Google SketchUp and compatibility with free renderers

[=M=]

Hi - I'm one of the much feared newbies who found their way to 3D through SketchUp. The dreaded free version of SketchUp that is. I've been playing around with SketchUp and as so many people have done before me, the results were pretty good in a few days time. Now I'm hooked. So far for the bad news :-). Good news is that I do enjoy beauty and simplicity. Big fan of Corbusier's style.

After sketching a couple of designs and playing with textures, I'm looking into the next step: rendering. However I'm completely new to this. I've spent the entire weekend reading and studying on this subject.

My question is: what can I do with the free version of Google SketchUp. Export is limited. I understood that the Google Earth format is basically just a zip and that that could open potential ports. I also understood that certain tools or scripts are in the making to work with Google SketchUp input. Even some free renderers might support Google SketchUp in the future. But... all of that was a lot of reading in a 2 days time, and after some trial and error (and not knowing where to start) results were minimal with Kerkythea and non existing with Maxwell.

What would be a good renderer for occasional use with Google SketchUp? What would be a good renderer now, and what do I have to look for in the future, when new development has arrived? And can someone point me to some very basic tutorials on this?

Your feedback and advise is much appreciated. Right now I absorbed too much information and I need some time to put everything into perspective and decide on what strategy I'll use. Also note that I'm aware of the PS techniques that can be used to revamp a sketch from SketchUp.

Thanks.

[=M=]

Maybe interesting to point out that initially I would be interested in rendering outdoor scenes, that is houses, building blocks, etc. Most tutorials I studied so far focus on little enclosed spaces as bathrooms, in which you have to add in some way, shape or form light elements. Initially I would like to render a standalone house with maybe some grass and sky, instead of dull gray and blue.

[?eter]

welcome M.

I'm sure people more experienced than me will chime in soon enough, but the hassle is really that rendering programs on the whole have a steeper learning curve than SketchUp does. So the first rendering or ten often don't work out as planned.

Kerkythea is an adequate (actually, a pretty good) renderer, and the price is really good. Clipi has written quite a few good tutorials (including one on outdoor renders (http://www.softlab.ece.ntua.gr/~jpanta/Graphics/Kerkythea/tutorials/koutdoor.html)), you'll find some here (http://www.softlab.ece.ntua.gr/~jpanta/Graphics/Kerkythea/html/tutorials.html)

[Glenn (at home)]

I have used the Su2Pov plugin with Google SU and it works fine.
Here is a Google SU image..
http://www.cadimage.net/postimages/Google-SU.jpg

and now with the Su2Pov plugin..
http://www.cadimage.net/postimages/Google-SU-PovRay.jpg

basic settings used here but very workable.
Su2Pov (http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/RUBY_Library_Depot.htm)

Might be worth a look.

[=M=]

Thank you Glenn - Google SU and Su2Pov and Povray sounds like a good mix.

I get some nasty results however. All my buildings seem to float... I get clouds instead of grass. And some surfaces don't render and show up completely wrong in e.g. bright red.

[?eter]

m- quick tip:
most renderers have trouble with the back face of a material. What's a back face? In SketchUp, go to view->rendering->monochrome.

You will now see your whole model in the default material (brown and purple). Any face you see in purple is a reversed face (ie. you are seeing the back face). Right-click on the face and choose 'reverse'. Save and re-export your model, you should find those faces rendering properly.

[=M=]

Thanks, it appeared to be because I used existing sketches. Weird. Starting all over from scratch and redering was fine. Back faces were all ok. Currently using demo version of SketchUp since I couldn't get the Su2POV to work in Google SU. Your advise is appreciated.

Figured the floating out as well: in model info, check both Ground and Sky and give it a color. Those are not on by default, at least not ground.