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Digital Asset Library
Over the past couple decades, I have accumulated a large library of digital assets. These digital assets are the bread-n-butter to my digital workflow. A well organized stock pile of high quality 3D model and textures is fantastic, but they come with time. I remember spending hours looking for free 3D models to use in projects. Those days are long gone, but sometimes I need something that I just never needed before. My modeling skills are pretty high, but my time is relatively valuable, so off to the internet I go. Unlike a couple of decades ago, I have larger budgets, so a quick trip to Turbosquid usually does the trick, but before I go there, I always stop over at arcive3d.
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Some say it takes 10,000 hours, or 10 years, to be a master of something. To create photo-real architectural renderings it takes a lot of hard work, and only a few have mastered the craft of photo-real architectural renderings. It takes a lot of screen time, more than you might imagine.
Some say that unless you are in the photo-real business nobody is noticing the subtleties that keep an image from being photo-real, but I would have to disagree. Humans have a keen sense of perception and can perceive even the smallest errors in what they are viewing, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of 3D computer animation which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers.
One study conducted in 2009 examined the evolutionary mechanism behind the aversion associated with the uncanny valley. A group of five monkeys were shown three images: two different 3D monkey faces (realistic, unrealistic), and a real photo of a monkey's face. The monkeys' eye-gaze was used as a proxy for preference or aversion. Since the realistic 3D monkey face was looked at less than either the real photo, or the unrealistic 3D monkey face, this was interpreted as an indication that the monkey participants found the realistic 3D face aversive, or otherwise preferred the other two images. As one would expect with the uncanny valley, more realism can lead to less positive reactions, and this study demonstrated that neither human-specific cognitive processes, nor human culture explain the uncanny valley. In other words, this aversive reaction to realism can be said to be evolutionary in origin
Our clients don't understand what it takes to produce a photo-real rendering. But, they expect something that makes them feel comfortable when viewing it, and not something that seems off, or wrong. There is a wide gamut of work, which is being called photo-real, but unless it looks like a photo, it's not photo-real.
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Know Your Rights: Copyright 101 for Artists
How Much Do You Know About Copyright?
Artist Daily and the staff at Interweave have released a new free eBook Know Your Rights: Copyright 101 for Artists to help raise awareness of the issues surrounding copyright and give credit to the talented writers, designers, artists, photographers, and innovators who work with us to share their products and ideas with our readers.
This guide to the basics of copyright is for anyone and everyone: designers and makers, crafters, retailers, library staff, educators, and more.
Most people think of pirated movies or music when they hear about copyright violations, says Eunny Jang, editor ofInterweave Knits magazine. But we answer questions about copyright for crafters, artists, designers, and authors every day—copyright and other intellectual property issues are a big deal in the DIY marketplace, where the "I can do that!" spirit and respect for original, independent design and authorship need to coexist peacefully.
This free resource addresses topics such as:
- What is copyright?
- How does copyright work?
- What is copyright infringement?
- Plus other pressing topics from simple questions to more complex issues, such as:
- Can I resell a pattern/magazine/book/DVD I own? What about purchases of my digital downloads?
- Can I make and sell projects I found in a book or magazine?
- Where can I find more instructions for projects that I can make and sell?
- How can I tell if a work is in the public domain?
- Do I always retain copyright as the original author of a piece?
- What do I do if someone’s violating my copyright?
- And much more.
Ultimately, copyright is about protecting the creative process, ensuring that the creator of a work can benefit from that work," adds Jang.
Our goal at Interweave is to educate our consumers about what copyright is, and why it matters—and to give authors, artists, and designers everywhere the tools they need to protect their own rights so they can continue to create new works and share them with the public.
Interior Renderings and Illustrations
Chairs, tables, sofas, and other pieces usually figure so prominently that perfection in the rest of the rendering is negated if the furniture is not up to standard.
Illustrations may depict complete rooms, or they may be vignettes of home furnishings or products set against suggested backgrounds.
Interior decorators, designers, and architects use these renderings as presentation drawings and for submission to their clients. Some are reproduced in brochures.
Department and furniture stores, or their advertising agencies, include interior renderings in ads that merchandize houshold necessities.
If you have any question please, contact me, and I'll reply as soon as possible.
My Thought on Working from Someone's Revit Model
You can hardly be an architectural illustrator, working in the industry today, without having to work with a Revit Architectural model. This is how I feel about the workflow...
