Hi! I wonder if it is possible to have different styles on separate objects and/or layers?
For instance, I want the main layer and objects in a style that is outline and “sketchy” with some transparency, and then a layer called “highlights” where i want to create objects which should be in the color orange and as the layer name suggest highlight parts on top of the main layer.
As it is now, these objects gets the same style as the main layer, which takes off the effect of highlighting.
Not supported but it could be one of the best features. This would be useful in so many cases, like showing the addition in a sketchy style, or the background in a toned down style.
As noted above, this is currently done using stacked viewports in Layout. The Style settings are global and effect everything in the scene.
However, you can achieve a similar “highlights” look to help focus attention on specific parts of the model from within SketchUp, with limited options, using the Tag settings for color and Tag Dashes settings, and the color by tag option.
You can set the color for a Tag to be any level of transparency by clicking on the color next to that tag in the tags panel, and using the color picker as you normally would. You can also set the line style for that tag in the Tags window.
In the image below I have two Tags, one for the highlighted item with normal lines and an orange color. One for the rest of the model with a transparent grey as the color and dashed lines. Then I select the “color by tag” option from the top right of the Tags window.
Of course none of the mentioned options will work for you with SketchUp Make. You could make image exports with different styles and combine them in an image editor. SketchUp Make doesn’t support dashed edges but the other things could be done.
The problem with that is that you typically lose the link to the model. If you want to change the camera angle a little or do a change to the design the image needs to be recreated.
I realised I can try out Pro for a while. And now I noticed that the panel “Layers” seemed to switch name to “Tags” in Pro. I forgot to mention that my goal is to export an animation mp4 at the end so the workaround to export stills and edit in other apps is not applicable in my case. I’ve did that first, export a mp4, then edit it in After Effects to add on the highlights but it was a heck of trouble to make the highlights follow the moves… looked like a movie from the 70s with that eras edit possibilities… shaky and mismatch style.
So I need to add the highlights direct in Sketchup and export the movie. That way they will stay at place at least.
You are correct, “Layers” were renamed “Tags” in 2020. They function exactly the same way (apart from the new ability to adjust line style in individual tags). For tutorials, best practices, and basic function the names are interchangeable.
Color by tag is a great option for exporting videos with a highlighted part. You can turn color by tags on and off, it will not prevent normal use of textures in your model. Keep in mind that if you are making scenes to export an animation from, after selecting color by tag you will need to update the style and update the scene to make color by tag be saved for that scene.
Stay safe!
