Serving as an indispensable tool for architects and graphic designers, exterior house design software plays an important role in creating informative and attractive exteriors with 3D rendering services. There are a lot of software on the market now, with varying quality and prices. It may be troublesome to choose the right one. No worries! We’ve listed top of the best exterior design software in 2023. Please refer to the details as follows.
When it comes to exterior visualization software, we should first talk about 3ds Max. Since the powerful features far outweigh its low price, it has a very good price-performance ratio. That is one of the reasons why it has so many users. A complete set of tools and functions allow you to make a layout and design any exterior construction that you want. Because of the excellent use of image-based lighting, it can quickly provide photo-realistic effects for exterior renderings of buildings. It features low configuration requirements for PC-based systems and a user-friendly interface, so it’s easy to get started as long as you have a clear idea of how to operate it. Moreover, another outstanding feature is that installing some plugins provides functions that are not available in 3D Studio Max and enhances the original functionalities. Undoubtedly, it is probably one of the best exterior rendering software for professionals. Read more about other architectural rendering software and platforms.
As mentioned above, some plugins that can be installed in 3ds Max. V-Ray is the vital one. As a powerful exterior visualizer, it becomes one of the most popular rendering engines in the industry, which is suitable for both professionals and beginners. It has a library of realistic materials and always keeps updating, while you can also create your own textures and materials. You can apply different textures and control their reflection and refraction. The most important thing is that thanks to its constant refinement, it’s easier to get accurate physical lighting, adjust parameters and achieve quick renderings.
Lumion is a real-time 3D visualization tool developed especially for architects and designers. It serves to design house exteriors and build projects in a real-world context with comprehensive tools and effects. It boasts a large and rich content library of buildings, cars, people, animals, streets, surfaces, rocks, and more, which helps to create a realistic and satisfying building and scene. Besides, it also deserves praise for the fact that the rendering and scene creation takes just a few minutes, saving your money and efforts.
Revit is a great home design software for both interior and exterior. Not only does it work at the design and development level, but it also contains construction project information. You are free to sketch, quickly create 3D shapes, and interact with shapes. You can use the built-in tools for conceptual clarification of complex shapes to prepare models for construction. As for the visualization of home design, it can capture design ideas in a photo-level true state and produce high-quality renderings in a short time. By the way, it also works well in mutually exporting models with 3ds Max.
SketchUp is a popular and free 3D exterior design software. Its main advantage is that it is easy to use and everyone can get started quickly. Thus, the official website likens it to the “pencil” of the electronic design. The software comes with a component library of a large number of doors, windows, columns, furniture, and other items, as well as a material library of building texture. You are able to make full use of those professional extensions to customize your project. It can be used with 3ds Max, Revit and other software to quickly import and export files in different formats to achieve the perfect combination of program conception, effect drawings, and construction drawings. By the way, you can attain more advanced functions in the paid PRO version if you prefer.
Working as a free online 3D home design platform, Cedreo is used by professional home builders, remodelers, and designers to create 2D floor plans as well as 3D exterior and interior renderings. The platform is completely cloud-based, so you can meet with clients and edit designs and proposals instantly. Thanks to its fast operation speed, it can quickly offer an informative and visually impressive display.
When you open this exterior design software Provia Visualizer, you will find it so simple to get started even if you are a beginner, because its interface is very intuitive and straightforward. Before starting DIY, it allows you to select a sample house image or upload your house image that follows some required guidelines. On the left side of the software page, there are various customization options of items for you to alter doors, windows, roofing, sidings, trim paints, shutters, and even vents. You can save different designs and compare them to find a better one. Don’t you want to try it right away?
As a free house siding renderer, Dream Designer is also a good choice for beginners and amateurs. Same as the last software, you can choose the house style on the website or upload an image of your own home. But what’s different is that Dream Designer doesn’t limit the size of photos to be uploaded. Therefore, you can easily upload pictures and start designing. You are free to show off your personal style by using materials designed by Royal Building Products. When finishing a design, you are encouraged to share it with your family and friends by posting it on social media or sending it via email.
