From SketchUp, photo or plan to a clearer material concept

Choose what to preserve and what to interpret

For a finished render or photograph, keep assigned finishes if their identity is already right. Ask for better light or more readable texture while keeping the intended timber, stone or paint.

Use screenshots or image exports from SketchUp, Blender, Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper or other 3D tools. This workflow accepts images, not native project files.

For a sketch or SketchUp export, clarify whether colours are placeholders. In the prompt builder, you can ignore those colours and request suitable materials, choose a palette, write a material schedule or map colours to specific finishes. Each approach gives the model a different brief; none turns the image into an editable BIM material database.

Make material mapping specific

Make each mapping easy to locate: name the source colour, surface and intended finish. In the kitchen below, muted terracotta marks the lower cabinets, island and tall unit; dusty teal marks the worktops and backsplash; champagne marks the upper doors. Naming the surface as well as the colour keeps the instruction precise.

Matching is approximate. Unmapped surfaces receive suggested materials, and an empty mapping does not assign finishes from the source colours. Check the completed image for material spill between plinths, flooring and walls, especially around thin edges and reflected surfaces.

Preserve this kitchen’s camera, layout, openings, cabinet divisions and appliance positions. Treat its colours as placeholders: muted terracotta lower cabinets, island and tall unit become natural oak; champagne upper doors become matte ivory; dusty teal worktops and backsplash become warm white stone. Keep soft daylight and realistic grain scale. Add no furniture, people or text.

Use a template as a starting instruction

Browse a template’s example source and result, then read which changes it is intended to make. Applying a template supplies a prompt. It does not generate an image or use points by itself. Your uploaded images remain the sources for the draft.

Choose an exterior, interior, landscape, urban, aerial or product direction, then set materials and lighting. Use project notes for specific preservation and placement instructions.

Try the finish studies below. The same kitchen view makes it easier to judge what changed: cabinet timber, worktop and backsplash. Change one material family at a time, then compare the result with your source.

1. Choose the source interpretation: finished image, sketch or a supported interior plan workflow.
2. Set the material policy and add precise surface descriptions where needed.
3. Choose a visual direction and light, then review the complete assembled prompt for conflicting instructions.
4. Apply the prompt to Studio, select compatible model settings and check the exact points before confirmation.

Apply the same discipline to graphic concepts

For branding, packaging and website image concepts, define the reference, palette and exact copy. These are raster studies; prepare text and production artwork separately.

Give plans and small edits the right expectations

For a plan, choose an interior perspective or an isometric cutaway and identify the room to show. Add known ceiling heights and dimensions, and request preservation of the shown walls, openings and layout. The result is a visual concept inferred from the supplied information; it is not measured CAD or construction documentation.

If the main direction works but one finish needs revision, Edit area lets you mark a target and describe the change. The app supplies an annotated location guide to a compatible model. Review the whole result: the guide expresses your intent, but does not guarantee surgical, native-mask editing or unchanged pixels outside the target.