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2023's Top SketchUp Render Plug-ins

2023's Top SketchUp Render Plug-ins

With these SketchUp render plug-ins, you can transform your SketchUp models into captivating scenes for architectural visualization or video games!

A powerful 3D modeling application with a simple user interface and quick learning curve is SketchUp from Trimble. The program offers a wide range of features and functionalities for architecture, interior design, video game production, the maker community, and more, for both novices and experts.

V-Ray, a photorealistic and real-time render engine, is available in SketchUp even though it lacks any native photorealistic render engines of its own. However, it is only included with the Studio edition. Other rendering engines can be added to SketchUp as plug-ins, although only the Pro and Studio editions do so. As web-based versions, SketchUp Free and SketchUp Go cannot take advantage of plug-ins. But you can test out the complete desktop edition of SketchUp Pro for free for a period of 30 days. Along with plug-ins from other sources, SketchUp Pro includes the Extension Warehouse, which enables you to expand the functionality of the application through a wide range of extensions.

We'll highlight a couple of the top SketchUp render plug-ins in this article. However, before we examine the list, let's examine what rendering in SketchUp entails as well as the factors that went into compiling the final list.

Rendering 101

In essence, 3D rendering is the process of creating 2D visuals from 3D models. Such photographs allow you to build films and even a 360-degree panorama by combining numerous images from various points of reference. As a result, scene content can be produced for video games, architectural plans, animated films, simulators, and other visualization requirements.

The same is done with 3D models made in SketchUp using render engines or plug-ins. You can use them to provide your model natural-looking lighting, shadows, texture, shading, and other elements. You can export a final photorealistic render after you're happy with the appearance.  

Rendering engines provide a variety of capabilities and functionality, as you can see in the list below. Some have real-time rendering capabilities that let you view a rendering of your model while you work on it. You'll observe that renderings can be executed using either the graphics processing unit (GPU), the central processor unit (CPU), or a mix of the two.

The bias or impartiality of the underlying algorithm is a key distinction in rendering engines. The latter makes an effort to produce physically realistic representations by mathematically correctly tracing light rays. To reduce render time, bias rendering approximates the pathways of light rays.

Considerations

You can use a standalone rendering tool that works outside of SketchUp or a render plug-in, commonly referred to as a "rendering extension," that runs inside of SketchUp. This post will concentrate on the plug-ins that you can readily obtain from other official websites or install via SketchUp's Extension Warehouse. Given the enormous variety of render plug-ins available, we created this list while taking the following factors into account:

* Regular updates: The plug-in has to be current and get bug repairs and new enhancements. It ought to work with the most recent version of SketchUp and be usable.

* Strong community and support: The plug-in should have a sizable community as well as timely, effective support. There should be YouTube channels, websites, and blogs that offer tutorials and provide answers if the render plug-ins lack official forums.

Positive user experience: Although not all programs are simple to learn, the time and money spent doing so should be well worth it. Therefore, we also took into account customer comments, including what they liked, hated, desired, and especially whether the plug-ins changed as a result of the feedback.

Let's look at the top render plug-ins that every SketchUp user should test now.

V-Ray

A biased render plug-in noted for both real-time and photorealistic renders is called V-Ray for SketchUp. It enables hybrid rendering, which combines the finest features of GPU and CPU rendering, as well as GPU, CPU, and hybrid rendering. You may find a variety of items in the smart asset library, including realistic furniture, accessories, and plants. It also assures the right size while automatically lowering the polygon count.

Designs come to life thanks to the plug-lighting, in's texture, shading, and real-world camera functions. The denoiser in V-Ray enhances photorealistic rendering, supports real-time visualization, and even speeds up rendering. Additionally, virtual reality (VR) cameras allow you to render designs.

Everyone wants to render more quickly without damaging their equipment. Render nodes from V-Ray are used in this situation. The V-Ray Swarm rendering engine, which pools the processing capacity of numerous hardware components, is supported by the node system. However, some users brought up the challenging learning curve needed to utilize this functionality.

  1. Price: 30-day free trial, ~$460 annually for Solo, ~$700 for Premium
  2. Developer: Chaos Software
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: Extension Warehouse

Kerkythea

For years, Kerkythea has been at the top of the list of open-source render engines. It is a premium free render plug-in for SketchUp, and its creators even used it as the foundation to create other render plug-ins.

To give any design the most lifelike appearance and feel, Kerkythea uses natural lighting and realistic-looking materials. Under a clear and user-friendly interface, there are tools for automating scene setup, a simple material editor, and much more. Its straightforward user interface, as many users have noted, makes the learning curve more manageable.

Free to use and still well-liked among beginners is Kerkythea. Despite being in read-only mode, the official forum still provides a lot of useful information.

  1. Price: Free
  2. Developer: Altair Engineering, Inc.
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: Kerkythea

Thea Render

Initially, Kerkythea was reworked into Thea Render. It was released as the Kerkythea commercial edition and was jam-packed with more features, tools, and greater support. Thea Render has made great strides since then to become quicker, more perceptive, and more powerful.

The render plug-in supports GPU rendering and offers unbiased rendering. When using just the CPU, it runs smoothly, but upgrading to extra power simply requires a few clicks. It speeds up rendering and enhances render quality by supporting both NVIDIA and Intel AI denoisers. In addition to the denoiser tool, there is also a sophisticated material editor, thousands of materials, and more, all of which are accessible through an intuitive user interface.

