Getting Started Tutorials
This is a series of four video tutorials to help you getting started with SketchFX.
Introduction to SkletchFX
A brief introduction to the workspace of SketchFX.
What’s new in SkletchFX 4.0!
Version 4.0 brings a lot of new features and improvements to SketchFX for SketchUp. In this video we’ll show the main changes introduced in this release.
Note: effects whose name ends with (AO) will need the AmbientOcclusion extension to be installed. You can get a free trial at the link below.
SketchFX proudly uses G’MIC – GREYC’s Magic for Image Computing, covered by CeCILL free software licenses.
Tools
These tools are located in the main toolbar of SketchFX
Update viewport re-applying all the effects;
Stop current task;
Create a new project;
Open a saved project;
Save current project:
Save SketchUp’s viewport as an image file;
Set resolution;
Render animation (Ex version only);
Batch rendering (Ex version only);
Add a new effect;
Remove selected layers;
Move selected layer up;
Move selected layer down;
Open documentation.
Create a new project;
Open a saved project;
Save current project:
Set resolution;
Render animation (Ex version only);
Add a new effect;
Remove selected layers;
Open documentation.Auto update: if on, every change to the viewport or to an effect’s parameter will force recomputation;
Purge styles: certain effects (Style and Image from scene transition) will add styles to SketchUp’s project. If this option is turned on, unused styles will be automatically purged everytime the effects are applied.
Full update: by default, SketchFX recomputes just the modified effects. Turn this option on if you want to make sure that every effect is recomputed.
Presets
The list of ready to use presets in SketchFX. NOTE: presets ending with “AO” require AmbientOcclusion plugin
Architectural 1
Architectural 2 AO
Architectural 2
Architectural 3
City 1
City 2
City Night 1
Macro 1
Macro 2
Mechanical 1 AO
Mechanical 1
Mechanical 2 AO
Mechanical 2
Night lights
Pen 1 AO
Pen 1
Pen Realistic 1 AO
Pencil 1 AO
Pencil 1
Pencil 2 AO
Pencil 2
Pencil 3 AO
Pencil 3
Pencil 4 AO
Pencil 4
Pencil 5 AO
Pencil 5
Pencil 6 AO
Pencil 6
Realistic Exterior AO
Realistic Interior AO
Style Split
Style Transfer 1 AO
Style Transfer 1
Watercolor – Daytime
Watercolor – Sunset
Watercolor 2 AO
Watercolor 2
Watercolor 3
X-ray Hole
Effects documentation
All the information you need to understand SketchFX’s effects
SketchFX applies a series of visual effects one after the other in a bottom down order. There are three kind of effects:
Image
Generates an image from different sources: file, SketchUp scene, a particular style or even a constant color; images can be affected by child effects;
Filter
Alters an image with its particular properties; can be an Image child or can affect all the previous (above) effects;
Mask
Hides or shows only certain areas of an Image. Can only be child of an Image.
Image from file
Shared parameters
This is a list of parameters shared by the effects
Common parameters
Every effect has the following parameters:
- Name: name of the effect; if not empty, it will be displayed in the effects list;
- Visible: toggle effect.
Image common parameters
Every image effect has the following parameters:
- Common parameters
- Blend mode: how the image mixes with the previous (above) effects;
- Opacity: how much the image will mix with previous effects;
- Use depth as mask: if on, portions of the image corresponding to parts of SketchUp’s viewport without any geometry (for example, sky or ground) will be considered transparent;
- Invert mask: if on, the previous mask will be inverted;
- Smooth mask: if on, borders of the mask will be smoothed.
Filter common parameters
Every filter has the following parameters:
- Common parameters;
- Affect previous only: if on, the filter will be a child of the previous (above) effect and will be applied only to it.
Mask common parameters
Every mask has the following parameters:
- Common parameters;
- Invert mask: if on, the mask will be inverted;
- Mask operation: controls how the mask will operate on previous (above) masks.