Menards Design-It-Center is an excellent visualizer software for exterior and interior design, which is suitable for professionals and amateurs. After choosing a sample house or uploading a picture, you will open a design page where a product list is on the left side while the image is on the right side. Move your mouse over a part of the house, and a single click will bring up a number of options for you to try. You can customize the materials and colors of the whole house exterior in this house siding colors simulator.
Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design with Landscaping and Decks delivers a huge library of 3D graphics, powerful tools, and design inspiration. This free home exterior design and landscaping software for Windows is here to support you to transform a house. It works both in 2D and 3D models and doesn’t require any complex or difficult operation. There is a wizard on the interface, which helps in creating a design in a quick and easy manner. If you’re a total beginner, don’t worry! Technical support and training videos will give a helping hand.
Lumion LiveSync is a great free plugin that works well in collaboration between Lumion and some architecture software, including SketchUp, Revit, ArchiCAD, and Vectorworks. By building a real-time visualization between them, you will see the lifelike changes and photo-realistic displays of your home exterior design. The exterior home design app enables live point-of-view synchronization, which makes your work easier, faster, and more enjoyable.
You may have noticed the app Planner 5D in our recommended list of interior designers. However, it also does a good job in virtual home exterior design. There are hundreds of textures and colors waiting for you to use for free. And the parameters of any element are adjustable. You are free to create a dream home design by editing not only its exterior but also the landscape around it. In addition, another advantage of this siding visualizer app is that it is available on mobile devices and covers Windows and macOS with full synchronization between them.
Are you looking forward to the house exterior design coming out of your fingertips? Whether you’re an architect, interior designer, or real estate developer, as long as you’re interested in a home design app to remodel and redecorate, choose a visualization software listed above and give it a try! Just enjoy your design tour! Or you can contact us for professional architectural visualization services. AIMIR is dedicated to delivering high-quality 3D rendering from 2006.
Nowadays, in addition to asking architectural visualization studios for 3D rendering services, there is another way for house owners to get their home, room and interior design transformed. In recent years, many interior design apps have emerged to help non-professionals to release the creativity of house design. With an assortment of room item options in various apps, you are free to create your own space, decorate your own house, and experiment with different styles. Moreover, a 3D interior walkthrough is also available for reference. Here are 12 recommended free interior design programs for you, most of which are applicable for both mobile and PC.
Homestyler works as an easy and time-saving online interior design tool for both professionals and amateurs, ranking first on our recommended list. You can use it to plan space, arrange furniture and add decorations. You will find whatever you want in this best home design program. After drawing the floor plan in 2D, you will enjoy high-quality 3D renderings, even with complex building structures. It boasts a large variety of room items available, from door and window styles to decorative potted plants. There are different styles and parameters of all elements. You can integrate them, compare and replace them with each other until you get satisfying results. Thanks to the above advantages, it doesn’t matter if you have no experience before. Also, it’s easy for you to share your work among different terminals. It only has the disadvantage of low working speed and strict requirements for computer hardware.
Room Planner is a free home design app for IKEA. This room designer functions 2D/3D floor plans, designed PDF-report, and many other handy tools, featuring convenience and a friendly interface. It enables you to explore ready designs, find ideas, create floor plans, change materials, furnish the interior and customize design. Using a 3D display, you are free to review and modify your design, such as changing the wall color. When you finally finish your work, you can get a shopping list from the IKEA catalog. That is indeed a boon for IKEA fans. You can also pay for a subscription to discover more features if you like.
Planner 5D is an advanced and easy-to-use 2D/3D house design tool. It’s convenient for amateurs and beginners to design a house with customizable control buttons as well as full screen and compact modes. You can easily capture professional 3D house designs and edit them without any 3D-modeling skills. It also allows you to freely modify detailed items and all parameters to perfect your designs. Moreover, you can take and view vivid snapshots added with lighting, shadows, and rich colors. However, the utility does not support Microsoft Windows XP. By the way, if you would like advanced features, please register and subscribe to the full version of Planner 5D Interior Design.
HomeByMe is a free interior design app suitable for professionals and beginners. Browsing stunning images in the community make it possible for you to find inspiration and start your own project. You are able to create your design of the whole apartment rather than only one room. Some ready-made templates are also available. After finishing your floor plan in 2D, you can shift the model to 3D to furnish your house. It allows you to express your decoration style by using a catalog of thousands of products from famous brands, such as Wayfair, Crate&Barrel, and RH. And then there will be a shopping list for you. Nevertheless, users need to pay for its lots of features and may mind the difficulty in navigating.
