Free SketchUp models and materials! How to efficiently use Chaos Cosmos library?

Publication date: 13-03-2025  |  Update date: 13-03-2025  | Author: Piotr Kurpiewski

Chaos Cosmos is a free library of assets (3D models, ready-made materials, and HDRI maps) available with every V-Ray license for SketchUp, including the trial version. The article discusses practical aspects of using the Cosmos library in interior projects - particularly the benefits of ready-made materials, which shorten work time, and the importance of optimizing models for smooth SketchUp performance. It also covers the latest library features, including asset variations that will facilitate customizing visualizations for different seasons.

Chaos Cosmos is a free library offering over 6000 assets - 3D models, ready-to-use PBR materials, and HDR maps. With it, V-Ray for SketchUp users, even in the trial version, can quickly create photorealistic visualizations without manually configuring materials. How to use this library efficiently and without overloading the scene? Check it out in this article!

Chaos Cosmos in SketchUp - What is it and why use it?

Chaos Cosmos is a free add-on available to anyone with a V-Ray license for SketchUp, including the 30-day trial version. Its biggest advantage is a rich library of over 6000 free assets, including:

• 3D models - furniture, plants, decorations, lighting, appliances, office equipment;
• ready-to-use PBR materials - textures optimized for rendering in V-Ray;
• HDRI maps - realistic lighting and background for scenes.

In this article, you will learn how to efficiently use the Cosmos library to save time and increase the realism of visualizations in SketchUp.

Free Materials and Textures in SketchUp

One of the biggest advantages of the Cosmos library is the ready-to-use PBR materials (Physically Based Rendering), which eliminate the need to manually download and set Roughness, Normal, or Displacement maps. Every material available in Cosmos is already configured for photorealistic rendering in V-Ray.

This means that you can simply select the appropriate material from the library and then apply it to your SketchUp model with just one click. This is a huge facilitation, especially for designers who value work efficiency and immediate results.

Expert's opinion

Mateusz CiećwierzAbsolwent WAPW. Założyciel CG Wisdom.

“Chaos Cosmos is an excellent solution for anyone who wants to quickly create realistic visualizations, without manual material configuration and concerns about SketchUp performance.”

How to use the free Chaos Cosmos materials in SketchUp?

Below is a brief guide on how to quickly and effectively use Cosmos materials in your projects:

Step 1: Open the Chaos Cosmos Browser

In SketchUp, click on the Chaos Cosmos Browser icon in the V-Ray toolbar. The library of assets divided into convenient categories will open.

Step 2: Select a ready material

In the Materials tab, you will find textures grouped into categories such as wood, concrete, fabrics, metal, ceramic tiles, and others. Select the material you are interested in or enter any keywords in the search bar, then click the "Download" button after indicating the specific resource.

Step 3: Apply the material with one click

After downloading, simply find the material in the Asset Editor list and apply it directly to the surface of the object in SketchUp, just like with classic materials. All PBR parameters will be automatically assigned. You can now immediately start rendering the scene with ready, realistic features.

Why are Chaos Cosmos models ideal for SketchUp?

SketchUp is known for its lightness and speed of operation, but many models available on the Internet may contain too many polygons, which negatively affects the program's performance. Chaos Cosmos solves this problem because all assets are specially optimized for SketchUp.

Thanks to the use of object instances (so-called proxies) and the ability to choose one of three levels of model detail, you can freely work on lightweight scenes and use the high quality of models only during the final rendering.

New Features in Chaos Cosmos - Asset Variations

Each material downloaded from Chaos Cosmos can be edited. Materials that are automatically downloaded with the model can also be customized to your needs. Only the geometry of the models is subject to certain limitations.

The latest update of Chaos Cosmos introduced model variations that allow for even faster changes to the appearance of objects, e.g. adjusting vegetation for different seasons without the need to search for a new asset and enter detailed editing mode.

Summary - use Chaos Cosmos consciously!

Chaos Cosmos combined with SketchUp is an ideal set that significantly improves your work on visualizations. Free access to ready models, PBR materials, and HDR maps means saving time, which you can devote to the creative part of the project.

Start using the Cosmos library today, whether you have a full V-Ray license or just a trial version. And if this topic interests you, check out our other articles on the blog and expand your skills using the full potential of 3D libraries!