I don't render pool water very often, but every time I do, it takes me forever to figure out how to get the caustics to work. I go through all the settings, search for all the tutorials.

I just started another project with a pool and I'm going to want a rendering with awesome pool water caustics.

Here's what I'm doing:

• Creating a plane that is the surface of the water and making it a component.
• Applying a water material to the component and to both faces of the plane.
• Adding a displacement geometry modifier to the component - I use the same noise map from the water Bump channel for the displacement.
• In the water material Refraction Advanced Settings, uncheck "Affect Shadows".
• In the render settings Global Illumination Advanced Settings, turn on "Photon Mapped Caustics".

What am I missing? You'll see in the image that the displacement is working at least.

I just spent a few minutes trying to find a better solution than the one I've used for years to this problem...

The problem: Creating a new layer is visible in all existing scenes, so if one wants the new layer to be visible in only one/a few scenes, one has to go through scene by scene to hide and update.

One solution: AutoInvisibleLayer plugin.

AutoInvisibleLayer solves the problem as stated, so I will try it. However, it only works at the moment of layer creation. It would be nice to be able to turn layer "X" on or off in multiple scenes at any point in the process. I started looking through plugins to do that. There are a quite a few layer management plugins, but I can't tell if any of them have this particular feature. I'm hoping somebody here knows.

Thanks!

I'm trying to get caustics working for a swimming pool. I just downloaded V-Ray 3.60.02 and I'm using SketchUp Pro 2018.

I can get caustics working with a drinking glass and a spot light,

but the I was hoping to get it working with displaced water and the Sun.

There are a lot of tuts around the web, but none seem to address it with VR3.6 for SU and so even trying to match settings ("check or uncheck the Affects Shadows"... for the material? For the Sun?) is confusing as an infrequent V-Ray user.

Can anybody help?

Packaged Skp+V-Ray

Thank you all for your feedback. I'll need some time to digest and research each idea, but I'll be back with more questions. Thanks again!

I'm a bit new to woodworking, at least of the cabinet variety. I was hoping I could get a little help on a cabinet I'd like to build myself. Attached is the my first idea for this. A few things to note.

• This is not the right dimensions. I roughed it out intuitively. Particularly the length and the height of each shelf can and probably will change.
• 2/3rds of it will open to both sides, kitchen and dining room; the 1/3rd next to the stove will open only into the dining room.
• This will probably be a plywood box with poplar face frame, painted white, so I'm not super concerned about using fasteners. Tips for getting a very smooth, even finish would be appreciated.
• I don't love the vertical braces I've put under the shelves, so I'm open to suggestions to stabilize the long shelves.
• I don't love the way the end grain of the frame will be exposed at the narrow end. Suggestions to finish this end differently?
• How should I fasten this whole thing to the floor? It will be located where I removed a wall, so currently the subfloor is exposed in that area.
• How should I fasten the counter top to the top? I will be making my own concrete counter top, so I could potentially cast-in fasteners, but is that necessary? Would construction adhesive be enough? How are stone counter tops usually fastened?
• What kind of doors should I use? I'm tight on space, so the less they intrude the better. I was thinking double doors for each opening, but that's a lot of doors. If I attempted sliders, does anybody have good details for that?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

base_cabinet.skp

This might not be the best answer, since we are on SketchUcation and all, but have you considered another software package? What you are doing would be much easier in Rhino with Grasshopper, Revit, Bentley GC, or something like that. You could always create the mass and populate it with windows, then bring it back into SketchUp for your other drawings and adding other stuff.

That looks like a rammed earth wall, to me, but I'm no expert. I did a quick web search, but didn't find anything. Maybe knowing what it is will help you, at least a little.

Looking awesome! I really like the changes you've made since you started this thread. Two last comments that I have: I think the mirror and lights next to it should be as tall as the door and the top of the high window. That up-and-down sticks out to me. Lastly, the ceiling reflection is so strong I find it a little distracting. Maybe reducing the amount of reflection or making it a little glossy would help?

Great job!

Just to add to the discussion (and perhaps your confusion), you could also look into making that initial piece a hosted component. Then insert another instance of it and it will stick to any face you place it on. That might alleviate your feeling of self-loathing when you flip it.

I really like this rendering! Nice work.

You mention the ceiling: could you add a tiny bit of glossy reflection? That might give it some depth. I don't see a shower head. And what about adding some nice cozy slippers? Everybody always says it's the little details that really make a rendering pop.

Thanks! Any preference between those two? They seem to be the same price.

I know I've seen a post here about plug-ins or techniques for removing noise from renderings done in Maxwell. Photoshop plug-ins or standalone programs? I went searching for the post(s) where these were mentioned, but couldn't find it/them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Nice renderings!
I'm not great with entourage, myself, so I always "hide" it by adding a little motion blur to them in Photoshop. Makes it look a little like a long-exposure-style photograph.

@chon said:

in the UVWGenEnvironment, you've got a "repeat" option for horizontal and vertical settings.

When you set UVWGenEnvironment, is it also set to Spherical? I've always wished that there was a graphic representation of the environment map in the scene that I could manipulate. I always end up using an image in the reflect and refract and then add same image as a background in Photoshop.

