Render Fun tutorial series · Lesson 8 / 10

Render Fun Tutorial 8: Colour, Detail and the Final Look of a SketchUp Render

17 October 2026 · 3 min read · Ufuk Şen

The last ten percent of a render is its look. The best part: none of these settings restarts the render; they work instantly, even on a finished picture.

Ready-made looks and film filters

At the top of the Colour panel are the ready-made looks, one click each: Vivid for punchy colour, Soft for a gentle feel, Warm and Cool for mood, and Black and white. Film filters give the picture the mood of a film stock, such as Cinema or Vintage; then adjust the filter strength, the film grain and the vignette.

Film filters in the Colour panel, such as Cinema and Vintage

Colour management, exposure and white balance

Colour management turns light into colours. AgX keeps colours natural even in very bright light, so it is the default; ACES is more vivid, Filmic soft and classic.
Automatic exposure sets the brightness like your eye does; Brightness nudges it up or down.
Under Colour correction: contrast, saturation, temperature, highlights and shadows.
"Pick white point" sets the white balance: click a spot that should be white, such as the facade. "Reset colour correction" brings everything back.

Pick white point: clicking the facade sets the white balance

Detail: ambient occlusion, edges and clay

The Detail panel adds two artistic accents, with ready settings Off, Light, Strong and Drawing-like. Ambient occlusion deepens the soft shadows in corners and joints, and the edge accent outlines edges and grooves; Drawing-like goes further, for an illustrated look. Clay mode turns the whole model white, perfect for showing pure form and light; switch it off and the colours are back.