To get started you'll need to download and install the V-Ray for SketchUp extension. You can download the Installer from the 'My Products' page for your account.
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Before you get started, it's important that you confirm your system is able to use V-Ray. Below are the recommended system requirements as indicated by Chaos.
System Requirements
- Processor: 1st Gen Intel® Core™ or compatible processor with SSE4.2 support (x64).
- RAM: Minimum 8 GB RAM, recommended 16 GB RAM.
- Hard Disk Space: Minimum 2GB, recommended 12GB (includes additional downloadable content.)
- TCP/IP: Only IPv4 is supported. IPv6 is currently not supported.
- Operating System: Windows® 8.1, Windows 10.
- SketchUp Version: SketchUp 2021 (V-Ray 5 for SketchUp, as included in the Studio Subscription, requires SketchUp 2021)
- GPU Support: Maxwell-, Pascal-, Volta- and Turing-based NVIDIA card(s) with latest video driver or at least version 411.31. For more info, see GPU Rendering.
V-Ray Vision requires a Graphics card with DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 and Shader Model 5.0 capabilities.
Installing V-Ray for SketchUp
Step By Step Instructions
When you're ready to get started, follow the steps below to install V-Ray for SketchUp
- Download the V-Ray for SketchUp installer, available here.
- Locate the installer and double-click to launch, EXE.
- Please review the license agreement and click Next for your installation options.
- You're prompted for the version of SketchUp you're using, choose 'SketchUp 2021' and click Install
- Selecting 'Advanced' will give you option to install the Chaos Swarm and specify licensing options. Note that V-Ray for SketchUp Studio requires the 'Local' option for licensing.
- After the installation you'll have some additional options to share anonymous usage data with Chaos Group, and to review the Release Notes for the current version.
- Clicking 'Done' will close the installer and you should be ready to authorize and use the software;
Authorizing V-Ray for SketchUp Studio
Once you've completed the installation you can launch SketchUp. Upon opening SketchUp after the install process you'll be prompted to 'Sign in with Trimble' which will open a browser.
Once you've signed in with your Trimble ID you're finished and can return to SketchUp and start using V-Ray.
V-Ray has been lining the bed of the visualization and rendering industry since the early days of computer generated graphics. Very few people who are even closely associated with computers and graphics technology know what Chaos Group’s flagship software is, and how dominant it is in terms of user-base and capability.
However, for many casual renderers or those looking to dip their toes in the proverbial water, dropping the cost and time commitment required to best utilize V-Ray is a daunting uphill climb that typically results in regret and disappointment.
Luckily, there are several great alternatives to V-Ray that don’t come slapped with a hefty price tag and a user’s manual the size of an ancient tome. In fact, they’re all completely free. These programs are great for visualization newcomers, or those looking to build out there skillset with something they don’t have sell their first-born child to download.
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1 | Blender (Cycles)
It’s impossible to talk about free rendering software without first mentioning Blender. It’s an open-source modeling program that comes on-board with its very own proprietary rendering engine called Cycles. It has a dedicated user-base who heavily influence the development, giving it a unique mix of usability, performance, and value.
Blender presents a user-interface unlike any other on the market, and might take a few pointed tutorials to become familiar with it. But, when you do, you’ll effectively unlock one of the most powerful visualization programs in the world, and all without spending a single penny. Blender is worth every bit of your time, professional or not.
2 | Lux Render
Lux doesn’t bog the user down with an onslaught of distracting bells and whistles. It is simply an incredibly fast and easy-to-use renderer that is completely free to play. Lux uses a physics-based engine that utilizes unbiased rendering in order to provide the power to create photo-realistic renderings of your 3D models.
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For beginners, Lux is the perfect renderer to cut your teeth. Learning the ins and outs won’t take long, and its wide array of plugins means that no matter what your modeler of choice is, Lux is available for your use. And unlike many other free renderers, Lux comes packed with a load of high-quality textures and materials to help aid in your visualization creation.
3 | Kerkythea
If you can manage to pronounce Kerkythea without going cross-eyed, you’ve already done more work than required to learn this free, physics-based rendering engine. The software utilizes ultra realistic and accurate material and lighting models that result in a flavor of photorealism on par with V-Ray and other expensive rendering programs.
Kerkythea is quickly gaining traction as one of the most capable free rendering programs available, and accepts exports from most 3D modeling programs (including a free extension for SketchUp).
4 | Freestyle
For those looking for something a little bit different out of their rendering software, Freestyle offers a non-physics based engine that focuses on linework only. The resulting images and animations are incredibly stylized, and when used correctly can add an engaging and eye-catching level of style to your 3D visualization.
However, it would be a mistake to simply peg Freestyle as a simple line drawing tool. This is a rendering program, after all, and one that gives users a surprising amount of control over the final results. Tinkerers and experimenters will be right at home with the trial-and-error nature of Freestyle, and will come up with drawings you never thought were possible.
5 | Pixar’s Renderman
Once upon a time there was a quaint little animation studio called Pixar, and in 2015 they decided to make their powerful proprietary rendering engine, Renderman, available for free to the general public. And the kingdom rejoiced!
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Being able to use Renderman is a dream for many 3D artists and designers, so the fact that Pixar made it available for free was met with amusement, confusion, and giddy Christmas mourning-esque feelings of childlike joy. You won’t learn this program over night, but for those dedicated visualizers and animators, there are few tools out there that have such potential to produce incredible results.