Housecraft is a free room design app whose focus is on furniture. You can freely arrange the room configurations with a large catalog of furniture. It also enables you to adjust the measurements of the furniture. If you are not satisfied with any object, resize it until it fits! Besides, you can admire objects from any angle and even in any light. However, although it has good support and constant update, it seems a pity that there is still no way to design a photo background and save it. Also, it would be better if the lack of privacy and the limited selection of goods were addressed.
Amikasa can be a good choice for you if you plan to redecorate your room using purchasable items rather than stock images. It lets you build, restyle, and redecorate your rooms using furniture, flooring and wall colors from real brands. You can choose your room shape, set exact dimensions and place objects to your liking. 3D visualization achieves to admire the overall effect of your design. However, the cons are limited tools, the impossibility of hand-designing models and a rather complicated interface.
Houzz is another free house planner for professionals. If you’re looking for inspiration for home interiors, Houzz can give a helping hand. It offers a large number of high-definition images of interior design for reference, such as a kitchen, living room, courtyard, bedroom and more, to inspire you to find your favorite lifestyle. In addition, you can also filter by styles, equipment, colors and so on, making it easier to find the style you like. It’s convenient for you to purchase chosen items because of links to selling websites.
Home Design 3D is a good choice for home design because it’s available for everyone and for free. It boasts an intuitive interface, simple control, a wide selection of furniture and elements with editability. The app for house interior design has to be mentioned that you can even change different lighting methods to see how your room looks like in daylight and at night. It’s quite thoughtful to offer this function. By the way, you can attain full functionality in the paid version of the program if you prefer.
Roomstyler 3D Home Planner is accessible to everyone to design a dream home online for free. It allows you to choose a room layout and drag furniture as well as any other decoration items into your room. Moreover, the objects are from real brands so you can buy them online. After finishing your design, you can check the overall effect from 3D interior walkthrough.
Roomle is an online room design app oriented to the needs of beginners and amateurs instead of professionals. It’s from €150 per month but with a free trial. You can enter any drawing or plan to start your project. It’s easy to add and edit furniture and any other appliances when decorating your house. It has the advantage that it displays measurements of walls and furniture when parameters are entered. Also, you are able to enjoy 3D visualization although the quality is not as good as others in this list.
#11. Floor Plan Creator
Price: Free
OS: Android, macOS, Windows
Floor Plan Creator is another free interior design app. It allows you to create multiple floors in 2D, add furniture and edit decoration in 3D. Enabling cloud sync can automatically back up and share plans between devices and users, which achieves multiple people working on the same project. The drawings can be exported to several formats like PDF, despite no way to choose a location to save the files.
There is no charge if you use MagicPlan to design no more than two houses. Like any other App, you can create a floor plan in 2D mode and decorate it in 3D. In addition, the App also has a very useful function. That is to help you estimate the materials and costs since there is a customized price list for reference.
Other Frequent Asked Questions
Is there any apps that I can visualize the room?
Most of the home interior planners allow you to select the ceilings, floors, walls, and furniture settings such as colors, materials, and finishes. But if you’re looking for one of the best free visualizing apps probably you should try Roomle or Roomstyler 3D Home Planner.
Can I buy the furniture in the interior design programs?
Not always. Most of the home designer applications are used for designing and demonstrating only. However, Amikasa is the right choice if you want to purchase the furniture inside. This free interior design app uses real furniture that you can buy online rather than stock images.
Can I just take a picture of my room and decorate it?
Homestyler is your answer. This free best home design app allows you to visualize and decorate your space with simple drag-and-drop function.
Conclusion
Each of these apps has its strengths and weaknesses, but in general, they’re all worth a try. If you would like to create a dream house at your fingertips, the apps listed above are for you to choose from. Just click and enjoy your design tour!
If you need 3D architectural rendering services, AIMIR is always ready to help.
In order to collect global intelligence and advanced ideas, and provide advice for the development of Shenzhen airport economics, the International Consultation for the Development Strategy and Implementation Strategy of Shenzhen Airport Economics was launched. Registration is now open to outstanding consultation institutions and planning and design institutions all over the world.