In the mid 80's, I started creating architectural renderings for a living. By getting paid for my work, I guess you can say; I was a professional illustrator.
My architectural renderings were invariably done with black pen, on cold press paper. I spent a lot of time working through perspective, light, and shadow. Not until I got everything worked out on paper, with a blue pencil, did I commence drawing.
Preparing a perspective architectural rendering is a science... If anything is off perspective, your rendering will look wrong. It's amazing and has been a personal interest of the mind, how people perceive things. Our minds eye expects to see something, and if that something isn't what it expected to see, red flags are raised. If a person, in your architectural rendering is off scale, it will ruin your viewers experience. So, I can comfortably say, preparing a drawing was 1/2 the work.
Unless an architectural rendering you were working on is a personal project, your time is a premium, and time is money. When I got my first PC, I discovered a shortcut. With my PC, I was able to mass out primitives, work out perspective, and study light and shadow. What took many hours, on paper with pen, would only take minutes with the PC. Now, with the perspective worked out, I could spend more time on the creative part of my architectural renderings.
Fast forward couple decades, to the present time, and I see the same thing happening. Once the PC could handle more than primitives, I started rendering 100% digitally. I put down the pen and paper, picked up the mouse, and everything is now digital. So, instead of spending a lot of time working out perspective on paper, I found myself spending a lot if time trying to model from 2D architectural drawings. To get a good render digitally, you have to build a clean model. The process from 2D wasn't pretty. It served a purpose; I found all the construction errors on the drawing but at my expense. I was commissioned to illustrate, not to do a construct-ability study.
Over the past several years, I have been asked to take over a lot of Revit Architectural models. Although these models are not modeled nearly clean enough for a high quality render, I wasn't stuck with drawings that didn't work. Although I end up remodeling most of the models I get, there is still savings. Everything has been worked out, so I can spend a lot less time modeling through all the issues, and I can spend more time on the creative part, which is why I do what I do.
The 11th Hour Phone Call
There is no denying that our industry has changed. But, do you know what I don't miss? I don't miss the 11th hour phone call, from clients with that urgent project, that they needed tomorrow. The reason I don't have to deal with that is, most of them are no longer in business.
Presently, I have top shelf clients, who treasure quality workmanship. The quantity of work isn't there, but the high caliber projects are. The only way someone can think it takes hours to produce something stunning is, if they don't value what you do, anyway.
YOU CAN'T CUT CORNERS, specially with your visual deliveries. The best intent will be lost, if you don't have good graphical representation.
The testimonies I get, from returning clients, go like this:
Bobby, I got my last two clients partially because of the work you did for me on previous projects. But, both were upset because, when it came to their project, the quality just wasn't there.
So, the moral of this story is, only the good survive. The people who have dispensable income are the ones who value quality and craftsmen ship.
Autodesk Lays Off 7% Of Entire Staff
Digital design giant Autodesk laid off 7% of its workforce Thursday, sources tell Mashable.
That totals around 500 employees — including a number of 3D developers and several product managers.
Many of the layoffs were handled on a one-by-one basis throughout the day, following the company’s disappointing earnings report.
“Our own execution challenges, combined with an uneven global economy, resulted in disappointing revenue results for the quarter,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk president and CEO. “The changes better position Autodesk to meet the needs of our customers. We are focused on working through our internal challenges as rapidly as possible.”
Autodesk’s fiscal second-quarter profits fell 9.3%.
An Autodesk representative tell us that while the company eliminated close to 500 positions Thursday, it plans to create that many new jobs over the course of the year.
“As part of today’s announcement, Autodesk shared plans for a restructuring related to executing on the company’s strategy including its continuing shift to cloud and mobile computing, “ the company said in a statement.
”While Autodesk is reducing its overall staffing levels in the near-term, the company will continue to invest in key development areas. In addition, the company intends to consolidate certain leased facilities.”
The restructuring is focused primarily of the company’s shift to cloud and mobile computing.
“This action allows us to continue to invest in recruiting and hiring people who can bring Autodesk the skills and experience that are critical for achieving our mid and long-term goals, says Bass. “As part of the ongoing platform shift, it’s clear to us that design and engineering software will move to cloud and mobile platforms. Cloud and mobile has been a major investment area for Autodesk over the past couple of years and this restructuring will accelerate our progress as we intend to further invest in employees with expertise and skill sets essential to this transition.