Hi, Mike. Nice job so far! Interior renderings are always so much work. If you are still interested in some comments here are my two (-and-ten) cents:

1. Could you put the TV flat on the shorter wall? I think the TV in the corner looks awkward.
2. I think the floor and ceiling could use a little reflection. Not much, but everything except the coffee table looks a little flat. Just a hint (or more) of some glossy reflections could help.
3. Bloom could also help soften things up. I don't know if Renditioner does bloom, but you can always Photoshop it quite easily. You could also add some lens refraction effects on the ceiling lights. Might be distracting, but might work.
4. Speaking of ceiling lights, there are quite a few! Maybe take some of the recessed lights out and and add some floor lamps or even a hanging light over the dining table?
5. I like the idea of a feature wall, but the brick texture isn't quite right. Perhaps just a different color paint?
6. The race car needs a frame and glass. It looks like a poster, which isn't all that classy.
7. Not sure who lives here, but these two ladies are very distracting. One trick I like to use is a little horizontal motion blur in Photoshop. It gives the illusion of a long-exposure photograph. Oh, and when scaling people, make sure all their eye levels roughly line up. The blonde is much too tall and makes the space seem short. Somebody sitting on the near couch facing away from the camera might be less distracting. I like to make up stories about the people I put in my renderings, figure out what they are doing. I think that often makes them seem more natural (or maybe I'm just kidding myself, but it makes my life more fun).

And just to reiterate, this is a really nice rendering already. I think everybody agrees about that. Just trying to help you kick it up to the next level. Good luck!

In your example of flipping the face, you can select a bunch of faces adding to your selection, then right-click and choose to flip. Also, if I were you, I'd consider setting up keyboard shortcuts. The fewer clicks, the better... and you might as well put your other hand to use you aren't just mousing and clicking.

@zoom123 said:

What I am rendering is my future home. I started with sketchup to test out different ideas before even going to an architect. The architect took my initial general ideas and developed them into a plan. Using those plans I created another model which was used to fine tune the plans.

Now we are at the stage where we have to decide about materials, lighting etc, and I need a render engine to be able to test those. Like you I need something that can render fast so I can test many different ideas quickly. A bit of noise doesn't bother me, what I care most is that the lighting and the rendering in general would be as natural as possible. My aim is not to create pretty pictures but renderings that can help me make decisions.

Unlike you I am not a professional so I wouldn't want to invest in something expensive and difficult to learn. This is why I excluded V-Ray.

Jason, is there a new version of Maxwell for SU?
I understand that the Free version is not a demo version, but this basically means that the paid version of Maxwell for SU can not be tested. Before I pay the $100 for the paid version of the plugin I would like to test it, and the free version does not allow me to fully test it because of the luck of the production engine and the inability to properly render artificial lighting. How about a time/resolution limited trial of the paid version? Even 1-2 weeks would be enough.

I understand about the price, completely. On the topic of price, you say that you hired an architect. How much time are you putting into this on your own? Why not have the architect you've already hired help you with the material and lighting selections through renderings, samples, etc.? You should have just hired a contractor if all you wanted was plans because you aren't getting the true value added for an architect without the rest of the design services IMHandbiasedO. If the architect you already hired can't do it, find another one that can.

That said, if you are doing it because you are really enjoying it and have the time, for my 2 cents--and I have used V-Ray, Maxwell, Twilight, Podium, and many other render engines--don't sweat the $100. I really think Maxwell ($100) or Twilight will do what you need it to do. Personally, I'd choose Maxwell because I like the interface. You're not going to get the quality you want with the free version, you've seen that. And as suggested, you could try out the demo of the full version of the Maxwell Suite to get a feel.

Good luck with your house! Post some renderings and pictures, too, so we can all see how it's going.

Which render plugin to use is a constant debate around here. I tried to start a spreadsheet for collaboration here: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=3220&start=45. We could keep updating it and anybody is interested...

There is one really big thing I see missing from this conversation, though:
zoom123, what do you want to render and for what purpose?!
Even if you are only doing this for fun, it can make a big difference in your choice.

For example, I'm an architect and 99% of my renderings are for quick design studies. Somebody said that Maxwell allowed for quicker scene setup and that they didn't care how long it took, because they could run the rendering overnight. That may be true for some types of presentation images, but for me, I often need it ASAP, setup and all, exterior or interior. I don't have time to let a rendering bake long enough to remove noise in Maxwell or any unbiased engine (that said, Maxwell would probably be OK for many of my exterior renderings, but since I need it for both exterior or interior, I don't want to deal with two renderers). So for me it's biased all the way, V-Ray specifically. Now with V-Ray RT like Maxwell Fire, I have even faster setup times.

So, zoom123, what are you rendering and why?

I use SU, Revit, and Rhino extensively. I am an architect working in an architecture firm. For the work we do (and what I've done at other firms), SU is absolutely the fastest option for early schematic design. I've never used Layout, but plenty of people here do and go directly from SU to construction drawings within the same model. If that's all you need, done. With all the rendering plugins, and exquisite examples abound on this forum, you even have excellent visualization.

Then why do I use Revit? I use Revit because it is a BIM package. For construction purposes, you don't have to draw a rectangular solid that represents a wall, you draw a wall. That wall has properties that control its dimensions, materiality, etc. Then when things change, I can go back and edit that wall type, change its properties globally or locally. I can also create a schedule or quantity take-off that stays coordinated with my design.

Another question is, what are you modeling? Suburban living rooms or spaceships? The more conventional the architecture, the faster Revit is. Click the wall tool>choose a type>click start>click end. Done. Window in that wall? Window tool>choose a type>click. Done. Need to tell your contractor how much wallboard to buy? You can make a schedule in 5-10 minutes that will call out the quantities of all the materials in your project. And when you change your design, the schedule changes.

The learning curve is steep, though, so if you do decide to take it on, be prepared to spend quite a lot of time learning it. If you can afford the time and cost of the software, I think it would be worth it as another tool in your arsenal. Are there things about SU that you don't like or that hold you back? That might inform your decision, too.

Hope that my long-winded response helps a little... at least to further confuse you.

Well, at least it seems you've found the problem. You shouldn't have to delete anything, just remove the texture map from the material. Otherwise, you should be able to right-click on the material and remove it. Want to post a screen capture of one of the materials that doesn't work?