Project Overview
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport is located in the core area of the Golden Inner Bay in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, integrating various transportation modes such as “airport, seaport, high-speed rail, expressway, general road and subway”. With the implementation of Qianhai District Expansion Plan and the construction of a number of major transport infrastructure, such as Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel, Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway and Shenzhen International Airport-Dayawan Intercity Railway, Shenzhen Airport and its surrounding areas are facing new opportunities for development.
In the future, with the help of an all-round, multi-level and three-dimensional external communication channel of the sea, land and air railway of Shenzhen Airport, the airport construction will further coordinate with the urban development. The airport economy will be endowed with new era connotation in accelerating the construction of a “double cycle” development pattern at home and abroad, promoting the integrated development of the Great Bay Area, and become an important growth pole to strengthen the core engine function of Shenzhen.
The consultation scope of this project includes: The scope of development strategy research: The overall area is about 155.6 square kilometers, around the airport, reaching the east boundary of Hangcheng District in the east, the west coast of Shenzhen in the west, Xixiang Avenue in the south, and the estuary of Maozhou River in the north.
Development Strategy Research Area
Scope of implementation strategy study: Study and emphasize the business functions and spatial layout of the three headquarters areas, namely, the Airport East Business Headquarters, Jiuwei International Headquarters and Lixin Lake Science and Innovation Headquarters. Study the coordination strategy and spatial connection of multiple airport industrial chains such as headquarters economy, exhibition and trade, marine economy, commercial consumption, cultural tourism, comprehensive logistics, scientific innovation and intelligent manufacturing.
Implementation Method Research Area
Background
The Planning Outline of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area proposes to “build a world-class airport group, consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub, and enhance the competitiveness of Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports as international hubs”； The 13th Party Congress of Guangdong Province proposed for the first time to build a 100km “Golden inner bay” around the Pearl River estuary. Shenzhen Airport is at the forefront of the development of “Golden Inner Bay”, and fostering airport economy will become an important support； Bao’an District and Shenzhen Airport are included in the core area of Shenzhen Metropolitan Area in the Guidelines for Coordination of Land and Space Planning of Guangdong Metropolitan Area, and airport economy will play a more important role in regional guidance and radiation； The 7th Party Congress of Bao’an District put forward the main framework of “422133” work, and accelerated the construction of world-class advanced manufacturing city, international bay area coastal city, and high-quality people’s livelihood and happiness city with the Airport East, Jiuwei and other airport economic development platforms as the main positions.
The purpose of this international consultation is to put forward a forward-looking and progressiveness development vision based on the development situation and advantages of Shenzhen airport economy in the new development pattern. Study and propose industrial development opportunities, further integrate spatial resources, and define the direction and pattern of industrial development. Sort out the implementation strategy, clarify the connection between the industrial chain and the spatial pattern, propose the industrial coordination and integration path of airport economy based on the current airport, exhibition center and other platforms, and propose the industrial list and industrial function layout with the three headquarters, providing new ideas and new methods for development decision-making.
Work Description
1. Shenzhen Airport Economic Development Strategy
Overall objective and vision
Propose unique and attractive targets positioning and image vision to fully demonstrate the resource combination advantages and regional characteristics of the airport and surrounding areas.
Industrial development and guidance
Research and judge the industrial development opportunities, answer the question of what kind of airport economy Shenzhen should build from the perspective of industrial development and guidance. Highlight the forward-looking character, and promote the “extension, supplement, and strengthening” of the airport economy industry chain and innovation chain.
Development trend and regional synergy
Study the new chance, new trend and new business form of airport economy development in domestic and abroad. Analyze the competitive advantages of Shenzhen airport economy in the airport group of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and sort out the key points of coordination with Qianhai and other major development platforms.
General layout of industry and space
Take full consideration of the relevant plans of Shenzhen, Bao’an District and Qianhai, and propose overall industrial layout, overall spatial structure and relevant suggestions.
