I am creating a rendering for a work project, but I’m still pretty new to Sketchup. I’m trying to make a rendering as close to a photo as possible. The photo is of a room we designed for a client:
Here is my rendering so far. My boss is pretty happy with it, but I wanted to see if there is anything I can do to make it as good as possible. Any advice?
What software are you using for the rendering output?
AFAIK he/she uses V-Ray
At first sight it seems to me that the curtains material might need some tweaking. In the photo it looks almost opaque and it diffuses the light coming through nicely. The same seems to apply to the “tent”. Creating that kind of materials is somewhat beyond my skill set, the one I had in a model of mine was based on a “two-sided” material. Maybe @eric-s or @mihai.s could come to the rescue?
Yes, I use V-Ray, thanks!
Side-by-side comparisons are easier to spot differences:
Here are some suggestions to consider comparing side by side. Overall this looks great. Small adjustments will get it closer.
Also keep in mind that ‘good’ is subjective. To get better tips, it helps if YOU can identify the areas you want to improve and WE can help show you how to do it.
To soften shadows increase size of sun. Default 1:
vs 100 (look at the sphere preview)
Also look at ‘Highlight Burn’ in the exposure settings. Bring it down to soften the light even more and reduce over exposed areas.
While I don’t have your model so I can’t render it properly, see how just the highlight burn and white balance are getting it closer in line to the look of the original.
I use Enscape, so I can’t offer technical help on V-ray but overall I can suggest a few things.
If you know the recessed can light fixture model used, most manufacturers provide an ies file that is a light profile on how that particular fixture throws light in all directions. This can help with the realism.
Use SU’s photo-match feature if you want your rendering to align as closely as possible to the photo.
It’s tricky, but try to achieve better translucent material effects for the curtains as well as the play tent. In Enscape, for a frosted glass door with some vertical texture I used a bump map of with a linear texture for a similar effect.
Pay attention to levels of sheen on surfaces, for instances the ceiling is a flat paint, but in your rendering I think I see the curtains reflecting in the ceiling as if it were a glossy paint.
Hope that helps 
YouTube search - ‘courtain V-Ray’, ‘round edges’
