Shaderlight forums

Hi,

Can you tell us the method you’re using to import the Google Earth image?

Also, what SketchUp Shadow settings are you using and, in particular, is ‘Shadows On Ground’ turned on? If it is and your image is below SketchUp’s ground level, then the image will be ‘hidden’ by the invisible ground plane. (Sounds weird, but it is an artefact of how Shaderlight renders shadows on the non-existant SketchUp ground.)

Regards,
Shaderlight Support

To import the image, I go to File, Import image, Use image as image, not texture.
I place the image at the Sketchup origin, on the ground plane.
Display shadows on ground is turned on.

Hi,

Thanks for the details.

Strangely, following the exact same procedure works for me. Would you be able to send us a SketchUp file that has the problem so that we can investigate further? You can send the model as an attachment if you’re able to cut it down sufficiently and still show the problem, or share a Dropbox or similar link with us at .

Regards,
Shaderlight support

I emailed the SketchUp file, along with two jpgs generated by Shaderlight to the email above,
with your handle kfoojones) referenced in the subject line.

Thank you for sending over your files.

For the benefit of other readers of this thread, the problem had mysteriously fixed itself, but we did notice a related issue: Having SketchUp’s ‘Shadows On Ground’ turned on in addition to having actual geometry at ground level (such as the Google Earth image) can result in ‘speckled’ shadows. This is because the invisible ground plane that Shaderlight uses to render SketchUp’s shadows on ground feature intersects with the actual ground geometry and causes random shadowing between the two. Turning off shadows on ground when there is actual geometry representing the ground fixes the issue (and shadows still appear on the ground because actual geometry always receives shadows).

It’s possible that turning off shadows on ground would fix the original problem, too – if that was caused by the invisible ground plane hiding the Google Earth image, which might have happened due to a different camera position or minute adjustments to the position of geometry. We can’t say for sure though, since the problem appeared to fix itself by the time we received the model.

Regards,
Shaderlight support