Blend modes
- Normal: simple linear interpolation;
- Overlay: overlay mix, useful to blend images without loosing details;
- Multiply: multiply each pixel;
- Add: sum each pixel;
- Subtract: subtracts pixel values from previous image;
- Difference: result will be the absolute difference between pixel values;
- Hard light: hard light mix, useful to enhance shadows;
- Screen: screen mix, useful to add highlights;
- Color burn: operates on saturation of both images, giving a “burn” result;
- Color on dark: the color of the previous image is kept where current image is dark, otherwise it’s set to white.
Images
The images you can generate with SketchFX
Image from file
- Image common parameters;
- Filename: path to image file. Can be an absolute path or can be relative to SketchUp model’s directory. You can also use the images contained in “Images” subfolder inside SketchFX’s installation folder: also in this case you just need to insert the file name without the complete path;
- Preserve proportions: if on, aspect ratio will be maintained.
Image from scene
- Image common parameters;
- Scene: the number (starting from 1) of the SketchUp scene you want to use as source for the image.
Image from scene transition
This effect is a powerful tool to mix two SketchUp scenes with potentially different styles. A series of steps will be performed to create a smooth transition between the scenes.
- Image common parameters;
- Scene 1: the number (starting from 1) of the SketchUp scene you want to use as first source for the image;
- Scene 2: the number (starting from 1) of the SketchUp scene you want to use as second source for the image;
- Steps: how many steps will be generates;
- Transition blend mode: how every step of the transition will be mixed with the previous one; see blend modes;
- Transition start opacity: how much of the Scene 2 will be blended at the beginning of the transition;
- Transition end opacity: how much of the Scene 2 will be blended at the end of the transition;
- Style mix mode: if “Default”, the two scenes’ styles will be mixed using SketchUp’s default mode. If “Blend” the two styles will be linerly interpolated during the transition.
AmbientOcclusion
This effect uses AmbientOcclusion to generate a rendered layer. AmbientOcclusion must be installed in order to use this feature.
- Image common parameters;
- Background: add a background image if active;
- Background file name: when background is active, is where the background image file is located;
- Preserve background proportion: when background is active, this option, if enabled, will make the background image preserve its original size ratio;
- Preset: AmbientOcclusion preset;
- Override next parameters: if checked, parameters below this option will override the ones contained in the chosen preset;
- Color mode: AmbientOcclusion render mode; can be black and white or colored. If “Set in AmbientOcclusion” is used, AmbientOcclusion’s color mode is selected. Colored mode is unavailable with AmbientOcclusion Lite;
- Quality: AmbientOcclusion quality;
- Gain: determines how bright will be the layer;
- OcclusionDistance: how far must be an object to affect another;
- Lens radius: controls depth of field effect;
- Bump scale: how much bump will be scaled;
- Section cuts: toggles SketchUp’s section cuts;
- Shadow enabled: toggles shadows;
- Shadow contrast: how dark will be shadows;
- Shadow softness: how soft will be shadows;
- AO opacity: geometry opacity while rendering with AmbientOcclusion;
- Background color: color used for AmbientOcclusion background.
Style
- Image common parameters;
- Background: add a background image if active;
- Background file name: when background is active, is where the background image file is located;
- Preserve background proportion: when background is active, this option, if enabled, will make the background image preserve its original size ratio;
- Style file name: path to style file. Can be an absolute path or can be relative to SketchUp model’s directory. You can also use the images contained in “styles” subfolder inside SketchFX’s installation folder: also in this case you just need to insert the file name without the complete path;
- Default style: use a default SketchUp’s style. This parameter will be ignored if “Style file name” parameters is not empty;
- Shadows: toggle shadows;
- Keep after process: if on, this style will be set into SketchUp’s after applying all the effects.
Color
- Image common parameters;
- Color: the color of the image to be generated.
Gradient image
Generate gradient image from viewport.
- Image common parameters;
- Power: power used to generate gradient. Hi power values will discard more details;
- Mode: which channels will be used to generate the gradient;
- Grayscale: if active, output image will be in black and white.
Filters
All the filters you can apply to images
Hue, saturation, value
- Filter common parameters;
- Hue: hue variation;
- Saturation: saturation variation;
- Value: value variation.
