Using the latest version of Vray for Sketchup how would you approach doing an ambient occlusion render to achieve something along the lines of the linked render from cCrisan http://www.ccrisan.be/3D/maq/maq01.jpg

I have tried using a virtual plane but it gives a horizon.
I have turned off GI and/or BG in Environment but still get a horizon.
I have tried boosting GI over BG and reverse.

I have turned GI and BG to white which helped a little.
Also can't seem to get the grey tone range as shown, I thought that maybe in the linked image that they actually toned certain parts rather than a pure ambient occclusion / dirt render.

And simply turing off materials and using a near white for the render does not seem to give anything close.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

I'm looking for a way to ensure my working screen within sketchup has the same dimensions so that when I use the model across different computers that have different screen dimensions I can ensure that what is visible in the scene will be the same.

I am aware that you can dictate the dimensions of required output via Vray for sketchup when rendering but the working screen when not the same does not ensure the same feel for preparing the screen as consistency does.

Recently I worked on one file across several computers and i was not able to achieve consistant results.

Is there a way of locking the screen to a certain dimension?

Just interested in doing two balsa wood style architectural models in sketchup with Vray and wanted to keep the poly count low but add some trees for scale and shaddows.

Second one was of a past work, that used raw logs as posts, and that also has been hard to mimic without using something that looks more like a steel pole than a natural form.

I have checked google warehouse and not been able to find anything similar, nor from the wealth of architectural model pics online to show anything similar.

Wanted something between the following images.
http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tree-branch-divider.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4317958465_1fd201890d.jpg

Any pointers to links or techniques would be appreciated.

http://s845.photobucket.com/albums/ab12/halceon2007/?action=view&current=sectionalrendertest01.jpg

Hope this works, didn't have any success with the uploading.

Attached was a 2 min model constructed for testing, giving in principal the results wanted.

Would need to be toned for a real project.

If an alternative it was probably because I didn't ready your solution well enough.

But if it is different then cool as there is more than one way to do it!

I often ask questions but thought it only fair to post an answer.

So, I tried what was suggested over numerous trials until I got a successful result ready for later use.

Key points I found for a successful cut section render were as follows:

Omni light (not rectangular light) with high intensity setting set as a virtual sun.
Sufficient apetures
Good position of the Omni light to optimize shadow lenght and depth and interation in the space

All sunlight and daylight turned off

But found this to be a bit dull and many dark spaces on the plan so to compliment:

Rectangular light set as a ceiling at a very low setting to give an ambient background/backup illumination.

And the technique works a treat, thanks.

Thanks, I will try this out. Funny how what appear to be very difficult techical issues are often solved by very simple solutions.

When rending an interior as a sectional plan in for example an axon-metric format, how do you do the lighting for rendering such that the light enters only via doors and windows and not just over the top of the cut wall?

I would probably attempt it in vray.

I saw some nice illustrations recently but am clueless how to achieve it.

Any input most appreciated.

Just a quick question, I have done some good quality renders with VRAY but would like to integrate them with some wireframe models.

Either together or as an overlay in photoshop after.

Is it possible to generate a quality render with vray or am I stuck with the low resolution / different field of view from the standalone sketchup?

Any assistance most appreciated.

@thomthom said:

No magic setting. But V-Ray for Sketchup and V-Ray for MAx is the same except for some special V-Ray material and lights missing.

Are what you are requesting, being able to match the V-Ray output with SU? If so, I made a plugin which will help you: http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=15491&p=119728
(I assume you're using the demo of the very latest version? 1.05.0x (Service Release 1.5))

Thank you very much for this and it has worked fine till now, alas as one's ability increases so does the complexity of one's questions and persuit for perfection.

We, in the office, have noticed that this plug-in produced different results from PC to PC with the same model and same setup. The key factor being "Set the V-Ray Physical Camera's Zoom property to: XXXX". It appears it is relative to the window that is open and therefore with the window varying in size from office pc to office pc, the value must also change. I also tried moving the hotbars on my own pc and found this also altered the value. After many months, my sketchup has a multitude of plugins/extensions.

So an extension and/or clarification to the original question is:

What can be done/set in either Vray for Sketchup or 3dsMax to ensure a render output is of the same size for overlay/comp'ing use in photoshop.

