Generating instances

Skatter offers two modes for generating instances: In model and Render Only.

"In Model" generation

In Model is the default mode. It will create instances directly in the model, as regular SketchUp geometry.

The benefits of In Model generation are:

• ✔️ Instances are directly visible in the SketchUp viewport

• ✔️ No need for an external render engine

• ❌ It can significantly slow down the SketchUp viewport when generating thousands of instances

"Render Only" generation

In Render Only mode, instances will not be created in the model. Instead, the data will be directly handed to the render engines.

The benefits of Render Only generation are:

• ✔️ Better performance when creating large compositions with thousands of instances

• ❌ The instances are not visible in the SketchUp viewport after you close the Composition Editor

Render Only mode is currently supported by V-Ray 5, Enscape, Thea, Octane, Indigo, Shaderlight, IRender nXt, Twilight Pro, Raylectron, and Kerkythea.

Preview before generating

By default, Skatter automatically displays a preview in the SketchUp viewport when you work on a composition. When working on very complex compositions, the preview can take a little while to compute, so you can disable it by clicking the icon.

When working on a composition, you might want to preview another composition at the same time. Click on the arrow next to the icon and select the other compositions that you want to display.