Sketchup To Blender



Blender is such a powerful tool that can take your SketchUp models to a new level, with photorealistic rendering, simulations, subsurface modeling, animations and sculpting to name just a few areas. I’ve outlined my process for importing SketchUp models into Blender, which relies on my free DAEClean add-on. Then save the sketchup file in sketchup 5.now press the first button on the new toolbar marked 'export model to kerkythea' 6.select the options as shown below geometry 'yes' lights 'no' clay 'no' photomatched 'no' default uvs 'yes' instanced 'no' 7.click 'ok' then give the file a name 8.click 'save' then wait 9.on the box that now pops up click.

  • Once the “export progress” reaches 100% you can import your new OBJ file from Sketchup to Blender. File Import OBJ. After you export your file, open Blender. Navigate to “file” and select “import.”.
  • Blender Artists is an online creative forum that is dedicated to the growth and education of the 3D software Blender. Hello, I’ve created a model of a vehicle on Sketchup. The model is full of repeated groups and components (eg. Components for doors, articulations, etc.).

In many projects related to architectural visualization using Blender, you can have a starting point from a model received from a client in another software, such as SketchUp. It is quite common to get a SketchUp file from the client and get a request to make it look “pretty” with a render in Cycles. Unfortunately, you don’t have a default option to import SKP files in Blender.

Is there a way to import SketchUp files in Blender? Better yet, can you import them in Blender 2.9?

A couple of weeks ago, we posted some news regarding one of the few working Add-ons that enabled Blender to import data from SketchUp, which was originally a project from developer Martijn Berger. The project was left untouched for a long time until Arindam Mondal forked the script and updated the code to version 2.8.

The latest release from Arindam Mondal is version 0.21 of the script, which works with Blender 2.83 LTS and also Blender 2.9! The script uses SketchUp 2020 SDK, which makes it compatible with the latest SKP versions available.

Sketchup To Blender

Sketchup To Blender Render

How to install the SketchUp importer for Blender 2.9? After visiting the previous link and downloading the latest release from Arindam Mondal, you can open the Edit → Preferences menu in Blender 2.9 and use the “Install” button from the Add-ons tab.

Sketchup To Blender Addon

There you can point to the downloaded file and install the Add-on. Enable the tool in your Add-ons, and it appears as a new option from the File → Import menu.

Based on my personal experience with the import process of SketchUp files to Blender, you should keep in mind that a few errors might appear when getting SKP data to Blender. The most common issues are faces with dozens of triangles, which doesn’t work well with modifiers such as the Subdivision surface. For that reason, a lot of artists still find it more productive to rebuild the model again in Blender.

In any case, you can use the Add-on to include SKP files in your architectural visualization workflow with Blender.

We hope the developer can add versions of the script for Linux and macOS in the future.

Using Blender for architecture

Do you want to use Blender for architecture or render your projects using Cycles or Eevee? We have three books available that could help you!

They cover the use of Blender for producing architectural content and also all information you need to render projects in real-time:

You can get them in both digital and paperback formats. By ordering those books, you will not only improve your skills with Blender for architecture but also support Blender 3D Architect.

Name SKP OBJ
Full nameSketchUp DocumentOBJ geometry format
File extension.skp.obj
MIME typetext/plain
Developed byGoogleWavefront Technologies
Type of format
DescriptionSketchUp program (easy-to-use 3D design software that enables conceptual designs to be generated, viewed and shared quickly and easily) three-dimensional model file that may be placed within Google Earth or shared through the 3D Warehouse option.OBJ (or .obj) is a geometry definition file format first developed by Wavefront Technologies for its Advanced Visualizer animation package. The file format is open and has been adopted by other 3D graphics application vendors.
Technical detailsThe OBJ file format is a simple data-format that represents 3D geometry alone — namely, the position of each vertex, the UV position of each texture coordinate vertex, vertex normals, and the faces that make each polygon defined as a list of vertices, and texture vertices. Vertices are stored in a counter-clockwise order by default, making explicit declaration of face normals unnecessary. OBJ coordinates have no units, but OBJ files can contain scale information in a human readable comment line.
File conversion SKP conversion OBJ conversion
Associated programsGoogle SketchUp, IMSI TurboCAD Deluxe 18Wavefront 3D, CADRazor, Adobe Photoshop, LogiKal, UVMapper, LightWave 3D, Autodesk Maya, IMSI TurboCAD Deluxe, MeshLab, MAXON Cinema 4D, Smith Micro Poser, Autodesk AutoCAD.
Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SketchUp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_.obj_file