You want awesome lighting. You want equally awe-inspiring rendering. Enscape 3.3 for SketchUp delivers the magic in real time, and it’s stunning. Enscape lighting SketchUp and Enscape rendering SketchUp have changed the way designers create. Version 3.3 of Enscape for SketchUp is waiting for you. By the end of this article you’ll know what Enscape for SketchUp is, why you’ll fall head over heels in love with it, how to create a SketchUp rendering in Enscape, and all about lighting in SketchUp with Enscape.
What is Enscape for SketchUp?
What is Enscape for SketchUp? A popular commercial real-time rendering and virtual reality plugin, Enscape is the darling of the architecture, engineering, and construction sectors. Both the Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Reality empower your designs, enable a smoother workflow, and bring your imagination to vibrant life. Because you can use it directly in your modeling tools, you can concentrate on the important things: the creating, the designing, and the building. Enscape version 3.3 works with the latest version of SketchUp, so let’s dive in.
Why Use Enscape for SketchUp
Why use Enscape for SketchUp? There are so many reasons why, once you discover it, you’ll want to use it again and again. For a start, Enscape simplifies rendering and the creation of walkthroughs, flythroughs, animations, and virtually experiences. It’s invaluable for that reason alone, since it’s this kind of experience that convinces clients, inspires the right decisions, and pushes approvals through faster. Easy to export models also make it really easy for other people to review your designs, speeding up the workflow dramatically.
A huge asset library of more than 1900 items comes with a cool materials editor and brilliant lighting options. In fact the latest Enscape version, 3.3, has a long list of desirable key features.
Real-time technology means your work is visualised as a fully rendered 3D walkthrough for people to experience from every angle, at any time of day, with any sort of lighting. The live link between the programme and your CAD tool updates things instantly. And the amazing NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling improves walkthrough performance significantly.
Virtual reality lets you and others explore designs via inspirational realism. All you need to do is hook up to a VR headset like the Oculus Rift S or HTC Vive to walk or fly through your project, enjoying spectacular visuals.
The broad range of export options means you can easily collaborate with other people, whether it’s designers, clients or someone else. It’s easy for them to grasp and there’s no need for special software or tech. And the amazing choice of atmosphere settings makes it a dream to create atmosphere and character using hyper-realistic lighting. The cloud cover, the time of day, it’s endlessly configurable.
Enscape 3.3 even offers a suite of workflow tools for collaborative annotation, where people can make changes, suggest materials, highlight an issue, and do whatever’s needed to get the project completed. When you can share your progress, keep the context clear and communicate perfectly with everyone involved like this, so easily and fluidly, your design life is so much more fulfilling.
Isn’t it good to know there’s even more fabulous Enscape functionality on the way for spring 2023?
How to Create a SketchUp Rendering in Enscape
So how do you go about Enscape rendering SketchUp style? First, install Enscape. It’ll turn up under the SketchUp Extensions tab. Now you can start using the Enscape toolbar. Open up a project by clicking the Start Enscape button. To create a beautiful rendering in SketchUp, click on the Take Screenshot or Batch Rendering button inside the Extensions tab. While this is a summary of the process, it clearly shows you how wonderfully simple the tool is to use.
Lighting in SketchUp with Enscape
Enscape lighting SketchUp style is just as amazing. Because SketchUp has no lights of its own, Enscape provides lights accessed via the Enscape Objects window. You can get there either using the Extensions menu option in SketchUp, or the Enscape ribbon.
Here’s how to add light sources to models. As you’ll see, it’s very simple, which means it’s totally inspiring! From SketchUp, just go to Extensions > Enscape > Enscape Objects. Once you’re in there, you’ll find five different light sources to choose from: Sphere light, Spot light, Rectangular (Rect) light, Disk Light and Line Light.
Sphere Light
- An omni, or point light – the light sends out rays from a single point equally in all directions . Do it in two clicks, first selecting the surface or axis the light source is based from, then placing the light with a second click. You can then adjust the intensity of the light.
Spot Light
- A spot light is placed with four clicks, the first two fixing the end point and the second two the direction of the light cone. To place a spotlight, click to select the surface or axis the light source is based from. Move the mouse to define the axis or face you want the light to run along or go, then click again to define the light source.
Rect (Rectangular) Light and Disk Light
- These behave almost the same way, only the beam shape differs. The Spot light source is a single point, the Rect and Disk lights are the same shape at each end. Place them with four clicks, just like the Spot Light. The Rect light has one pink control point. You can do the same thing with the sliders in Enscape Objects. The Disc light has fewer parameters. Adjust intensity of both using the Luminous Power slide.
Line Lights
- Line lights are linear lights representing tube fluorescent lights. They go up to 3m long and you can change the length. Again, use the two click method to place them, then you can define and rotate them as you like. You rotate using the control points, or native SketchUp controls for rotation.
Colouring lights
- Colour lights in the SketchUp Paint Bucket tool. Pick a colour from the Material Editor, apply it, then adjust it directly in the Enscape window.
For Self-Illumination, not available in the Enscape Objects window, use self-illuminated materials. Either add the keyword ‘Emissive’ to the material name, or go through the Material Editor where there’s more control over the material’s luminance, intensity, and colour. This is where you change the object material type to Self-illuminated.
Enscape 3.3 a wrap-up
Last but not least, Enscape supports optimising and cleaning models by removing unnecessary geometry and materials, leaving you with a lovely clean design. And that’s that – will you give it a test-drive soon, enhancing your work with stunning Enscape lighting SketchUp and dramatically real rendering SketchUp? Don’t forget there’s a plethora of exciting SketchUp tutorials and learning resources to help you get where you want to be.
