage the whole nation if you don't know how to manage
Registered: Feb 04, 2007 your own family.
Posts: 948
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Render Critic Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away.
Registered: Dec 04, 2006 Thomas Fuller (1608 - 1661)
Posts: 2,320
good free plugins for PS. Should work with other similar postprocc.
software.
http://www.optikvervelabs.com/
http://www.j-man.nl/
http://www.cybia.co.uk/alphaworks.htm
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Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 2,768
http://www.axialis.com/tutorials/tutorial-misc001.html
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SU Podium Forum
SU Podium and more > Forums > Tips, Tricks and Tutorials > Biebels sky render method Welcome, nopp
(+photoshop tut.)
You last visited on April 02, 2009 at 12:02 AM
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Hi all,
Some people were interested in my workflow regarding rendering with 'SKY and SUN' and also how I post process my images.
I will explain both in the next post.
As an example,this is a RAW Podium version next to the EDITED version so you can see what the effect of the post edit was
Render Wizard to the final image.
Registered: Nov 07, 2006
RAW PODIUM
Posts: 1,128
SHADOW SETTINGS
1. Check 'display settings' ON . This enables the direct sun light
2. Set your time/date: any time/date will do and will have a different color effect.
Render Wizard I prefer morning or evening shots because of the nice yellow/orange/pink color
Registered: Nov 07, 2006 casts.
Posts: 1,128 3. Dark slider: this is mainly trial and error Don't feel bad if the output would look a bit dark. That is easily fixed in post
processing (photoshop, ...). An overbright output is problematic to fix afterwards however...so avoid that.
Most of the times I set the slider somewhere on the left side (low values) for outdoor scenes.
STYLES PANEL (in Sketchup 5 you can find it in the 'model info' panel)
1. Check 'sky' ON. This will enable the blue sky in Podium.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTPROCESS IN PHOTOSHOP:
I hardly ever use brightness/contrast/gamma etc....settings anymore to tune my images. Instead I find using duplicated
layers and changing their blending much more useful. (changing the transparency of the layer changes the strenght of the
effect)
a. If the image is too DARK: duplicate the background layer and set the copied layer to layer blending 'screen'
b. If the image is too LIGHT: duplicate the background layer and set the copied layer to layer blending 'multiply'
c. If the image is too FLAT (lack of contrast): duplicate the background layer and set the copied layer to layer blending 'soft
light'
You can use a, b and c several times consecutively. After a while I flatten the image.
Than I duplicate the new flat image again ('duplicate layer) and use again a, b or c.
Flatten it again and , duplicate,...and so on until you are satisfied with the light in your image. After some experience this
method will only take a few minutes
After tuning the light you can do the following to enhance colors or to remove a disturbing color cast (if needed or just
because you want to create a certain 'mood'):
METHOD 2. CHANGING COLOR BALANCE:
Instead of applying more or less saturaton to the overall image, do it specifically for a certain color. If the plants are too
saturated green, I select 'Greens' and with the eyedropper tool click on that green in the actual image. Than change the
'saturation' or the 'lightness' slider to get the effect you want.
These are about all the tricks I use in Photoshop (besides adding some vignetting...). It looks like a long list but with a little
experience you can Post edit any image within 5 minutes.
Warning: the 2 last Photoshop methods should be used with caution, as they can screw up the image as easy as they can
make it better.
The most important tool you need to practice is your 'human eye' to discover what exactly in the image should be changed
and act accordingly.
By the way, A lot of images from Podium don't need post editing AT ALL.....
Sometimes you just want to perfectionise it.
EVERY rendered 'wow' image , made by a professional digital artist, went through a certain (or severe) amount of post
editing whatever the render engine was used.
Even Professional 'classical' photographers (fashion , landscape, etc...) do a lot of post editing on their Raw output.
Regards,
Biebel
Thanks for a great tut. I especially liked the comment about choosing a white sky.
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We live in a 3D world, we should design in one as well.
Attached Images:
Attached Files:
Great Technique. Biebel. I never do the sky the way you do. Master is master. Great to learn from you. Thanks for the tips &
the trees components.
Podiumnator
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 263
Yes, this is great! But let's clear up some Podium rumours and superstitions. The LIGHT slider doesn't have any effect in
Podium. Take a look at these renders - one is Light/Dark 0/45, one is 80/45 and one is 100/45. They all look the same.
Debunking another Podium myth: The truth is, the color of the "sky" has no effect in Podium. The only thing that affects the
color of the sky is the location/day/year. Look at these renders: one is the default blue sky, one is pure white sky, and one is
firecracker red sky. They all look the same.
