Use Sunscape™ Map Images as Model Overlays

Use Sunscape™ map overlays for landscape layout, to guide placement decisions for planning and outdoor leisure areas. Paths can be strategically placed to separate sun exposure areas or used in addition to other hardscape elements to simplify complex sun exposure areas.

This is an elementary lesson intended for users with little to no experience with overlays.

Sunscape™ Extension

Queue to create Morning, afternoon, and 8-to-6 time span Sunscape sun exposure maps for a date range. The meteorological date range works well for mid-temperate zone properties.

Use the Sunscape toolbar queue to view the 8-6 Sunscape. Scale the viewer screen to full screen or desired size. Choose top view from the toolbar and mouse to move, zoom, rotate to create an optimum model overlay image. Use the Section Plane toolbar tool to remove surface obstructions if desired. SAVE the image. Repeat this process for morning and afternoon Sunscape maps.

Open Styles in the default tray and choose EDIT. Select Watermark and + to select the saved 8- to-6 time span Sunscape image file for import.
Press, next, next, and finish.
Use Sketchup pan, orbit, and zoom to adjust the model to match the Sunscape overlay.

You can open Scenes in the default tray to add a toggle to the 8 to 6 overlayed model. Repeat for morning and afternoon or simply reference the saved morning and afternoon images to choose the right place for morning and afternoon preference plants, planning and outdoor activity areas in the part sun, part shade areas of the 8-to-6 Sunscape map.

Sunscape™ App

Create a model overlay using the appropriate and perhaps different precisions for different areas.

If you’ve used cross trees, you can turn off 2-Sided rendering before saving the Sunscape image for an overlay. This will provide a less obstructed view of model surface sun exposure.

Use your 3D modeling platform functions and features to create model overlays and use as above.