10 Tips for Creating Interior Design Models using SketchUp

A. Components & Groups

Aerial images at low and high resolution should be separate layers and should be kept at hand. The texture editor allows you to swap low-res textures for high-res. A photo editor such as Photoshop can be used to save large aerial images. If you want to reduce your size of jpg without sacrificing quality, drop the quality of the image.

B. Avoid Plunging Geometry Heavy Furniture on the same layer

Geometric heavy furniture should not be placed on top of other items of furniture, and should be turned off when doesn't need to be used. You need to maintain your geometry's independence from other geometry by using groups to prevent it from blending with other geometry, so you can make updates quickly.

It is possible to change multiple items at once by changing one instance at a time. You will often encounter a lot of extra faces when downloading objects from the 3D warehouse. You can make your model faster by putting these objects into a group, on a layer, and turning them off when they are not needed.

C. Change Your Camera FOV

SketchUp's camera features a very narrow field of view by default. Set your camera's FOV to a wider one by using the zoom tool.

D. Furnishings from the 3D Warehouse

SketchUp's 3D warehouse offers a large number of free models. You can use these furnishings to add detail to your interior model without having to custom-model every item.

E. Use the Outliner to Organize Your Model

The outliner in your interior model gives you a lot of options. Different groups and components can easily organize with it. It can also be used for creating color options and color groups in your models that can quickly change as you go to organize your model. Create an object grouping system that is applicable across all objects in your model, like buildings.

It will take a long time to load all modeled objects if you keep them as parts or if you explode geometry in multiple small groups instead of one big group. If certain city blocks alter, only replacing them once would be more efficient. The Outliner lets you view your group, component, and section planes as hierarchical trees.

F. Download Materials from the 3D Warehouse

Materials from 3D warehouse models can be downloaded directly into SketchUp without downloading the models. Create new textures quickly using this functionality.

G. Styles

Some people like to use photorealistic renderings to showcase the 3D models they have created. SketchUp's styles can also be used to create presentation images. Then, you can use these to convey ideas without creating an incredibly detailed rendering. An image renderer creates photorealistic and non-photorealistic images by combining a 3D model with a rendering program.

SketchUp can use with a variety of rendering extensions. Identify the characteristics of the output you desire, taking into account your work stage and the nature of your project.

H. Unused Purge

Models from 3D Warehouse are likely to be used a lot. When you have erased or replaced components, styles, or materials from your model, SketchUp keeps them in case you need them later. SketchUp must be told to let them all go if you want them gone. The native SketchUp functionality of Purge Unused can drastically reduce the size of your files and speed up the saving and loading of models.

I. Name & Group Walls by Their Color

The outliner lets you group walls and faces you know you'll be changing a lot, then use the paint bucket to change their colors quickly. Organizing your options will allow you to move them around easily, making option analysis much easier.

J. Use Scenes to Save your Views

You're always going to come back to certain scenes when working in a model. When performing these actions, you will be able to navigate between the saved scenes quickly and easily. Maybe you never think about this, but it is something to consider.

An automatic five-minute save of a large model is rarely necessary. Increase the time between auto savings to decrease processing time. It's better to stop saving too often, so set an automatic save every half an hour.

To learn more, watch the following video tutorial.

Video Source: TheSketchUpEssentials