How to use SketchUp & Vray for Virtual Furniture Staging

There are several ways we can use SketchUp’s Match Photo feature and this tutorial is just one of them. We like to show our clients exactly what a built-in project will look like before we get started on construction, because we want to make them glad.

With SketchUp’s Match Photo feature, we can build a 3D model on top of the actual photo of the space we will be working on to show how our design proposal will fit in with the old or the existing. This way, we’ll have a better chance of avoiding any costly surprises and labor pains .

Step 1: Think before you shoot

3 things to consider before you take the photo you’ll import:

  • Find the best view of the room when you take a picture.
  • Look for 3 axis lines in the photo by including straight lines such as corners, doors, windows, etc.
  • Make sure to take a couple of key measurements from the physical space for scaling later on.

Step 2: Import the photo in SketchUp

Click Window then Match Photo.

Then click the plus (+) sign on the upper left corner of the dialog box. And your scene should look something like this. Make sure you select Inside (the one with the red border) beside Style since we are creating an interior scene.

Take a look at the green, red and blue lines. These represent the axes. Just drag 'em on the corners and edges in the picture to assign the axes.

Step 3: Trace the picture

This is where the magic happens. It’s like you’re tracing a photo like you would manually, but inside SketchUp, you’re tracing a photo in 3D, like the photo below. Pretty cool right?

When you’re done tracing, select Project textures from photo from the Match Photo dialog box.

Step 4: Add materials and components

Step 5: Render

Then just adjust the brightness and contrast in Photoshop (or whatever photo-editing software you prefer) and crop.

AND VOILA! A before-and-after of the scene!

View more Tutorials and Digital Goodies at MatriArch Design + Build.

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