Environments

The environment surrounds your whole scene, like an infinitely large sphere (other software calls it a sky dome or environment map). It does two jobs at once:

1. It is the backdrop. Whatever the camera sees past your model is the environment.
2. It lights the scene. Light from every direction of the environment falls on your model and shows up in reflections, so the environment sets the mood of the whole render.

One HDRI provides the sky, the distant landscape, the sunlight and the soft shadows. There are no other lights in this scene apart from two dimmed lanterns.

Video

Sky, sun and HDRI drags an HDRI from the Asset Manager onto the render, turns its rotation to move the sun and sets its power, keeps the light but drops the background with Transparent, switches to the sky whose sun follows SketchUp’s Shadows panel, and ends with a plain color. To follow along, download its scene, rayscaper-environments.skp (9.9 MB): a pergola terrace with a lounge set. It works with the free version of Rayscaper.

Choosing an Environment Type

Rayscaper has three environment types. Pick the one that matches what you are making:

Type	What it is	Best for
Color	A single color in every direction	Product shots, clean studio renders, quick tests
HDRI	A 360° photo of a real place, including its light	Realistic lighting with minimal setup, interiors and exteriors
Sky	A computed sky, with a sun you can position	Exteriors where you control the time of day

A new model starts with a sky whose sun follows SketchUp’s Shadows panel, so the first render has the sunlight and the shadows you see in SketchUp. Auto Exposure is on as well, so rooms lit through a window come out as bright as a sunny exterior.

Environment Settings

All environment settings live in the Environment section of the Scene Editor. Choose a type with the Environment Type buttons at the top; the controls below them change with the type.

The Environment section with an HDRI selected.

One switch applies to every environment type:

Transparent

Hides the environment from the camera but keeps its light. Your model is lit and reflects exactly as before, while the background becomes transparent in the saved PNG.

Visible Background

The HDRI is visible behind the terrace.

Transparent Background

The same lighting, with a transparent background. The checkerboard shows where the image is transparent.

Tip

Use a transparent background to place your render on a photo, a brand color or a page layout in Photoshop, Figma or any other image editor. Inside Rayscaper, a checkerboard shows where the image is transparent, see Transparent Backgrounds.

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Environment Types

Color Environment

The simplest environment: one color in every direction. It lights the scene evenly from all sides, which gives soft, shadowless light, a clean backdrop and reflections without distractions.

White

White gives neutral, even light, the classic product shot look.

Light Blue

A light blue tints the shadows and the light, like an overcast sky.

Warm

A warm beige gives a softer, cozier mood.

Best for: product renders, catalog images, clay renders and quick lighting checks.

Setting	Default	Description
Power	0.8	Brightness of the background and of the light it casts. The slider runs from 0.01 to 100 on a logarithmic scale, so small values are easy to set.
Environment Color	White	The color of the background and of the light. Click the swatch to pick a color.

Night Scenes

For a night scene, choose Color and set the color to black. The background turns black and only the lights you placed yourself, such as point lights, spotlights and emissive materials, light the scene. For a dusk mood with some sky left, use a sky with the sun just below the horizon instead.

A black environment: the two lanterns are the only light sources.

Note

Older versions of Rayscaper had an Enabled switch to turn the environment off. A scene saved with the environment off still opens that way, and the Environment section shows a Turn On button.

Tip

A pure white environment at Power 1.0 to 1.5 is a good start for product shots on white. Because the light comes from every direction, you get no strong shadows. Add a light when you want shadows that define the shape.

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HDRI Environment

An HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) is a 360° photo of a real place that also stores how bright every part of it is, from the deepest shadow to the sun itself. Used as an environment, it lights your model the way that place would: direct sunlight, soft skylight, light bouncing off nearby buildings, and realistic reflections. It is the fastest way to a realistic render.

Sunny

A sunny sky with clouds: crisp shadows and a bright, fresh look.

Overcast

An overcast sky over a city: soft, even light with barely any shadows.

Golden Hour

A late afternoon sun, low behind the parapet on the right: warm light and long shadows.

Studio

A photo studio with softboxes: controlled light and a neutral backdrop, made for product shots.

