Before the maturity of rendering software, architects struggled to use hand-drawing to explain their design. In order to impress investors, they drew 3D models with an age-old approach, a perspective with vanishing points. It takes a lot of time to draw and color, even for a skilled architect. And it could never achieve the same lavish, professional, and realistic result as 3D architectural visualization done on a computer.
Maybe some fields encourage minimalism. But in architecture, only the projects with details which amaze investors could win approval. That is why we need to use rendering software for construction projects, which could offer full details for investors to preview the future building.
From hand-drawing to software
Previously, architects completed the project by hand from start to finish. They gave mature consideration to all aspects of a project, including the first sketches, developing the design on different aspects like object functionality and the construction, as well as the visualization before building. It’s hard to imagine what efforts they make when we see their 2D floor plans which contain various labels and hatches or their solution includes interior and exterior design and urban planning.
Architects could have a rest until the first software for 2D floor plans developed enough. It saves time and is more accurate than before. Later, the appearance of software for 3D modeling makes 3D architectural visualization easier.
However, 3D models do become really lifelike and breathtaking because of its outcome. Programs like 3Ds Max, Mental Ray or V-Ray, allows any operation concerning 3D modeling and rendering. What’s more, they are compatible with many software in the market which can import or export .dwg and .3ds formats and so on. Architectural visualization becomes simpler and more efficient. These programs have their strong points, which can be seen in the earlier blog – 10 Best Architectural Rendering Software for Architects in 2019. And today, let’s explore how rendering software benefits every aspect of the construction project.
Materialization
Architects begin 3D rendering after the process of materialization. At the stage of material adjustment, it is easy to operate owing to the programs that enable us to choose or import different textures with ease.
Once we determine textures, we can adjust various parameters such as a bump, ambient color, diffuse color, specular color, self-illumination, glossiness, opacity, reflection, transparency, and more. Every adjustment enriches the final effect of the rendering.
Lighting
Lighting is important in all types of architectural visualization services. It can highlight the details and increase the realistic effect. Applying lighting in nightscape renders is admirable, while natural or artificial lights also add spice to daytime renders.
Operating steps on various software are a little different. Some like Lumion have already set up natural lighting which can be adjusted based on the needs. However, others like V-ray requires people to create it manually, especially when we deal with interior design. There are many lighting options available in the software and you can choose the best one to highlight the effect.
Environment
It’s very convenient when the rendering software offer built-in environment settings. They bring architects’ inspirations to life and help investors to see the unstarted project in the real environment. Landscapes like rivers, seas, cities, mountains and sky as well as greenery are all available in the material library of Lumion.
But if we use software like V-ray, we need to do this step on PhotoShop or other similar programs. But the simplest way is to use a photo of a preferred location. Lots of architects usually take a photo and import the render into the photo, which it’s another way to put render into the real-life environment.
When architects adopted hand-drawing, color difference used to be their nightmare. But now, with the flexibility of rendering software, we can change materials and textures within a few mouse clicks to meet the investors’ needs. And we can also artificially increase some imperfections in the works.
It’s time to make good use of the benefits of rendering software. If you’re looking for 3D architectural rendering, we are exactly your right choice. We AIMIR are a professional company that produces lifelike visualization services. Welcome to contact us for any questions.