2. Implementation strategy
Industrial chain linkage and spatial connection
Sort out the linkage strategies of airport headquarters economy, exhibition and trade, marine economy, commercial consumption, leisure culture and tourism, comprehensive logistics, scientific innovation and intelligent manufacturing and other industries. Clarify the connection and synergy between various industrial chains and the spatial pattern of Shenzhen City and Bao’an District, and answer the question of what kind of space and projects suit the industry platforms most.
Industrial list and spatial layout of headquarters
Refine the leading industries in the three headquarters, namely Airport East, Lixin Lake and Jiuwei, and put forward suggestions on spatial layout intention, industry directory, development and operation mode, etc.
Suggestions on support system optimization
Put forward optimization suggestions for supporting systems such as comprehensive transportation, culture, tourism and leisure, and institutional mechanisms. The proposal should include but not limited to the following contents: constructive traffic integration solution； integration of cultural resources, enhancing regional influence and brand competitiveness； industrial implementation suggestions, district industry operation management suggestions.
Key points of recent implementation
Sort out the relevant strategies that can be launched in the near future, and put forward the list of key projects and implementation suggestions.
Registration Requirements
1. Interested applicants must be independent legal entities or partnerships or other organizations. Individual or teams of individuals will not be accepted.
2. There are no requirements on qualification for registration. Any domestic and foreign institutions who are familiar with China’s conditions and have practical experience in consultation of urban strategic development, industrial planning, urban planning and design are encouraged to register.
3. The team must be composed of professionals in urban development strategy, industrial development research, urban planning and design, transportation, etc.
4. Registration by a consortium comprising no more than three members is allowed, provided that the leading member and the internal division of responsibilities are specified in a legally-binding Consortium Agreement. No member of a consortium is allowed to register twice either independently or by joining another consortium.
Rules
The International Consultation is open for registration, and will include two stages: “Pre-qualification” and “Compilation & Evaluation”.
For Pre-qualification stage: The credit document, related experience (consulting and planning of strategic development of airport economic zone or aviation new town, strategic development of complex urban areas, urban industry consulting and planning, and urban planning and design of headquarters area, business area or science and innovation park over 1 square kilometer), abilities of team and concept proposal will be reviewed by the Pre-qualification Review Jury. Five shortlisted participants (unranked) will be selected for next stage.2 alternative teams will be selected and ranked as backups in case any of the 5 shortlisted participants withdraws from the subsequent Compilation & evaluation stage. For Compilation & Evaluation stage: The final submissions submitted by five shortlisted participants will be reviewed and ranked by the Evaluation Jury. There will be corresponding awards for the winning teams.
Schedule
Stage
Time
Subject
Stage 1: Registration & Pre-qualification
Oct.31st, 2022
The official announcement is released and the registration start
Nov.10th, 2022
Deadline for Questions
Nov.11th, 2022
Q&A and Addendum Publishment （if any）
By15:00 Nov.19th, 2022
Deadline for submission of pre- qualification application
Nov.21st – 24th, 2022
Pre-qualification review and result announcement
Stage 2: Compilation & Evaluation
Nov.25th, 2022(provisional)
Workshop
Jan.11th, 2023
Deadline for final submissions
Jan.12th – 15th, 2023
Evaluation and result announcement
Notes: The above dates are Beijing Time and the host reserve the right to adjust the schedule as appropriate.
Awards
participants including the first two teams (ranked) selected by the Evaluation Jury will be awarded the following honorarium payments. First place: ￥4,000,000.00 (about US$552,300); Second place: ￥3,000,000.00 (about US$414,200); Outstanding participants (three): ￥1,200,000.00 (about US$165,700) each, hence a total of ￥3,600,000.00 (about US$497,200).Except for the above five shortlisted participants, other pre-qualification participants will not receive any compensation.
Q&A
If there are any questions about the International Consultation Documents, the participants shall submit the question documents (doc format) to the mailbox (SZAE@szrjrx.com) before the deadline for questions, and the questions not received by this email or submitted late will not be accepted. The Q&A and addendum (if any) will be sent to the participants by email.
The announcement is published on AIMIR’s website now. If you want to know more following details regarding to this competition, please feel free to contact AIMIR. What’s more, you’re more than welcome to touch base with us if you need architectural visualization.
