Shaderlight grows a tree[d] forest!

Since the release of Shaderlight v2 you guys have downloaded our Replace Me components thousands of times! We’re very glad you like the new feature.

The original set of trees were provided by our good friends at DynaSCAPE and since you like them so much we’ve created some ourselves and have just uploaded 20 new trees!

As always you can download them FOR FREE from here: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=767cd944d26799b9f7cb96e21753677

A special thanks need to go out to Mikkel Fredborg from Frecle for allowing us to use tree[d] to create the trees. http://www.frecle.net/

Get Rendering!

 

Shaderlight lights up SketchUp

It’s now even easier to render real world lighting from SketchUp thanks to the launch of Shaderlight 2.1.

Headlining this update is our ‘light fixture library’ – a useful new addition that gives you access to a bunch of models from Visa lighting but with the added bonus that the IES files are already embedded.  So, next time you need to shine some light on your scene, simply import your chosen fixture and hit render – Shaderlight will add render the correct light and shadow detail for that fixture without you doing a thing.

Check out Martin’s latest lighting tutorial video for a quick overview

The changes we’ve made to the software also now mean that you can embed IES files in to your own SketchUp models so that they’re always ready to render in Shaderlight.

As you can see from the above images, we’ve also made some significant improvements to the quality of interior renders particularly when using portal lights.  As well as reducing the amount of noise generated from the light source, you can shine sunlight directly though portals to achieve that dramatic look we’ve all been looking for.

Read about all the new additions in Shaderlight 2.1 on our website and make sure you download the update to try them for yourself!

Shaderlight lighting webinar

We had a great turn out for the first Shaderlight webinar of 2012 so thank you to everyone who logged in to join us.  Being able to create the perfect lighting effect in your scene is something we know is important to all of our users as it can be the difference between ‘just another render’ and ‘an amazing image’.

Hopefully this webinar provides some useful hints for lighting both exterior and interior scenes as well as giving you an insight in to what’s coming with Shaderlight v2.1!

Smart rendering from Shaderlight

Shaderlight v2 has been out in the wild for couple of weeks now and it seems you love it just as much as we do, so thanks!  If you’ve not had a chance to download it yet, what are you waiting for – it really is pretty special.

Whilst the new animation feature is great and will transform your SketchUp and Shaderlight presentations, Replace Me is really the thing that you wonder what you ever did without.

What is Replace Me?

The idea for Replace Me was born over lunch in Boulder with our good friend Daniel Tal.  As a landscape architect there were two things he needed to add to his scene to make it feel real – trees and people – but he struggled with the amount of geometry it added to an already complex SketchUp scene and the inevitable slow down that ensued.

When I told the clever team here all about the problem, I knew they’d come up with something to solve it!

How does Replace Me work?

By using a proxy model in your SketchUp scene instead of the full 3d model Replace Me enables you to render detailed models without filling your SketchUp scene with geometry.

You can create your own proxy (using the Replace Me creator from the plug ins menu) or choose one from our Replace Me library on 3d Warehouse.  Simply place it in your SketchUp scene and when you hit render, Replace Me imports the selected 3d model in to Shaderlight and renders it, just like normal!

Replace Me component and Shaderlight render

It’s not just for people and trees – any model can be replaced.

There are three ways to use Replace Me

• Choose from our growing library of Replace Me models in Google’s 3D Warehouse - we’ve partnered with Dynascape to give you some great trees!
• Use the Replace Me creator tool to link your own proxy component to your chosen model from 3D Warehouse
• Use the Replace Me creator tool to link your own proxy component to your chosen model on your local machine.

If you’ve not yet had a chance to look, Martin’s put together some great tutorial videos that show you just how Replace Me works and the great results you can achieve without overloading your SketchUp scene.  There’s also a host of information in our online help too.

One thing to remember is that the idea behind Replace Me is to free up SketchUp from large amounts of geometry so you can continue to build your scene without any slow down, your render time in Shaderlight will still be the same.

Keep the feedback and fantastic Replace Me renders coming.  It’s always great to see what you guys are working on.

