Key details

V-Ray training, teaching techniques for creating photo-realistic 3D architectural and interior design scenes from your SketchUp models.

The V-Ray for SketchUp renderer provides a designer-friendly solution offering faster rendering, better lighting tools, and the ability to create and visualise complex scenes.

Our SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray course teaches you how to use SketchUp in conjunction with V-Ray to create scenes incorporating features such as:

• Lighting (daylight, sunlight and skylight).
• Reflective surfaces.
• Moving cameras.

This course is highly practical and hands-on.

SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray training is arranged on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group. Your training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing.

In-class or online

This course is available in-class at eight centres or live online.

Windows or Mac

V-Ray works similarly on the Windows and Mac platforms.

Our centres offer both Windows and Mac computers for delegates to use, so you can choose to carry out exercises on the platform you’re familiar with.

Expert trainer

V-Ray training is hosted by Rod Cleasby, a highly-experienced instructor with vast professional experience of using SketchUp, V-Ray and other renderers professionally.

Training guide and certificate

Course delegates receive an e-certificate confirming successful completion of V-Ray training.

Because of the bespoke nature of this course, there isn’t an appropriate training guide. We recommend delegates make their own notes.

After course support

Following V-Ray training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

Prerequisites

Delegates should be familiar with the fundamentals of SketchUp, i.e. have attended our Introduction to SketchUp course or have equivalent knowledge.

SketchUp and V-Ray version

Training can be based on any recent version of SketchUp Pro and V-Ray to suit you, running on Windows or Mac.

General information

Course times

Standard course times are 9.30am–4.30pm.

As we’d be hosting this as a ‘closed course’ for you/your group, there’s usually flexibility to change these times to suit you, e.g. start or end 30 minutes earlier or later.

Payment

Payment for V-Ray training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Card payments are processed by Stripe. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Accommodation

See Accommodation local to our training centres.

Cancellations and postponements

If an on-request SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray course booking is cancelled giving less than 20 working days’ notice, a cancellation fee is payable. View cancellation terms.

If an on-request SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray course booking is postponed giving less than 20 working days’ notice, a postponement fee is payable. View postponement terms.

Terms and conditions

Expert trainer

SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray training courses are hosted by:

• Rod Cleasby
• Ricardo De Jesus

Rod Cleasby

Rod has over 25 years’ experience working as a designer, visualisation expert and artist. His specialist areas include architecture, interior design and the production of photorealistic 3d virtual environments. 

AutoCAD, 3ds Max and SketchUp have been the mainstay of Rod’s professional work for 20 years. He is also an expert in various related tools and technologies, including Photoshop, and he has expert knowledge of a wide range of renderers, including V-Ray, ART, Arnold and LightUp.

Rod has extensive training experience. He has worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster on their Computer Visualisation course, and he is a long-established Autodesk Certified Instructor.

Away from his professional work, Rod is an accomplished artist and musician, and a prolific writer of novels, novella, poetry and prose.

Ricardo De Jesus

Ricardo is a creative and passionate Autodesk Certified Instructor with over 18 years’ experience delivering professional training to clients in the UK and overseas.

As a former architect with a strong foundation in visual design and technical drawing, Ricardo has expert industry knowledge. He is a skilled user of industry-leading software tools including AutoCAD, 3ds Max, SketchUp and Cinema 4D, and the most popular renderers used with these applications including Redshift and V-Ray.

He now focuses on training, passing on his knowledge to help learners master these applications. Committed to lifelong learning in digital design, Ricardo enjoys adapting teaching strategies to meet the needs of all learners.

Course content

What is possible using SketchUp in conjunction with V-Ray?

Intermediate Modelling techniques

Getting to understand V-Ray materials

What makes a good texture?

Where to find textures

How to edit textures

Limits to graphics and bitmaps

And how to manage your textures

Getting to know lighting

Adding lights and updating scenes

Using the different types of lights

Colour temperature and IES

Getting to understand V-Ray camera

Exposure and white point

Techniques for rapid setup

Rendering scenes

Digital output

Files and formats

Do’s and don’ts

Vary quality settings for faster scene creating
Control output quality and render speeds

2D to 3D

Modelling requirements for visualisation

Using follow me techniques

Using push pull techniques

More components

Choosing groups or components

Controlling V-Ray frame buffer

Saving 2D graphics out automatically

File types and properties when and where

V-Ray materials editor

Adding layers

Previews

Controlling shiny materials

Adding bumps and bitmaps

Discovering ambient occlusion

Advanced modelling techniques

Magic Box modelling techniques

Polygon modelling techniques

Projected UVW mapping

Adjusting mapping size

Adjusting mapping position

Locking mapping

Using Alpha channels

Preparing graphics with Alpha channels

Rendered output and Photoshop

Practical exercises from concept to render

Hardware requirements

Live online training

Online training lets you participate in a live V-Ray course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Watch our trainer demonstrate techniques in V-Ray.
• Interact by speaking, using chat, or raising your ‘virtual hand’ if you need assistance.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online SketchUp – Rendering with V-Ray courses…

• Are presented by expert instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises using V-Ray.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with…

• V-Ray installed.
• A webcam and audio capability. If your computer running V-Ray doesn’t have these, you can use a second device, such as another computer or tablet. See Hardware recommendations for live online training for further details.

If there’s anything you’re not sure about we’ll do our best to help you. We won’t, however, be able to assist with your V-Ray installation.

We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. Then, a couple of days before your course, we’ll give you a courtesy call to make sure you have everything in place and answer any questions you may have.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time

Example

Typical image quality from SketchUp ‘out of the box’:

The same model rendered using V-Ray: