Creating high-quality architectural visualizations is an essential part of the design process, but it can also be time-consuming and challenging. However, with the right approach and tools, you can streamline the rendering process and create high-quality visualizations that accurately represent your design.
Why you need to make the Architectural 3D Rendering Workflow Smooth
Firstly, architectural rendering can be a time-consuming process, and any delays or setbacks can impact project timelines and budgets. By having a smooth and efficient workflow, architects and designers can produce high-quality visualizations in less time, which allows them to focus on other aspects of the project.
Additionally, a smooth rendering workflow can lead to better results. When architects and designers have more time and resources to experiment with different lighting and camera settings, they can create more realistic and visually appealing renderings that accurately represent their designs. This can help clients better understand and visualize the final product, which can improve communication and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.
A streamlined rendering workflow can also improve collaboration and teamwork. When everyone involved in the project is working from the same set of files and using the same tools and techniques, it’s easier to share ideas and work together towards a common goal. This can improve the quality of the final product and reduce the risk of errors or inconsistencies.
Tips on How to Smooth and Streamline Your Architectural 3D Rendering Workflow
Understand the Goal of Your Project
Especially when you find the rendering process hard to proceed, you should take a moment to look back and summarize the situation. Here, the most important and the initial thing is to understand the goal of your project. The purpose of the project is closely associated with effective communication since your clients need to have a clear understanding of what they require. Furthermore, if you find yourself stuck, you can always consult with your clients to clarify things.
Create a Render-specific Brief
To streamline the workflow and produce better results, it’s better for architects and designer to have a clear and render-specific brief. Having a project brief template can be advantageous, particularly when you feel overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to do. Without a clear plan, you may feel lost and unsure of what steps to take next.
Start with a Good 3D Model
The quality of your final render is largely dependent on the quality of your 3D model. Before you start the rendering process, make sure your 3D model is accurate, detailed, and optimized for rendering. This means ensuring that all geometry is clean and free of errors, and that materials and textures are applied correctly. Take the time to refine your 3D model before moving on to the rendering process. If you need any help in this process, AIMIR is happy to provide 3D modeling services for any types of projects.
Use High-Quality & Realistic Textures & Materials
Textures can make a huge difference in the realism and quality of your final render. When selecting textures, choose high-quality images that are seamless and have a high resolution. Make sure to also use bump maps and displacement maps to add depth and detail to your textures. Avoid using low-quality or blurry textures, as they can detract from the overall quality of your render.
Use Proper Lighting
Lighting is a critical element in architectural 3D rendering. It can make or break the realism of your render. Use natural lighting and artificial lighting to create a realistic environment for your design. Pay attention to the position and intensity of your light sources to ensure they create the right mood and ambiance. Use tools like V-Ray’s Light Lister or Corona’s LightMix to quickly adjust your lighting setup. Be careful if you’re using site photo for the final image. You need to pay great attention to the consistency of the lighting in both the model and the photo.
Choose the Right Camera Settings
The camera settings you use will greatly impact the final output of your render. When setting up your camera, pay attention to the focal length, aperture, and shutter speed. These settings will affect the depth of field, sharpness, and exposure of your final render. Experiment with different camera settings until you find the perfect balance between realism and artistic expression.
Use Post-Processing Tools
Post-processing tools can help you fine-tune your render and add a professional touch to your visualizations. Tools like Photoshop, Lightroom, or Affinity Photo can help you adjust color, contrast, and exposure, and add special effects or filters. You can also use post-processing tools to remove noise or artifacts from your render, or to add lens flares or other visual elements.
Try to Optimize Your Scene
To speed up your rendering process, it’s important to optimize your scene. This means reducing the number of polygons, simplifying materials, and optimizing the lighting setup. Use tools like the Scene Optimizer in 3ds Max or the Scene Inspector in Blender to identify and fix any performance issues in your scene.
Conclusion
In all, it is important to have a render-specific workflow that is specifically designed for architectural rendering. This means setting up your scene specifically for rendering, and using the right tools and techniques to achieve the desired look and feel of your design. By following these tips and best practices, architects and designers can create stunning visualizations that accurately represent their designs in the best possible light.
Still struggling with architectural 3D rendering process? Don’t know where to start? To get photorealistic renderings of your project, please talk to our professional project manager. We will get your covered! Contact us for reliable architectural visualization services and get high-end 3D visuals at a reasonable price.
A year and a half ago, AIMIR published a blog discussing both merits and disadvantages between freelancers and 3D rendering company. Since the subjects are changed from what’s themed then, this article would be analyzing the Pros and Cons between the in-house team and outsourced CG companies. Hopefully, you can conclude with the best choice for your own company.
AIMIR itself has established a public image as a professional CG company and service supplier and has successfully served a great number of clients who also internally own their in-house visualizers and technical team. Years of experience working with them has rendered us aware of something much deeper. Basically, we’ve come to the conclusion that general situations that drive people to outsource projects can be listed as: the small scale of the in-house team, lack of available professionals, limitations in streamlining the working process, and poor project management. The worse part could be the ever-changing recruited visualizers, who may differ tremendously incompetence and therefore, trigger quality fluctuation.
Judging from the above, AIMIR as a professional 3D rendering company, becomes a better alternative and the merits are self-evident. To break it down:
First and foremost, CG companies have developed their own managing system which narrates a clear division of work between team members, who are also closely linked by active communication. Apart from such a working environment, AIMIR has also benefited from its well-tuned working process and methodology that underpin a fine production for every project. To guarantee smooth production, there is at least one project manager, one 3D artist, and one modelist who would be involved in every assigned project.
Secondly, well-established CG companies have stood the test of various projects. This has prepared them with valuable insight into understanding the true needs of the client and resolving issues that emerge during the production. Below is a diagram showcasing AIMIR’s quality control system that’s strictly followed, which greatly secure the quality before sending over the final renderings.