“Additionally, this restructuring helps us reduce costs and streamline the organization as a continuation of the activities we began earlier this year.”
Architectural Drawings No Less Protectable Than Art
By ADAM KLASFELD
MANHATTAN (CN) - Architectural renderings enjoy the same copyright protection as Edward Hopper or Claude Monet's paintings of houses, the 2nd Circuit ruled, reviving a case that could hold major realtors accountable for infringement. Scholz Design says it produced drawings of three luxurious, tree-shaded houses, "Springvalley A," "Wethersfield B," and "Breckinridge A," which it registered in the Copyright Office in 1988 and 1989.
Although they were not detailed enough to serve as construction blueprints, the Connecticut-based company Sard Custom Homes used these renderings as a guide to build the homes, according to the court's summary.
Scholz says that Sard agreed it had no right to copy the images or use them for advertisements.
In October 2010, Scholz filed a lawsuit claiming that Sard broke this contract by sharing the pictures with Prudential Connecticut and Caldwell Banker, which put the images on their websites in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton dismissed the case, finding that an architectural drawing must be able to serve as a blueprint for construction to be protectable.
A three-judge panel at 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected that proposed rule on Wednesday.
"We see no reason why Scholz's drawings depicting the appearance of houses it had designed should be treated differently from any other pictorial work for copyright purposes," Judge Robert Sack wrote for the panel. "Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper were famous for their paintings of houses, and Claude Monet for paintings of the Houses of Parliament and of Rouen Cathedral. None of these depictions of buildings were sufficiently detailed to guide construction of the buildings depicted, but that would surely not justify denying them copyright protection. If an exact copy was made by the defendant, as alleged, and as appears to be the case based on the evidence submitted with the complaint, that would appear to constitute infringement."
The panel chided the federal judge for stepping into the realms of art criticism, quoting Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes as saying, "[i]t would be a dangerous undertaking for persons trained only to the law to constitute themselves the final judges of the worth of pictorial illustrations."
According to the decision, the realtors also contend that they have the right to use the drawings under fair use, which allows for the publication of copyrighted images for news reporting, criticism, scholarship and research. The appellate court would not consider the issue at this time because the district judge did not factor that defense in her decision. The case will return to District of Connecticut, and the realtors will have to pay Scholz for the costs of appeal.
It Cost How Much?
Part of our job, as architectural illustrators, is to sell our work. A lot of illustrators charge an hourly fee, but to me, that doesn't make much sense. You'll find with that logic the more experience you have, the faster you can create your art, and then the less money you'll make. So, how do we charge for our service? If you are like me, and purchase high-end software with anual subscriptions, it is expensive to operate. Not only do we purchase software, we have to have reliable hardware to meet tight dealines.
Yesterday I was talking to a construction manager, we'll call him Bob, about costs for interior and exterior illustrations. The construction manager was preparing for a meeting with his potential client. The project was a design-bid-build, with design going to three local contractors for bid.
After talking with the architect, I found out that the homeowner is particularly concerned about the building process. The architect is passing his design along to the builder. The architect said, "The homeowner needs a builder that can take their hand through the process". Their life savings are being invested in their dream home based on a series of 2-D drawings. This doesn't make sense to the homeowner, and they are terribly concerned, that they were not able to make intelligent decisions.
Bob inquired about prices for illustrations, which might help him get the job. These would be illustrations the architect didn't provide. I studied the drawings, briefly while he was standing with me, and I gave him an approximate price. The room got quiet… I asked Bob how much it would cost to re-paint an average size room, or move a window a couple inches?
Let's say the homeowner opted not to invest in some superb illustrations and the first afternoon, in their new home, they can't watch TV in their new living room because the sunset is glaring on their screen. Easy fix: they go to the home improvement store and buy some terribly expensive window blinds to cover up the glare, and the beautiful view.
Several years ago I was part of the design process for a church built. I positioned the building on the site with a large cross shaped window, behind the pulpit, facing Southwest. My intents were as the congregation looks at the pastor, with the soft, diffused light from the cross behind him, that image would be captured in their mind-eye when they close their eyes in prayer. The point I was after was no different from looking at a lightbulb, closing your eyes, and still seeing the light of lightbulb. Once the design was done I was removed from the process, and the drawings went to the builder. At some point, the builder decided to mirror the building on the site, save some money, and guess what happened on that first Sunday morning service? The 10 AM sunrise blinded the congregation! Easy fix: get some darned dark tint, put on the glass, and problem solved.
