SketchUp to a photoreal pool film: what to export

7 min read

Yes, SketchUp 3D modeling software works with RenderSplash through a plain image export. Put the camera at eye height, save a JPEG or PNG with File > Export > 2D Graphic, and upload three to six of them. There is no plugin and no link to your SketchUp account. RenderSplash reads the image the way it reads any upload.

This page is for a builder who models pools, decks or patios in a SketchUp model and wants the film that comes after the export. It covers the menus, the file types that go through, and what a SketchUp image will and will not carry into the film. We checked each step against the SketchUp Help Center pages linked below on 10 October 2026. Those pages describe the desktop program and do not say which plan includes each step, so if a menu is missing, check your plan and version. We did not check SketchUp for Web or iPad. The hub for every tool is works with.

Export three to six stills at eye height

Each still you upload is a camera angle the film can use, so pick the views a homeowner would stand in. Our guide to choosing camera angles lists a set that works for most jobs: one wide shot, a three-quarter corner view, one or two close views of the feature that matters, and a view from the house looking out.

In the SketchUp model, set each one up like this:

1. Save each angle as a scene, so you can come back to it. The SketchUp Help Center covers creating scenes.
2. Use the Position Camera tool and click a point in your model, such as a spot on the patio. SketchUp puts the camera 5 feet 6 inches directly above that point. Type a new value in the Measurements box and press Enter if you want a different height. The Help Center covers this in Walking through a Model.
3. Leave the camera on Perspective, which the Help Center lists as the default in Viewing a Model. Under Camera > Field of View you can type a value in degrees or millimeters. Keep it near what a normal camera sees. An extreme wide angle bends straight lines, and that reads as a computer image once it is filmed.
4. Choose File > Export > 2D Graphic, pick JPEG or PNG from the Export Type list, and click Options.
5. Clear Use View Size if you want a specific size, then type a width in pixels. The height follows to keep your proportions. On a Mac, the chain icon unlinks width and height, so leave it linked. Leave Anti-alias on, which is the default.
6. Click OK, then Export. Repeat for each scene.

The full steps, including the options for each file type, are in Importing and Exporting Image Files.

There is no required size on our end. A width of about 1920 pixels is a sensible size, and a JPEG that wide is far below the 25 MB limit per file. Upload up to 12 files per project, site photos included.

RenderSplash takes JPEG and PNG stills from SketchUp, not the model

RenderSplash takes exported images, not the model. The limits below are from our file formats and limits page.

What	RenderSplash takes	Do this
Stills	JPEG, PNG, WebP, up to 25 MB each	Export JPEG or PNG. Re-save a TIFF or BMP as JPEG or PNG first
Flythrough (optional)	MP4, MOV, WebM, up to 500 MB	Export MP4 or WebM. AVI and OGV files are not accepted
2D plan (optional)	PNG, JPG, PDF, DXF, up to 50 MB	Export DXF. A DWG file is not accepted
The model itself	Not accepted	Export the views you want filmed

SketchUp can export other types too, including TIFF, BMP, AVI, OGV, DWG and PDF. The Help Center's page on CAD files says SketchUp subscribers can export CAD files, so DXF export may not be there on every plan. Check yours.

A flythrough is optional, and it only guides the camera

If you already built scenes for a client, you can export them as a video and attach it. It shows how your camera moves through the yard. The stills still decide what the film looks like.

The SketchUp Help Center describes the options in Animating Scenes. Create and order your scenes first. Then use the animation export and choose .mp4 (H.264). The resolution presets are 1080p Full HD, 720p HD and 480p SD, and the frame rate defaults to 24 frames per second. The article does not say which plans include video export, so check yours before you plan around it.

Attach the file with the Flythrough chip in the composer. Our guide to what to upload shows where.

Send the plan from a standard view with Parallel Projection

A plan helps most on an irregular pool shape or a tight lot. The SketchUp Help Center says a standard view with Parallel Projection on can help keep the scale before a 2D DWG or DXF export. Go to Camera > Standard Views and pick Top, turn on Camera > Parallel Projection, then choose File > Export > 2D Graphic and the .dxf type. The CAD export steps are on the Help Center, and they describe CAD export as a subscriber feature. If you cannot export DXF on your plan, a PNG or JPG of the top view works as the plan.

Switch back to Perspective before you export your stills. Parallel Projection keeps line lengths at scale, which is right for a plan, and Perspective is what a camera sees, which is right for a film.

The Help Center warns that a PDF export is a vector file that cannot carry textures, shadows, smooth shading or backgrounds. That is fine for a plan and wrong for a still.

A SketchUp export shows the shape, and the film adds the finish

The 2D Graphic export is a shaded view of your model. It is not a photographic render, and it is not trying to be. RenderSplash draws a photoreal frame from each still, then films that frame. It works from the layout, the camera and the shapes in your image, and it changes what makes the scene look real: the water, the surfaces, the planting and the light.

That sets the limits:

• Finishes are not guaranteed. The film shows design intent, not a construction document. A coping color or tile that is a flat fill in your model may come back in a different shade. Put what must be exact in the note field, and tell the homeowner it is a picture of the design.
• The water is only as good as the surface you gave it. SketchUp is a general modeler, so the pool water is whatever material and color you applied.
• Shot to shot, shades can shift a little. Each frame is drawn on its own, so the exact color of a surface can vary between shots in the same film.
• Cleaner models give cleaner films. Missing faces, overlapping surfaces and stray geometry in the view are in the still, so the film starts from them.

For the full list, read what AI video can and cannot do for contractors.

If you use a rendering extension for SketchUp, export the still from that extension instead, and upload it the same way. Its export steps are on its maker's pages.

The SketchUp AI Render feature makes an image, and RenderSplash makes a film

SketchUp has an AI Render feature. On the desktop program the Help Center says it is an extension you download, and the page does not say which plans include it. It starts from a snapshot of your model view and a text prompt or a style preset to generate a new image, and the size of its window sets the quality. It is a good way to look at a mood or a material for one picture.

It is a different job from a film. A prompt adds whatever you typed, so the picture can drift from the pool you priced. If the layout must match your bid, upload the plain export. If you like an AI Render image, save it to your device with its Save button and upload it as a still, and the film follows that image.

RenderSplash is not affiliated with Trimble

RenderSplash is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Trimble Inc. or SketchUp. The SketchUp Help Center pages we cite carry a Trimble Inc. copyright line. We name SketchUp here only to say which software the export comes from, and the names belong to their owners.

Upload and wait about 100 seconds for an HD Walkthrough

Add your stills in a new project, pick a quality, and start a Walkthrough. Most HD Walkthroughs are ready in about 100 seconds. Your uploads stay private to your project, and we do not use them to train models. See pricing for what a Draft costs.

Next steps: the export steps for other tools, and the Pool Studio export guide.