With the increasing need for 3D visualization in architecture industry, it gets more important to choose the most suitable rendering software for your project. It may be difficult as you tend to think about a couple of factors. One of the most common questions may be “can the software help show my ideas in renderings with expected quality?” Besides, there would be another inevitable concern: “is it affordable?” To minimize the influence of price when choosing the best software, here are eight free 3D rendering software for your reference.
Thinking of the best free 3D rendering software, Blender is, without doubt, among the first ones brought to mind. Although it is free, Blender has comprehensive tools for 3D visualization from modeling, rendering to post-processing and even animation. To create perfect 3D renderings, it contains two built-in rendering engines: EEVEE and Cycles. Specifically, the GPU-accelerated engine Cycles allows users to view the rendering effect quickly and directly.
In addition, Blender supports to use various third-party renderers, such as LuxCoreRender, V-Ray, Indigo Renderer, etc. These listed renderers are also free but powerful tools. LuxRender is an open-source renderer that is recommended officially by Blender team. It can also work with SketchUp, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D and other major 3D software. With a free 30-day trial, V-Ray provides support for fast rendering. It is especially suitable for 3D rendering of interior design owing to its great effects of global illumination. Indigo Renderer is also a software with varieties of lighting types for models of different spaces. Besides lighting, it contains a material editor which helps maximize photorealism with rich sorts of materials. Moreover, it can save hours for rendering projects by the preliminary setting of materials and lighting.
Focusing mainly on modeling, SketchUp Free would be an optimal choice for both 3Dmodeling beginners and professionals. As a free version of SketchUp, it allows users to complete the basic process of modeling. Supported by its realistic textures, you can build your models with all the elements in detail covering textures, shadows and so on. In addition to SketchUp free renderer, there are also some excellent plugins that can be used in this best free rendering software, like V-Ray, Lumion LiveSync, SU Podium, etc.
As mentioned above, V-ray is an efficient real-time rendering program especially suitable for interior design. When using SketchUp, V-Ray plugin can make it smooth to create and adjust elements in layers as well as the whole layout. For landscape or exterior design, there is another excellent real-time rendering program Lumion LiveSync. Enabling its plugin, you can import your SketchUp 3D model to the Lumion environment instantly without any interruption while rendering. If you want to share your work via online channels, US Podium can be a good helper. This rendering plugin was specifically designed to be used with SketchUp. It allows users to change complex shapes during the process and adjust settings for lighting and colors after the completion of rendering. It is easy enough for professionals and amateurs to use, and more advantages are to be discovered by yourself.
As one of the newest free 3D rendering software in the market, Chaos Corona (formerly Corona Renderer) is no doubt doing a good job as a renderer. What makes it stand out is its deep integration with 3ds Max and Cinema 4D. This gives its users the full freedom to employ any 3D models without worrying compatibility with your devices.
Meanwhile, this free 3D rendering program has incredible processing speed. This is because Chaos Corona is a CPU-based engine. With a wide range of lighting effects and materials selection, it becomes one of the best rendering software for architectural visualization.
This free 3D rendering software was developed to deliver superior project renderings, VR scenes and even animation. With its management tools, Artlantis is compatible with various programs, such as ArchiCAD, SketchUpPro, Autodesk Revit Architecture, etc. Also, the elements of Artlantis Media make it more convenient to establish a simulated scene close to the realistic environment.
To work with different objects, it consists of two versions: Artlantis Render and Artlantis Studio. If you merely want to create high-quality architectural renderings, the former version can definitely satisfy you. For additional needs, you can use the latter version to complete the projects like animations, VR objects and iVisit 3D panoramas. In all, Artlantis is a perfect tool for different people including architects, interior/landscape designers, urban planners, etc.
Different from many 3D rendering software, this real-time rendering software applies WebGL technology. It is more suitable for users who expect to display their 3D works in an interactive form online. For example, 3D presentations, materials for education, portfolios for studios, etc. As far, users can use Verge 3D together with some modeling programs including Blender, Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya.
This is an open-source software particularly suitable for beginners/students. On the one hand, it provides a full list of furniture model samples for free, which is helpful to work with interior rendering. On the other hand, it is important to view the space before making decisions on any rearrangement of furniture. This best free rendering program supports to create new interiors and exteriors correspondingly in a short time. As a result, users can view and adjust promptly without spending extra time.