Thirdly, general services and production are of high efficiency. 3D rendering company will provide adaptive solutions such as by doubling manpower or adjusting the schedule flexibly when dealing with urgent projects as well as other issues. To keep the project running 24/7 to make sure 100% on-time delivery. Here is an article that serves as strong evidence to support the efficient workflow inside AIMIR. How AIMIR secures 100% on-time delivery?
Fourthly, outsourcing becomes a must sometimes. Almost 95% of the in-house teams of architectural or design company can’t finish the job when their clients ask for a video walkthrough presentation. Forest Island Animation, one of AIMIR’s individually accomplished projects, successfully wins over our clients’ hearts.
Fifthly, in-house team may be overpaying redundant personnel considering the unsteady project influx. In this case, outsourcing is an effective way to save such cost.
It seems however, CG companies have completely outshone the in-house team. Is there any way that the latter could turn the tide? Well in some aspects, in-house team do boost obvious advantages, if we consider them from the client standpoint:
No time difference; Simultaneous synchronization
Internal real-time/face-to-face communication
No extra charge for capricious modification
Lower cost in paying personnel when the project influx is steady and saturated
What’s covered above is a general analysis of the Pros and Cons between outsourcing and insourcing. Overall speaking, merits and downsides are interconvertible in a specific context. The core mindset is: Weigh the benefits and cost and Choose wisely.
AMIR wish that all clients can witness the smooth progress of their projects, and be captured by the beauty of 3D architectural visualization. If you are looking for a professional CG company, please feel free to contact us a line anytime.
Here is a list of options of our virtual reality architectural services that can be tailored to meet your company’s needs.
It may sound obvious, but there are a lot of those who don’t know
Benefits of VR Architectural Visualization Technology in Real Estate
Saves Time
This is probably the biggest benefit – VR architectural visualization save time for both clients and realtors. Thanks to VR, there’s no need to travel from one place to another. Instead, clients can simply put on VR headsets and enjoy immersive three-dimensional tours.
Instant Sense of Ownership
Nudging clients headed for making a purchase or signing a rental agreement is the most challenging task for most real estate agents. And that’s when VR home tours come in handy, because VR places users inside a whole new world, the experience is like one being transported. Picture the impression your best show home makes when being viewed for the first time.
VR is more than just a walk through. Interactivity includes changes to walls, flooring, fabrics, counters, and even furniture models and layout. Give your prospects the rewarding hands-on experience of making a home their own.
Capture Every Angle
VR architectural visualization can take users on a tour of your property, including interiors and exteriors. Remember, this is a medium that effortlessly lets users visit as they want whenever/wherever. Apply that functionality to your show home and you’ll offer an experience that transforms home sales into an amazing journey.
Saves Money
Virtual reality helps you save a lot of money by using the power of 360° videos and computer graphics, showing homes, scale models, and printed collateral – all of which need to be redesigned and remade when concepts change. Today, making a guided video tour around a property requires just a panoramic camera and basic rendering.
Offers Global Reach
VR architectural visualization has the power to reach anyone in the world within minutes. Real estate agents know quite well how much time each client requires. Arranging visits, showing properties, negotiating terms and prices – all of these tasks are extremely time-consuming.
Virtual reality can change this. Since most properties can be shown through virtual tours, realtors can work more productively. Of course, this means you can work with more clients and develop more inquiries.
It’s guaranteed that the final product will be what you expect.
VR ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION SERVICES WORKFLOW
STEP 1. STORYBOARD/CAMERA PATH
This is an optional stage for large scale projects where we search for the best way to present your product or project.
Together we work on the main concept or idea behind the video. To further develop the concept we use drawn storyboards or photo collages. They give us basic understanding about timing, characters, objects, cameras, narrative.
Our goal is to catch viewers mind, create emotions and atmosphere. Also at this stage, we collect image and video references which help us convey our idea.
* You will be required to sign the storyboard confirmation before moving to the next stage.
STEP 2. 3D MODELING PHASE & CAMERA SETUP
a. Analyze CAD plans, sections, etc. for technical details of project b. Create 3D models c. Create 3D environment d. Setup scene layout e. Create additional and supporting details f. Determine the number of cameras to be created according to the Animation Sequence provided by clients g. Create and set cameras h. Create camera animation rigs and paths for animation script i. Set the timelines and durations of shots per camera
Since animatic looks really sketchy it accompanied by mood references usually.
a. Set the color theme of the environment, buildings, exterior, interior, and associated models b. Texture the environment and 3D models c. Exterior day mode lighting setup d. Interior mode lighting setup e. Background music for the animation
Finishes specification or material samples would help us greatly to speed things up. We also add vegetation and nice small details into the scenes.
* You will be required to sign the model & camera path confirmation before moving to the next stage..
STEP 4. 3D RENDERING, MOTION GRAPHICS (PARALLEL TASKS)
a. Create raw 3D output data for compositing b. Visual effects c. Motion graphics d. Transitions
STEP 5. POST-PRODUCTION
a. Composite raw 3D data b. Background music and background score c. Special effects d. Environment e Animation f. Navigation g. Transitions h. Editing
* You will be required to sign the final video confirmation before authoring and delivery.
STEP 6. AUTHORING AND DELIVERY
Final video on the required resolution. 8-bit/16-bit color. MP4 or MOV format.
STEP 7. PROJECT SUMMARY SURVEY
After we finish every project, we always do a summary for go over the problems, if there is any, and think about how we can do it better next time. You will also be asked to fill a Client Satisfaction Survey to rate our service and provide feedback. All are aimed to provide you better service next time.
Let us know if you've got an interesting project and want to work together!