Shaderlight v2 – fully tested!

We’re all very excited here at Shaderlight HQ as we put the final touches to the website in preparation for the launch of Shaderlight v2 which will be available to download tomorrow!

If you’re already a Shaderlight user you’ll know how hard we strive to deliver the most relevant, intuitive and simple to use rendering technology available for Google SketchUp.  But that’s just half the story, we also work hard to make sure you get a great user experience at all times.  One of our clever testers, Chris, tells us what he likes most about v2.

Version 2 brings a couple of cool features and some bug fixes of course. But what I have enjoyed using most is the new Replace Me tool.

The Replace Me tool, will really help those of you to render large/detailed models without consuming too much time.  The tool is simple to use but it can help you produce some fantastic renders.

It’s certainly made my job a lot more easier so be sure to check out our videos on this exciting new feature as well as trying it for yourself in v2!

Here are a couple of example images showing you just how cool Replace Me is!

SketchUp scene using Replace Me

Shaderlight render with Replace Me

Images courtesy of Daniel Tal.

Shaderlight OS X Lion update released

Apple’s new operating system, OS X Lion was released into the wild today.

We’re pleased to announce that there is a new version of Shaderlight for SketchUp available for all users running OS X Lion.

This update is only for users who have upgraded to OS X Lion and does not need to be installed if you are running any other Mac operating system.

Whether you are a paid up customer or still trialling the software simply follow these instructions to download and install the update.

1. Click the image above to download the software
2. Install the file: shaderlightforsketchup_132.dmg

For help with installing Shaderlight for SketchUp, see our online help for Mac

If you do come across any issues or have any questions regarding the OS X Lion update, please contact support@artvps.com

My first Google SketchUp model

Aoife Harrington, a 16 year old student from Thornton College in Buckingham here in the UK has been lucky(!) enough to spend her work experience week with the team here at Shaderlight HQ.

A complete 3d newbie, Aoife has proved to be a natural when it comes to interior design – using inspiration from images she found online she’s managed to model and render some great images with Google SketchUp and Shaderlight Pro.

In her own words, here’s how she did it:

I used Google SketchUp for the first time during my work experience placement at ArtVPS and then rendered my model using Shaderlight. Having never used SketchUp before, I was in need of some guidance and so the video tutorials on Google’ s website proved very useful in covering all aspects of the programme for new users such as myself. However, I did not find it necessary to watch all of the videos and simply selected the ones covering the things I needed help with, these included offsetting and the ‘follow-me’ tool. I also found it worthwhile to watch some of the videos dealing with even the most straightforward tools as they provided handy tips.

I wanted to create an image of a kitchen and was inspired by various other images I found
on the internet. Once I had completed this I decided to extend the model and so added a living room next to it but kept the whole design open plan. Again, I looked at images on the internet for inspiration. If I had more time I would most likely add more rooms to my model, perhaps a dining room or begin building other storeys.

Once I familiarised myself with the basics of SketchUp and drew the model I began rendering using Shaderlight. I had never rendered before, although, I had always assumed it would be a difficult and time-consuming process. Shaderlight demonstrated the opposite and showed that this did not have to be the case.  As I did with SketchUp, I used tutorial videos, found on the ArtVPS website which, were again very useful. The company’s staff were also helpful and very friendly which I appreciated very much.  I attempted using all of Shaderlight’s features and found that even for beginners the software was easy to use once you grasped the basics; in fact I think I was rather surprised at how simple it was. I particularly liked using the material editor as it created such a difference to the final image so quickly and almost effortlessly.

I am pleased with the final result following my first 3D modelling and rendering experience, I believe being able to use both SketchUp and Shaderlight will be very useful in the future. The results which are achievable in such a short amount of time with this software are really quite impressive and I intend to continue using it in order to improve and be able to create more advanced images. In addition to being useful, learning how to use these programmes has been an interesting and enjoyable experience which I would definitely recommend to other s. With regard to advice on how they should get started, I would suggest looking at the same videos which I watched – talking to someone who knows how to use the software is also a very good way of learning.

I think the results say it all – great work Aoife!