Adding an Environment to a Model

Environments allow you to add 360°panoramic backgrounds and image-based lighting conditions to your SketchUp models. The Environments panel is where you can add and manipulate environments, or import High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) files or OpenEXR files to create a new environment.

 

Based on HDRI and OpenEXR files, environments provide a 360° view of a location from a single viewpoint and store the real-world values for the lighting and reflections of that location. The dynamic effects of SketchUp’s photoreal materials result from interaction with the properties of the environment. Together, environments and materials can be used to generate more nuance, dynamism, and realism in SketchUp scenes.

Adding an environment

In the Select tab, SketchUp provides a default library of environments you can choose from. Each default selection offers different lighting effects and will cause unique reactions in your photoreal materials. Some environments provide a different flavor of outdoor light. Others mute light from above, favoring indoor usage.

 

Clicking a thumbnail adds that environment to your model. The name and a full view of that environment will appear in the top section of the panel.

With the navigation options in the Select tab you can:

  • Inspect the environments you’ve added to your model.
  • Deactivate an environment, or delete environments from your model..
  • Manage environments in custom collections collection.
  • Adjust the size of the thumbnails you see and change to list view.
  • Refresh your list of environments.

To add your own HDRI or OpenEXR file, click Add Environment ( ). You can then browse your device and add your file. The environment will be added to your model and a thumbnail representing that environment will be visible in the In-Model category of the Select tab.

Tip: 3D Warehouse offers even more environments you can use in your models. To get started, see Environments in 3D Warehouse or take a look at the Environments section of the SketchUp Content Library.

Editing an environment

The Edit tab is where you adjust how an environment interacts with your model.

 

You can control how the environment appears and its lighting with the following options:

  • Set Sun Location – When selected, shadows activate in the model, and a sun icon appears in the environment thumbnail. This sun icon indicates the source of sun within the environment. You can control the location of the sun -- the source of shadows -- manually by click-dragging the icon in the thumbnail, or by using the sliders adjacent to the thumbnail. This setting overrides the settings in the Shadows panel derived from geolocation and time of day/year.
  • Use Environment as Skydome – When selected, SketchUp will use your selected environment as a spherical 360-degree skydome. Uncheck to deactivate the skydome. Lighting effects of the environment will still apply to your model.
  • Use Environment for Reflections – When selected, photoreal materials will use the environment to dynamically reflect light.
  • Rotation Angle – Moving this slider rotates the environment around its center point and will change its lighting.
  • Skydome-Exposure – Moving this slider adjusts the brightness of the environment's skydome.
  • Reflections-Exposure – Moving this slider adjusts the brightness of reflected light on your model.
Note: Not all Styles utilize photoreal materials and environments. Make sure your selected Style uses the Display Photoreal Materials face style. For more information see Creating and Editing a Style and Face Settings.
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