Best for: architectural exteriors and interiors, products shown in context, and any render where realism matters.

Using an HDRI

1. Select HDRI as the environment type. A file dialog opens right away, choose an .hdr or .exr file.
2. Turn Rotation until the sun or the brightest part of the HDRI is where you want it.
3. Adjust Power until the brightness is right.
4. To switch to a different file later, click Open… next to the HDRI path.

Tip

You can also drag an HDRI from the Asset Manager onto the render viewport or onto the Environment section.

Note

HDRIs are different from regular photos. A JPG or PNG stores 256 brightness levels per channel and clips everything brighter, so the sun ends up as bright as a white wall. An HDRI keeps the real brightness of the sun and the sky, which is what makes the light and shadows look right. Regular images won’t light your scene correctly.

Where to Get HDRIs

The quickest source is the built-in Asset Manager. It gives you the full Poly Haven HDRI library inside Rayscaper: drag an HDRI onto the viewport and Rayscaper downloads and applies it.

You can also download HDRIs yourself from Poly Haven or ambientCG. Both offer hundreds of free, high-quality HDRIs under the CC0 license, so you can use them in any project, including commercial work.

Tip

Choose the HDRI for the light you want, not just for the background. A clear, sunny HDRI gives crisp shadows and strong contrast. An overcast HDRI gives soft, flattering light. A sunset HDRI gives warm light and long shadows.

HDRI Settings

Setting	Default	Description
HDRI Path		The HDRI file. Click Open… to choose a different one.
Power	0.8	Brightness multiplier, from 0.01 to 100 on a logarithmic scale.
Rotation	0°	Turns the HDRI around the vertical axis, from 0° to 360°. Use it to move the sun, and with it the shadows and reflections.

Rotation is the most useful HDRI setting. Turning the HDRI moves the sun around your model, which changes the direction of the shadows, which side of the model is lit, and what you see in the background:

Rotation 210°

The sun is behind the terrace on the left. The furniture is backlit and the shadows fall towards the camera.

Rotation 330°

The sun comes from the right. The side wall catches the full light and the shadows fall to the left.

Rotation 90°

The sun is behind the camera. The parapet is fully lit and the shadows fall away from the camera.

Power scales all the light of the HDRI. Lower it when the render is too bright or when the environment overpowers your own lights, and raise it when the render is too dark.

Power 0.3

Too dark: the lanterns now stand out, but the scene looks underexposed.

Power 1.0

Balanced: bright sunlight with detail in the shadows.

Power 3.0

Too bright: the sky and the walls wash out.

Note

Power changes the light itself. To make the finished image brighter or darker without changing the balance between the environment and your lights, use Exposure in the Post Processing section instead.

SketchUp Environment for HDRI

Note

This feature requires SketchUp 2025 or later.

If you already picked an environment in SketchUp’s Environments panel (in the Default Tray), Rayscaper can use it directly. Rayscaper then syncs:

• HDRI image: the SketchUp environment image becomes Rayscaper’s HDRI.
• Rotation: SketchUp’s environment rotation becomes Rayscaper’s Rotation.
• Exposure: SketchUp’s skydome exposure becomes Rayscaper’s Power.
• Linked sun: if Set Sun Location is on in SketchUp, Rayscaper adds a directional light called SketchUp Environment Sun that matches the sun direction of the environment.

To turn it on, choose Extensions > Rayscaper > Use SketchUp Environment for HDRI. A checkmark shows that it is active.

Turn on environment tracking in Extensions > Rayscaper > Use SketchUp Environment for HDRI.

SketchUp’s Environments panel. The HDRI, rotation, exposure and sun are all synced to Rayscaper.

While tracking is on, the Environment section shows Tracking SketchUp Environment and SketchUp controls the HDRI settings. Changes in SketchUp’s Environments panel update the render right away.

The Environment section while tracking a SketchUp environment.

The SketchUp Environment Sun light appears in the Lights section. You can change its intensity and color temperature there, but its direction always follows the environment.

The SketchUp Environment Sun directional light that Rayscaper creates for you.