As a free version of Houdini FX, it offers access to all of Houdini FX’s virtual functions. By using Houdini Education, you can import any scene files and get higher-resolution renderings without a watermark. Actually, it is also a mature software supporting different processes like 3D modeling, rendering, post-composition, simulation and animation. To improve the rendering effect, this free rendering program allows to work with Mantra, Render Man and some other renderers. More specifically, this software contains rich light sources, many light shades, a large material library and a set of tools for the use of surround sound.
In this free rendering software, there are no watermarks or limitations as it should be for non-commercial use. This 3D rendering software has to be mentioned because it is Pixar’s free version. With its advantages of shading, lighting and rendering, it works with Cinema4D and Houdini. Its plugins can work with some major rendering program such as 3ds Max, Rhino, Blender, etc. Meanwhile, Render Man team developed a user community for discussion and sharing of your architectural projects.
Conclusion
Now we can easily find that there is still some free but full-fledged rendering software. If you are interested in any software above, please check our wrap-up for key information. Once finding the most suitable one, you will better enjoy the process of creating wonderful renderings for your projects. Of course, it will be of greater possibility to make your architectural designs more enchanted and unforgettable.
Exterior rendering can smartly and honestly showcase the design of a structure. In real estate industry, 3D exterior renderings help advertise by creating powerful atmosphere and photorealistic details of the design. Real estate agencies can use 3D visuals for presentation purposes, pinpointing all the subtle details and making the design more attractive to the potential buyers.
Avi, from a real estate company in the USA, was looking for a 3D rendering for one of their properties in Los Angeles. This is a private property and the construction was nearly finished, except the outdoor garden section. They hoped to have a persuasive 3D exterior rendering to market this property in advance.
Brief for 3D Exterior Rendering
A good briefing is half the success of a visualization project. To help us understand the project and start immediately, Avi shared the following information and files:
The current site photos. They help us get a general idea of the vision of this project which is important. The left bottom corner of the first image is the part under construction and Avi wanted to show. And the final rendering should have the same material and design as the current property. Thus, we could use them as a material reference.
The sketch of the house, the unbuilt part in particular. Although it is a conceptual sketch, the stairs and garden are clear enough.
The CAD plans. Our 3D artists would build the 3D model based on the information in the plans.
Some images as the references of the mood of the final image.
Exterior Rendering Process
As the first stage of the whole process, we built the 3D model after studying the CAD plans and the site photos. It was a process which turned 2D into 3D. Here, the important thing was to strictly follow the photo of the house as the structure, materials, and colors. Moreover, we added a view which demonstrated the part which our client really wanted to show – the outdoor stairs and garden. This was to confirm the structure of this unbuilt part.
As one of the best features of 3D rendering services, it allows architectural designing while creating 3D visuals. In this project, the 3D model created from CAD plans was not complete, and needed further adjustment. As a result, we’ve received Avi’s comments on the 3D model, namely:
The wall along the front and the two entrance gates will be black rod iron, consistent with the balcony and patio rod iron.
The fence block wall on the west and north should be lower a bit higher than the second planer wall.
Make a window next to the contrast color door on the first floor, and a window on the opposite side of the door.
We modified the 3D model as instructed and sent it to Avi. After Avi’s team confirmed back the model, we’ve moved into next stage: applying materials, textures, and lighting. Because we’ve got the site photo and mood reference images, we decided to directly create the final image. This meant our 3D specialists completed the materials, lighting, and post-production all at once.
Based on the reference images, we finished the final draft. To illustrate this private property, our final visual communicates how the structure interact with the nature which nestled in the vibrant greenery. Avi was very satisfied with the result. The final image is here:
It was a sheer pleasure working with Avi’s team on this amazing project. We’re so happy that they’re satisfied with our work and service. For real estate rendering services, they’ve prepared almost all necessary information and files in the briefing. And during the process, their comments on drafts were prompt and clear. This in turn speeded up the working process.
We all in a visual world. Instead of assigning budgets on traditional marketing for your real estate projects, why not try architectural visualization services and sell your property in advance with the help of powerful visuals? Contact our professional 3D rendering studio now to bring your real estate business to the next level!
