A V-Ray plugin is available for SketchUp Pro that allows full control of materials, their reflectance, surface texture and colour.

Artlantis render takes a different approach. The plugin allows a SketchUp model to be exported in the correct format, with each material type in a different layer.

Most photographic quality render engines perform eye based ray tracing using the Monte Carlo method, this repeats the ray trace thousands of times over the surface of the image, progressively improving the final result.

Other common features are:

2D Camera Views

Material Appearance:

Reflectance - Altering the index of refraction and surface finish

Transparency - Expressed as a percentage and showing refraction

Surface Texture - Applying a bump map as a monochrome image