Brightness, contrast
- Filter common parameters;
- Brightness: brightness variation;
- Contrast: contrast variation.
Gamma, exposure
- Filter common parameters;
- Gamma: gamma variation;
- Exposure: exposure variation.
Depth of field
- Filter common parameters;
- Algorithm: the type of algorithm to perform depth of field;
- Focus Z: where along the depth there will be full focus, in inches. This parameters will be ignored if “Autofocus” parameter is on;
- Power: how much of this effect will be applied.
Blur
- Filter common parameters;
- Size: how big will be the filter;
- Weight: how strong will be the filter.
Radial blur
- Filter common parameters;
- Size: size of the filter;
- Center X: the center along x screen axis of the filter: 0 = right, 1 = left;
- Center Y: the center along y screen axis of the filter: 1 = bottom, 0 = top;
- Start radius: the radius (from center) where the filter will start to be applied;
- Aspect ratio: aspect ratio of the filter;
- Steps: the number of steps used to perform the filter.
Bloom
- Filter common parameters;
- Size: size of the filter;
- Brightness: brightness of the filter.
Vignette
- Filter common parameters;
- Radius: vignette’s radius;
- Power: power of the filter.
Artistic paint
- Filter common parameters;
- Use parent as source: if active an “Affect previous only” is active, the source of the filter will be its parent and not the result the previous sibling (if any);
- Algorithm: can be “Paint 1” or “Paint 2”.
“Paint 1” parameters:
- Radius: radius used to create the effect; the bigger the more you’ll have a painted an imprecise look;
- Intensity: intensity of the filter.
“Paint 2” parameters:
- Iterations: the number of iterations used by the filter. The lower, the more details you’ll lose;
- Abstraction: how much the result will be far from the original image;
- Radius: size of the stroke;
- Canvas: how much the canvas will be visible.
Fog
- Filter common parameters;
- Start: where the fog starts, repect to depth;
- End: where the fog reaches its maximum, respect to depth;
- Normalize: if on, “Start” and “End” parameters will be normalized: 0 means where the SketchUp’s geometry starts, 1 where SketchUp’s geometry ends; if off, “Start” and “End” parameters represent depth in inches;
- Amount: how much fog;
- Type: controls how fog intensity changes along depth;
- Color: fog’s color.
Temperature, tint
- Filter common parameters;
- Temperature: temperature variation;
- Tint: tint variation.
Invert
Invert image colors.
Sketch
Apply a sketchy style to an image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Use parent as source: if active an “Affect previous only” is active, the source of the filter will be its parent and not the result the previous sibling (if any);
- Algorithm: the kind of sketch algorithm to apply. Can be “Pencil 1”, “Pencil 2”, “Pencil 3”, “Pencil 4” or “Pen 1”;
- Blend opacity: how much of the sketch result has to be blended with the source image;
- Blend mode: see blend modes.
“Pencil 1” and “Pen 1” parameters:
- Radius: line’s width;
- Density: determine how dense the lines will be;
- Variance: how much randomness will be used while drawing;
- Detail size: how much blur will be used on the original image. When using high values smaller details will be discarded;
- Direction: lines direction;
- Max brightness: source image’s pixels with brightness greater than this parameter will be skipped;
- Use custom color: when active, a custom color will be used instead of source color;
- Custom color: the custom color to be used when “Use custom color” is active;
- Use background color: when active, a custom color will be used as background before drawing lines;
- Background color: the background color to be used when “Use background color” is active;
- Grayscale (“Pen 1” only): when active, lines will have a black and white.
“Pencil 2” parameters:
- Amount: quantity of lines in the sketch;
- Base amount: how much sketch lines have to be drawn even on white canvas;
- Threshold: the higher this value, the more contrast you’ll get;
- Curve amount: curve factor of sketch lines;
- Blur: blur amount.
“Pencil 3” parameters:
- Stroke length: the length of the lines used to draw the sketch;
- Stroke angle: the direction of the lines;
- Color: lines’ color.
