HOW TO CREATE REALISTIC POOL WATER IN SKETCH-UP AND KERKYTHEA

January 19, 2017

HOW TO CREATE REALISTIC POOL WATER IN SKETCH-UP AND KERKYTHEA

Hi everyone! I want to share my latest tutorial entitled: “How to create realistic pool water in Sketch Up and Kerkythea. For the knowledge of everyone, Kerkythea is a free standalone rendering plugin for SketchUp.

In this tutorial, we will show you three different methods on how to render realistic pool water inside Kerkythea. I will also discuss some important points on how to create effective environment settings in Kerkythea. Choosing the right environment setting(s) will enable us to produce such good-quality pool water scene.

Note: For educational purposes, we will be using the model ‘Mansão moderna’ by Anderson R. To download the model from 3D Warehouse click HERE

APPLYING WATER TEXTURE IN SKETCH UP AND EXPORTING KT XML FILE

STEP 1: Open your SKP model> apply water texture to your pool water model using ‘Paint Bucket Tool.’ Choose any available water textures from the Materials dialogue box. In this case, I will be using the ‘Water Pool Light’ texture.

STEP 2: Click the icon ‘Export Model to Kerkythea’ from the KT tool bar> follow the ‘Export Options’ settings> Click OK

STEP3: Open your exported xml file in Kerkythea

STEP 4: In order to see the model clearly, adjust the view from ‘Wireframe’ to ‘Solid Rendering’

WATER MATERIAL # 1: Kerkythea Wavy Water

STEP 1: Under KT ‘Settings’ Menu, Click the ‘Sun and Sky Wizard’> Click ‘Next’

STEP 2: Under ‘Sky Type’ Menu> Choose ‘Hemispherical Sky’ or ‘Spherical Sky’

STEP 3: Click ‘Map/ Color’> Select Sky background (HDRI, PNG or JPEG)> then click OK

STEP 4: Adjust the ‘Intensity and Turbidity, based on your preference

SKY BACKGROUND

STEP 5: Search the ‘Water Pool Light’ texture from the ‘Models’ material box> Right Click> select Apply Material> click ‘Wavy Water.’ To download the Wavy water KT Material click HERE

Wavy Water Material Settings

STEP 6: Click ‘Start Render’> Follow the ‘Camera and Settings’ parameter> click OK

RENDER RESULT

WATER MATERIAL # 2: Dielectric/ Glass Setting

Use the same Environment Setting and proceed to water material settings

STEP 1: Search the ‘Water Pool Light’ texture from the ‘Models’ material box> Right Click> click ‘Edit Material’> click ‘Set Dielectric/ Glass’> under the ‘Reflectance/ Transmittance, change the color of ‘Reflection’ and ‘Refraction’ into white> change the IOR value, here I used 1.33 (This is the typical IOR value of water).

Index of Refraction Reference Values

STEP 2: Adding bump maps to water material is a great way to add realism because bump maps add depth and detail to materials. Under the ‘Bump Mapping’, right click the ‘Texture’> click ‘Add Bitmap’> under ‘Bitmap Selection’ click ‘Browse’> Select the Bump map texture (JPEG)> click OK> type 0.5 value under ‘Bump Mapping Strength’

WATER BUMP MAP

STEP 3: Dielectric/ Glass Water Material Settings> click ‘Apply Changes when done’

RENDER RESULT

WATER MATERIAL # 3: Matte/ Phong Setting

STEP 1: Change the environment settings, to do that, go to ‘Settings’ Menu> Click the ‘Sun and Sky Wizard’ option> Click ‘Next’

STEP 2: Under the ‘Sky Type’ Menu> Choose ‘Background Fit Image’> Change the Intensity and Turbidity based on your preference> change the image of the ‘Map/ Color’> click ‘Finish’

BACKGROUND

STEP 3: Search the ‘Water Pool Light’ texture from the ‘Models’ material dialogue box> Right Click> click ‘Edit Material’> click ‘Set Matte/ Phong’ > right click the ‘Diffuse’> select ‘Add Bit Map’> under ‘Bitmap Selection’ click ‘Browse’> Select the Water texture (JPEG)> click OK> type 0.5 value under Diffuse ’Weighting.’