Shaderlight Limited, a rendering software maker, has updated its popular rendering plugin for the latest version of SketchUp, version 2018.
Shaderlight 2018
Shaderlight is an interactive rendering plugin for SketchUp. Known for its ease of use, the program features real-world materials and accurate lighting results, plus cloud-rendering for animation work that can then be viewed with the Shaderlight Cloud Viewer.
Shaderlight supports a 14-day trial of Shaderlight Pro, with all features enabled. After that trial period, it defaults to regular Shaderlight but is still useable. Pro features include SketchUp Scene animations, Replace Me Rendering, Replace Me Creation, and numerous lighting features, including support for IES profiles to allow realistic renders of manufacturers lights.
01 – Shaderlight 2018 has been released, offering support for SketchUp 2018 and new features like support for thick transparent materials. (image: Shaderlight Ltd. / Architosh. All rights reserved)
The pro version also supports custom backgrounds and physical sky. Most importantly, images created with the free version only render to 640×480 resolution, while the pro version supports massive resolution limits.
New Features in 2018
The latest version offers more than just support for the latest version of SketchUp. You can now render soft shadows with IES light profiles. And Shaderlight 2018 supports a new transparent material, useful for rendering large bodies of water or thick, solid glass objects.
Availability and Cost
Shaderlight 2018 in the pro version ships for 299.USD. Upgrades are available for older versions. It is available for both macOS and Windows operating systems. There are also networking licensing options, educational and timed access options. Learn more here.