1. The output size is the same for both. 2048, 1556
2. The image aspect ratio is the same for both.
3. The field of view is the same for both. 35deg.
4. The file was exported as 3ds with 3ds export options > generate cameras checked.

Proportion seems the same but the zoom appears to be different?
So is there a simple way to correct the zoom in VRfS for the same output?
Any ideas most appreciated?

I did a search for this, however searching for sketchup + cracks finds a whole world of undesirable results.

I am in the process of just honing some skills and would prefer to keep all the modelling with-in sketchup where possible.

I have seen cracks added to structures through physical deformation via programs such as z-brush or adding deformation to image textures via photoshop.

I was just hoping there might be some ruby scripts and/or add-ons that are about to achive what I was after.

I have an office renovation project that has a concrete slab ceiling exposed and painted. It has lots of pitting, and many hairline cracks.

Any simple solutions, suggestions most appreciated?

(and even if not, I do enjoy the discussion)

Thought I had seen the image before:

Glenburn House (Peninsula House) - Sean Godsell Architects

A 30m x 7.2m oxidized steel portal structure has been embedded into the side of a sand dune. This structure forms the 'exoskeleton' of the h...

(dearasis.blogspot.com)

Might interest you to see one company that is leading in that field.

Access Denied

(www.suntory.co.jp)

(you may not be able to read the language, however if you hover your mouse pointer over the menu, you can see the menu in English at the bottom of the page)

That's awesome, thanks!

Looking to model and old design I did years ago, has anyone got any tips for modelling vertical boards and corrugated iron.

The vertical boards I imagine would be best to just make a profile and extrude to the lengths I need.

But as for the corrugated iron, I am not sure. The building has flat sections of roofing but also some areas where the roof is curved.

Any suggestions most appreciated.

Thanks to all those that assisted.

Ended up settling on something roughly the same for home, but fractionally cheaper and less power but opted for a safe route to avoid conflict with existing software that is not likely to be upgraded anytime soon.

As for the work pc, well might go higher yet. Still working on that one.

Dell XPS 630
Intel Intel Core2 Quad 2.66GHz
4GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
500gb Harddisk 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTx 512MB (avoided the ati card just to be safe for now, the NVIDIA is a fair card for graphics but the home pc is also partly for funn too!)
20.5in monitor

Will try out Vista Ultimate 32bit (but sad to let go of XP pro) although may downgrade later if dissatisfied.

Thank you very much for the replies and feedback.

The more I have learned about this the more questions it has raised.

Are the issues associated with migration of 32bit xp pro to 64bit vista ultimate all that bad. Many of the applications I have will not be upgraded at the same time. (Autocad 2004, Sketchup, and 3ds Max and Adobe suite at work.)

I have done a little reading, according to the product specs it says OpenGL 2.1 support.

http://ati.amd.com/products/Radeonhd4800/specs.html

Is this what I would be after or should I do a bit of a background search first.

And/or just get the maching with the cheaper of the two graphics cards and buy a NVIDIA card later?

Currently looking at this new Dell model for myself and recommending for my office. Am interested in feedback if it is a reasonable setup for:
Sketchup, Vray, 3dsMax, Photoshop and some games but not high end.

• some applications will be work only.
• price is important as it is 2/3 the cost of XPS 730.

Dell Studio XPS 435 specs:

PROCESSORS Intel Core?i7-920 processor(8MB L2 Cache, 2.66GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, 64-bit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 3Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
MEMORY 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 1TB Performance RAID 0 (500GB SATA 7200 RPM HDD)
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW
MONITORS Dell 20 inch Ultrasharp
VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
SOUND CARD Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
SPEAKERS No speakers
KEYBOARD Dell Wireless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse
MOUSE Mouse included in Wireless, Laser or Bluetooth Package
MODEM No Modem Option
ACCIDENTAL PROTECTION Complete Care Accidental Damage Protection, 3 Year
OTHER15-in-1 Card Reader
EXPANSION SLOTS PCI: 1 slot, PCIe x1: 3 slots ,PCIe x8: 1 slot ,PCIe x16 (Graphics): 1 slot

• Max processor available Core i7-965 processor (8MB L3 Cache, 3.2GHz)
• Up to 24gig Memory
• Not so interested in Dual Drives with a Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner
• Did read somewhere about its capacity to have dual Video Cards but not sure on that one.

Reference
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-xps-435?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=dthp&s=dhs

Any feedback would be most appreciated.