“Pencil 4” parameters:
- Number of orientations: how many directions will be used;
- Starting angle: the starting direction of the lines;
- Angle range: angle range of the directions;
- Stroke length: the length of the lines used to draw the sketch;
- Background intensity: how much sketch lines have to be drawn even on white canvas;
- Density: density of the lines;
- Anisotropy: the higher this value, the more lines can be curved;
- Boost stroke: if active, lines will be thicker;
- Curved stroke: if active, lines can be curved;
- Model: can be “Black on white”, “White on black” and “Color on white”.
“Pencil 5” parameters:
- Amplitude: the length of the lines;
- Density: lines’ density;
- Opacity: lines’ opacity;
- Edge threshold: the higher this value, the less lines you’ll get.
Color
Assign a color to an image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Color: the color to be assigned to the image;
- Amount: how much color has to be assigned.
Sharpen
Make an image sharpen.
- Filter common parameters;
- Algorithm: can be “Inverse diffusion” or “Shock filter”;
- Size: controls the strength of the effect;
- Edge (“Shock filter” only): edge threshold;
- Alpha (“Shock filter” only): gradient smoothness;
- Sigma (“Shock filter” only): tensor smoothness.
Cartoon
Apply cartoon filter to image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Use parent as source: if active an “Affect previous only” is active, the source of the filter will be its parent and not the result the previous sibling (if any);
- Blend opacity: how much of the sketch result has to be blended with the source image;
- Blend mode: see blend modes.
- Smoothness: how smooth areas with the same color will be;
- Sharpening: the amount of sharpening after the filter is applied;
- Threshold: the higher, the smaller range of colors will be considered;
- Thickness: thickness of contour lines;
- Color: controls the saturation of the filter;
- Quantization: how many colors will be used.
Engrave
Apply engrave filter to image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Use parent as source: if active an “Affect previous only” is active, the source of the filter will be its parent and not the result the previous sibling (if any);
- Blend opacity: how much of the sketch result has to be blended with the source image;
- Blend mode: see blend modes.
- Radius: radius of the filter;
- Threshold: the higher, the smaller range of colors will be considered.
Style transfer
Transfer the style of a source image to image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Use parent as source: if active an “Affect previous only” is active, the source of the filter will be its parent and not the result the previous sibling (if any);
- Blend opacity: how much of the sketch result has to be blended with the source image;
- Blend mode: see blend modes.
- File name: the source image containing the style to transfer;
- Style amount: how much of the style has to be transferred.
Gradient
Extracts the gradient from an image.
- Filter common parameters;
- Power: the strength of the filter;
- Mode: can be “Color only”, “Depth only” or “Color and depth”. This parameter controls which source or sources have to be used to compute the gradient;
- Grayscale : if active, the output will be using a grayscale, otherwise the gradient will be color-wise.
Masks
All the masks you can apply to images or viewport
Radial mask
- Mask common parameters;
- Center X: the center along x screen axis of the mask: 0 = right, 1 = left;
- Center Y: the center along y screen axis of the mask: 1 = bottom, 0 = top;
- Start radius: start radius of the mask;
- End radius: end radius of the mask;
- Aspect: aspect ratio of the mask.
Linear mask
- Mask common parameters;
- Center X: the center along x screen axis of the mask: 0 = right, 1 = left;
- Center Y: the center along y screen axis of the mask: 1 = bottom, 0 = top;
- Size: size of the transition between visible and invisible parts of the mask;
- Angle: angle of the mask.
Image mask
- Mask common parameters;
- File name: path to the image used as mask;
- Use transparency as mask: if on and if the source image has a transparency channel, this channel will be used as mask.
Depth mask
- Mask common parameters;
- Start: where the mask starts, repect to depth;
- End: where the mask is completely visible, respect to depth;
- Normalize: if on, “Start” and “End” parameters will be normalized: 0 means where the SketchUp’s geometry starts, 1 where SketchUp’s geometry ends; if off, “Start” and “End” parameters represent depth in inches.
Gradient mask
Generate a mask from gradient image.