Tip

This is the quickest route to realistic lighting: pick an environment in SketchUp, turn on tracking, and the HDRI and the sun are both set up for you.

Note

Don’t mix this up with Use SketchUp Sun for Sky. Use SketchUp Environment for HDRI lights your scene with the HDRI from SketchUp’s Environments panel. Use SketchUp Sun for Sky positions the sun of Rayscaper’s computed sky from SketchUp’s Shadows panel.

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Sky Environment

A sky environment computes the sky from a physical model of the atmosphere, so no image file is needed. The sky is always sharp, whatever your resolution, and you can put the sun exactly where you want it, for any time of day.

The sun at 30°: realistic sunlight, a soft blue sky and a visible sun.

Best for: exteriors and architectural renders where you control the sun, sun studies, and golden hour or dusk shots.

The sky simulates how sunlight scatters in Earth’s atmosphere: on air molecules, which make the sky blue, on dust, which makes it hazy, and in the ozone layer. Light that scatters more than once is simulated too, which gives a clear blue sky with a pale horizon. It’s the Nishita model with multiple scattering, the same as in Blender’s Sky Texture.

Note

Rayscaper used to offer the Hosek/Wilkie and Preetham sky models as well. A sky saved with one of them opens as the default sky.

Sun Elevation sets the time of day. The same sky turns from a deep blue noon sky into a warm sunset and then into dusk:

Midday

Sun Elevation 60°: bright, neutral light and short shadows.

Afternoon

Sun Elevation 30°: slightly warmer light and longer shadows.

Sunset

Sun Elevation 4°: orange light skimming across the terrace.

Dusk

Sun Elevation -0.5°: the sun has just set, the sky glows faintly and the lanterns take over.

The sky settings are grouped into the sky, the sun and the atmosphere.

Sky Settings

Setting	Default	Description
Preset	Clear	Sets the haze and the sun for a kind of weather or a time of day. See Presets.
Power	1.2	Brightness of the sky and the sun together, from 0.01 to 100 on a logarithmic scale.
Ground	On	Shows a ground below the horizon instead of black. See Ground.
Sun Disk	On	Shows the sun in the sky. Turn it off to keep the sky light without a visible sun.
Sun Size	0.53°	Angular diameter of the sun, from 0.01° to 1°. The real sun is about 0.53°. A larger sun gives softer shadows.
Sun Intensity	1.0	Strength of the sun against the sky, from 0 to 10. Lower values give softer, lighter shadows, higher values harsh, high-contrast sunlight. Power changes the sun and the sky together.
Sun Elevation	60°	Height of the sun above the horizon, from -90° to 90°. 0° is sunrise or sunset, 90° is straight overhead. Below 0° the sun has set.
Sun Rotation	0°	Compass direction of the sun, from 0° to 360°. Turns the sun, and so the shadows, around your model.
Haze	0.16	How clear the air is, from 0 to 1. Low values give a deep blue sky and crisp sunlight, high values a pale, hazy sky, a warm sun and redder sunsets.

Sun Size and Sun Intensity only appear while Sun Disk is on: without the sun disk, the sky has no direct sunlight.

Ground

The atmosphere ends at the horizon, so below it a sky is black. Wherever your model doesn’t cover the view, for example in an aerial view or with a model without a ground surface, that black shows. With Ground on, Rayscaper fills everything below the horizon with a plain ground, lit by the same sun and sky as your model: light grey at midday, dimmer and bluer at sunset, dark at night. It also lights the scene from below, like a real ground does. A ground surface in your model covers it.

Haze

Haze changes how clear the air is. Hazy air scatters and absorbs more sunlight:

Clear (Haze 0.16)

The default: a clear blue sky and crisp shadows.

Hazy (Haze 0.7)

More haze: a paler sky and warmer sunlight.

Haze sets the amount of air and dust in Rayscaper’s atmosphere model together. Skies from older versions, which set them separately, keep their look until you move the slider.

Presets

Preset sets everything for a common sky in one click. Pick the closest one, then fine-tune: changing a setting shows Custom. All presets use the default Power, so the sky is as bright as the real one at that time of day: a sunset or blue hour sky is much dimmer than noon, and your lamps glow against it. Auto Exposure, on for a new model, brightens the render to match. With auto exposure off, raise Exposure for the evening presets.

