I am using sketchup to create models of objects, with the end goal being to create clip-art type images for use in presentations and diagrams.

For this type of output the behavior of sketchup to render 1pix lines for the edges causes the outline of the objects to be too small.  I can fix this for simple images by opening the output in a graphic editor and just drawing the outline manually.  For complex images, this is simply too intensive an effort.

I have downloaded a Sketchup Pro trial, hoping that I could make a custom style to fix this problem and this has worked well, but there is an odd problem I hope I can fix.

If I create strokes that are simply 8pix solid lines, the outlines look satisfactory, except for the fact that Sketchup will render the edges a bit past what they should be.  For example, if I have a cube sitting in front of another cube, Sketchup will render the lines for the edges of the farthest cube into the nearer cube, just by about 20pix or so.  Stated another way; the edge that should be hidden behind a shape in front of it, is being drawn too far, so it is actually drawn into the shape that is nearer the viewer.  

I get a similar issue where some edges that should be hidden are being rendered into the shape a bit.  For example, if I have a single cube and viewing in an ISO format, the bottom right corner is showing its hidden edge a few pix.  

This seems to be an intentional behavior rather than a glitch, but I cannot find a parameter in Style Builder or in Sketchup that controls it.  I do not have extensions enabled, nor are any of the planes using a transparent material.  Hidden Geometry is unchecked.

I have attached a picture of what I am talking about and the red circles were added later to highlight the behavior I am seeing.

Within the Sketchup family of tools the only solution I have found is to use Layout and increasing the lines in the model to 1.5pts or higher and then render using the Vector setting.  However, this is only slightly less intensive then using a graphics editor to manually draw the lines over the 1pix outline.  I have some scripts in Sketchup that position the camera a specific locations so that, if I draw a model the correct size, the output of the export of any given model will be proportional to all the other models.  If I bring a model into layout, those scripts to position the model are not available.  

The goal would be to use Sketchup and export to a 2D file, but with a thicker line for the edges.  The style I created gets me 95% there, but I need to get rid of these artifacts since that would be unacceptable in the finished product.  If I could get rid of the artifacts and actually get the lines to join at the corners, I would have a home run.

Thanks in advance.

Dan T.