The variable color texture and adaptive tracing are further interesting features. The former is useful if you want to make your scene more realistic by adding more randomness. Utilize it to produce distinctive effects on shrubs, grass, trees, wooden floors, and more. Reflections are realistically rendered via adaptive tracing, and the clarity of your designs' shadows is greatly enhanced.

  1. Price: Free trial, free student version, ~$275 annually or $700 triennally for single floating license
  2. Developer: Altair Engineering, Inc.
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: Extension Warehouse

Twilight Render

Twilight Render, which is based on Kerkythea Echo, is well-liked by beginners because of its simple and intuitive user interface. While some users considered the lack of real-time rendering capabilities to be a drawback, others welcomed the capability to render in the background while still working on the design by simply minimizing the Twilight Render window. There is also a reasonably priced Pro version for experts that require more sophisticated capabilities and flexibility.

There is also a fully working hobbyist version. There are constraints even though renders are watermark-free and have no size restrictions. The import and export of material libraries, batch rendering, personalized render settings, render history, and other features are unlocked by the Pro version.

  1. Price: Free hobbyist version, ~$100 for professional, add-ons also available
  2. Developer: Twilight Render LLC
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: Twilight Render V2, Extension Warehouse

SU Podium

For the most photorealistic rendering in SketchUp, SU Podium uses a biased ray tracing engine. Your SketchUp scenarios may be quickly transformed from design to visualization thanks to the increasing library of over 20,000 render-ready objects. Newcomers can easily understand the learning process because to the user-friendly UI.

Even an internal image editor built into the plug-in makes it possible to perform some simple photo editing. There is no need for an external editor like Photoshop unless you need highly advanced editing. A 360-degree panoramic camera for VR visualization and the recently added HDR image-based lighting, which can elevate your scene, are other outstanding features. With SU Podium, GPU rendering is not possible, but it is possible to use the CPU in many threads, which maximizes speed based on the device's CPU.

  1. Price: 30-day free trial, ~$250 for permanent license, ~$100 for student version, upgrades also available
  2. Developer: Cadalog
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: SU Podium

Enscape

Engineers, architects, and renowned architecture firms are the main users of Enscape, a commercial render plug-in for SketchUp. It is renowned for its real-time, high-quality rendering and capacity to produce immersive 3D sceneries that are compatible with virtual reality. Enscape includes a sizable collection of high-quality assets, a materials editor, and export and share options, just like the other plug-ins on this list.

The export capabilities and cooperation possibilities of the plug-in are extremely excellent. Any compatible web browser may effortlessly open a link to a shared model for your team or clients to view. Enscape also has facilities for recording and sharing annotations, which makes it easier for clients and coworkers to communicate.

Since they provide a complete 360o picture, virtual reality and panoramas are common in many architectural representations. Enscape supports well-known VR headsets and accessories and provides you with a number of tools to carry out this visualization. Additionally, you may use its Batch Panorama capability to produce numerous breathtaking panoramas.

  1. Price: 14-day free trial, ~$525 annually for a fixed-seat license
  2. Developer: Enscape
  3. Platform: Windows, MacOS
  4. Download: Extension Warehouse

Brighter3D

Are you seeking for a photorealistic render plug-in that is optimized for low-end CPUs but don't have a sophisticated graphics card? It might be best to use Brighter3D. It's an impartial render plug-in designed to help new users get going right away. It supports both artificial and natural lighting as well as HDRI lighting and immediately produces photographs that are noise-free.

Although the material collection is smaller than that of other choices, you can combine the materials to get a wider range of alternatives. The 360o view camera also makes it simple to construct VR sceneries. Even better, the focal length of the camera may be changed to focus on a specific region or object. 

The plug-in comes in both a free and a paid Pro edition. The first renders with a Brighter3D watermark, missing several sophisticated capabilities, and does not render in all resolutions. The plug-full in's power is unlocked by Brighter3D Pro, which also includes lifetime upgrades.

  1. Price: Free, ~$150 for Pro
  2. Developer: Norferin Software, Łukasz Piwowar Software
  3. Platform: Windows
  4. Download: Extension Warehouse

Lumion

Rather of being a plug-in, Lumion is a standalone piece of professional 3D rendering software. Thanks to its 1,350 different materials and 7,000 different items in its content collection, Lumion excels at creating realistic renders.

Users can establish a live connection between SketchUp and Lumion by using the SketchUp LiveSync plugin. Even better, native SketchUp (.skp) files are available for simple export from SketchUp to Lumion.

Make sure to download and install Lumion independently before installing the LiveSync plug-in if you want to give this a try. It merely takes a few clicks to connect your SketchUp scene to Lumion 3D using LiveSync.

Simply download and install the LiveSync plug-in from the Extension Warehouse to get started. Launch Lumion 3D after that, select a scene, and change the side-by-side window's setting to SketchUp. Then, simply select "Start LiveSync" from the menu bar, and presto!

  1. Price: 14-day free trial, ~$1,600 for Standard, ~$3,100 for Pro
  2. Developer: Act-3D
  3. Platform: Windows

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