Preset	Sets	The sun position
Clear	The default sky: a blue sky and crisp sunlight.	Kept
Hazy	A pale, hazy sky and a warmer sun.	Kept
Overcast	Full haze and no sun disk: soft light from the whole sky.	Kept
Soft Light	A larger, weaker sun for light, soft shadows.	Kept
Golden Hour	The sun at 8°, long warm light.	Elevation set, rotation kept
Sunset	The sun at 1.5° and a red horizon.	Elevation set, rotation kept
Blue Hour	The sun at -4°, just below the horizon: cool, even light.	Elevation set, rotation kept

The presets never change Sun Rotation, so the sun keeps lighting the side of your building you chose. While the sky follows the SketchUp sun, SketchUp sets the sun elevation, so only the weather presets, Clear to Soft Light, are offered.

A few moods beyond the presets:

Mood	Settings
Harsh, high contrast	Haze 0, Sun Intensity 2 to 3.
Deep blue mountain sky	Haze 0.
Night with a faint glow	Sun Elevation -15°, Power 0.3, and your own lights.

Tip

For a convincing sunset, set Sun Elevation between 0° and 10°. Turn Sun Rotation so the low sun lights the side of your building that the camera sees, and raise Haze to about 0.5 for warmer light and a redder sky.

Syncing with SketchUp Sun

Rayscaper’s sky can follow the sun position from SketchUp’s Shadows panel. This is useful when:

• you already set up the shadows in SketchUp for a specific date and time,
• you want to compare sun positions quickly with SketchUp’s shadow sliders,
• the render has to match a SketchUp shadow study.

It’s on for a new model. To turn it on or off, choose Extensions > Rayscaper > Use SketchUp Sun for Sky. While it’s on, the sun of the sky follows SketchUp’s shadow settings.

Changing the time in SketchUp’s Shadows panel moves the sun of the sky in real time.

While tracking is on, the Environment section shows ✓ Tracking SketchUp Sun, and Sun Elevation and Sun Rotation are disabled because SketchUp controls them.

Note

Tracking only affects the Sky environment. It is saved with your SketchUp model, so it stays on when you reopen the file.

Tip

Turn on Use SketchUp Sun for Directional Light as well to add a directional light that lines up with the sun of the sky. This gives you extra control over the strength and color of the sunlight and the sharpness of its shadows.

Reset to Defaults

The Reset to Defaults button at the bottom of the section resets the environment to that of a new model: the Sky with the Clear preset and the sun at 60°, or at the SketchUp sun while Use SketchUp Sun for Sky is on. An HDRI stays in the Asset Manager, so you can drop it back in, and the SketchUp Environment Sun light of a SketchUp environment is removed. While Use SketchUp Environment for HDRI is on, the next change of SketchUp’s environment brings its HDRI back.

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Practical Tips

Quick Recipes

Product shot on white

1. Choose Color and keep the color white.
2. Set Power to 1.0 to 1.5 for bright, even light.
3. Turn on Transparent if you want to place the product on another background later.

Sunny exterior

1. Choose HDRI and pick a clear or partly cloudy sky from the Asset Manager, or choose Sky.
2. Turn Rotation (HDRI) or Sun Rotation (Sky) until the sun lights the side of the building the camera sees.
3. For a sky, set Sun Elevation for the time of day: around 60° for midday, below 15° for golden hour.

Interior

1. Choose an HDRI that fits the view through your windows. An overcast HDRI gives soft, even daylight.
2. Rooms get most of their light through windows, so raise Power until the room is bright enough, or add lights.
3. When you add lights, lower Power again so the environment doesn’t wash them out.

Night scene

1. Choose Color with a black color, or use a sky with Sun Elevation just below 0° for a dusk glow.
2. Light the scene with lights and emissive materials.

Note

The environment always adds up with your own lights. When a render looks flat or washed out, lower the environment’s Power first, then adjust your lights.

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Credits

The example scene on this page is built from CC0 models, textures and HDRIs from Poly Haven.