Ok, last myth busted. Unchecking "On Ground" for shadows has no effect in Podium. See these two renders - one with "on
ground" and one without. I set the large box negative in the z axis to make the test fair. But they are the same.
Now TBD if you're reading this, here's my wishlist for the next version of Podium - i'd actually prefer if the LIGHT slider
adjusts the sun strength and i'd like to see the sky color in SU affect the sky color in Podium. But as for "on ground" having
no effect that's perfect the way it is
you are right about the myths - you beat me in debunking them
zem: yeah. light slider is doable but sky color is not possible to be changed as it based on the sun position
Podium Developer
Registered: Oct 31, 2006
Posts: 1,121
Thanks. Zem.
So TBD, when is the next version coming out. Have been waitign for a month. excited about it.
Podiumnator
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 263
i was hoping the hue of the sky color could be adjusted - say if you wanted to render a red sunset, you could use "sky color"
to give the sky a red tint (or a scene on another planet hehe). Oh well... there's always "background" color with no sky, or
using PS.
This is great tread. I knew about first two myths. Got to admit did not know about the third one.
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http://www.geocities.com/limeybrightsidedfurball
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SU Podium Forum
SU Podium and more > Forums > Tips, Tricks and Welcome, nopp
Tutorials > QT Cubic Panorama Tutorial
You last visited on April 02, 2009 at 12:02 AM
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Author Comment
inspired by at3D's post here i figured out how to do cubic panoramas out
of sketchup.
panoramaster
Registered: Feb 14, 2008 Version 1.1 took out some redundant/erroneus text, typos
Posts: 263 Version 1.0 inital version
preliminary steps:
6) call the cubicpanoout plugin. set the resolution to whatever you like. if
you like to pretest your position, choose something like 768px. create
scene tabs has to be 'on'. i set top image correction 'off', just because i
actually don't know what it does and i don't like automatic correction
that i don't understand. and it worked anyway. hit the button, chose a
folder, CubicPanoOut will now create 6 new scenes and export 6 images
which you might want to use to test if your projections fit seamlessly.
7) render your 6 panorama scenes, one after another. don't use 'render
all' since it messes up something with the FOV or camera position. don't
know exactly what it messes up but it does. use a resolution like
1024x768 for now, JPG output.
image preparation:
note: i made a couple of photoshop actions to automate steps 8) to 10),
download them here
8) open the images in Photoshop (i got cs2, just in case yours looks a bit
different). go to Image->Canvas Size. select the 'center' position button.
enter the same value to the 'width' field as you see in the 'height' field
(so: make it a square, 768px x 768px in our case).
10) save the image as jpg. the name has to end in a number which
represents the position of the image in the cubic projection for GoCubic:
1. Front
2. Right
3. Back
4. Left
5. Top (facing front)
6. Bottom (facing front)
Exampla: panorama3.jpg for the backface projection. and put them all in
the same folder.
explained on the site where you got it from. make sure that under 'Make
Pano' 'cylindrical' is marked. click 'Make Pano'->'Make Pano Movie' and
browse to the first (front-) projection image and double-click it. next
select where to save your Cubic Quicktime Panorama.
sbx
http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/91992/sbxpano.mov
zoom in with shift, zoom out with ctrl (on pc, haven't tried on mac yet).
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real artists ship.
sepo Dec 18, 2008 at 12:04 AM #2
This looks good. Thank you. Would rendering true orthogonal projection
be useful for pano?
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Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 2,806
Quote:
panoramaster i dont think so, actually. you need a FOV of 90° vertical and horizontal
Registered: Feb 14, 2008 afaik. fixing render all would be really useful though. and custom (1:1
Posts: 263 ratio) resolutions (e.g. 768x768). but i'd love orthogonal projection
anyway.
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real artists ship.
you can either use them image-per-image or batch them by using file-
>automate->batch.
panoramaster
Registered: Feb 14, 2008 one is with a little reminder on how to name the images, the second is
Posts: 263 for processing large numbers of images without user interaction
(attention, this will blindly overwrite your file, so you might want to this
on a copy...).
sbx
http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/91992/sbx_panoactions.zip
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real artists ship.
sbx Dec 18, 2008 at 08:12 PM #5
Another interesting tutorial i just found. Not specifically for Podium but
for the post-processing part. Including how to embed flash navigation
and Hotspots (to create tours). Untested.
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real artists ship.
panoramaster
Registered: Feb 14, 2008
Posts: 263
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sbx
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real artists ship.
loneranger2k3 Jan 13, 2009 at 10:59 AM #10
Donno about cut and paste ...just simply copy the file into plugins
folder.
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real artists ship.
panoramaster
Registered: Feb 14, 2008
Posts: 263
new panorama: test for a small appartment for students housing. quick
one, no PP.
click!
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