Preface

The art of capturing or interpreting reality is one that has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. First it resided with painters, many of whom took the study of light play and interaction with the world around them to new heights. Next came photographers, who quickly realized that this incredible new medium was not only capable of capturing a snapshot of the world, but also of interpreting and presenting it in a manner that made it a genuine art form.

Today, a computer graphics artist can use the tools at his or her disposal to create or recreate anything that real life or imagination can conjure up. And while artistic interpretation and style has been used in visualizing such creations, the pursuit of genuine photographic-looking images has long been a goal towards which many have striven.

With the ever increasing hardware power and the availability of feature-rich render engines, such as V-Ray for SketchUp, that pursuit is no longer quite as arduous as it once was. With an appetite for learning and a willingness to apply ourselves in a workman-like manner, anyone with a mind can now learn how to produce photographic-looking renders of virtual objects in what (just a few short years ago) would have seemed like an impossible time frame.

If the ability to produce such images is an artistic pursuit that sounds appealing to you, then you have a lot of cool stuff to look forward to in this book.