These quick fixes are called value engineering. To fix something in the field, as it's being built, is frightfully expensive. Homeowners see their dream home for the first time as it's being built. Any changes to the design will be exceedingly costly, which could have been avoided, with some strong initial illustrations.
Every design warrants an illustration, in my opnion. If you want a happy client, make sure there isn't value engineering, which is very expensive. We have to sell our work based on its quality, and its value to the project.
Architectural illustrators play a supporting and essential role
Architectural illustrators play a supporting and essential role in the process of rendering designs for structures and buildings of all kinds. This skill set allows for architectural firms to maintain healthy relationships between the client and the contractor. This is essential in the long, and sometimes difficult and expensive, process required to carry a design from dream to reality. A accomplished architectural illustrator should also be aware of the wide range of techniques available to the professional.
The way in which clients hire architectural illustrators may depend on the specific type of structure involved. Industrial and commercial clients, for instance, may deal with illustrators only through large architectural firms. People proactively involved in designing a residential building for themselves, on the other hand, may directly engage illustratrors to craft designs for them. Moreover, regardless of whether the building involved is a house, factory or storefront, people can choose between specialized illustrators or illustrator and architect partnerships.
Illustrators can allow clients to conceive of how different details will be used in a structure. For example, illustrations might render the landscape surrounding the house, industrial workplace or commercial facility. Design drafts could also lay out the details of a building's floor plan and interior. Architectural illustrators effectively create models uniting all of these different elements, most effectively with 3D software. Builders can also take advantage of illustrators by employing them to create images of homes to show to potential buyers. In short, people involved in the home or workplace construction process should never overlook the benefits potentially offered by architectural illustratos.
Get Paid, Not Played!
Good news: Senators Robach and McDonald have both signed on as co-sponsors of the Freelancer Payment Protection Act.
This crucial win puts us in a much stronger position to get it passed because both senators sit on the Labor Committee – the group that needs to review our bill. Even better, Senator Robach is the committee’s chairman.
And it’s a direct result of your work: many of you attended meetings with your senators to lobby them, and provided your own personal stories of nonpayment so we could share them with legislators.
That’s what it takes: all of us coming together to make our voices heard. And it’s working.
Please visit Senator Robach's Facebook page and email Senator McDonald to thank them and let them know we’re grateful for and counting on their ongoing support of freelancers.
Best,
Sara Horowitz
Founder and Executive Director
P.S. We’re not letting up now: we’re sending a new member’s story every week about how deadbeat clients affect their livelihood. If you have a story you’d like to tell, please sign in to share it in The Freelance Life.
Deadlines
Ideally an assignment is given enough time in advance to allow ample time for proper thought and execution. Like it or not, the tyranny of the deadline is one of the harshest facts of an illustrator's life. The sooner you learn to live with it the better. It is also an excellent teacher; having to meet a deadline is a sure way to developed skills and temperament demanded for quick competent drawings.
Employ Your Services
Average laymen, including many actively enaged in construction and development, find it extremely difficult to visualize the project from bulky plans, elevations, details, diagram, and other specifications included in a set of working drawings. Your knack for translating them into attractive three-dimensional form will be a major reason for others to employ your services
Sophistication and Competition
Today success in the field is difficult for any proffessional who does not develop his skills quickly enough to keep abreast of trends. Sharpen Your Pencil
The success of an illustration depends on how well it tells a particular story or suits a purpose, rather than on how it was produced.
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration.
Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law.
7 Essential Red Flags to Watch Out for in New Clients
Working with clients is one of the most difficult parts of being a architectural illustrator.
It is a challenge which we face each and every day, regardless of whether we work in-house, as freelancers, or as agency owners.
Some clients are great, while others leave us tearing our hair our and wondering why we felt the need to subject ourselves to this line of work.
While some problems with clients can be put down to poor communication by both parties, many times we can identify clients which are going to be difficult before we even start working with them.
You can read the article here
Legal Title
Legal title doesn't refer to the name of a rendering but rather who owns it. Say a client sees your 3D rendering portfolio, falls in love with your work and commissions you for a $1500.00 rendering, and gives you a deposit on the spot (with cash, no less). The second she gives you the money, your client become the owner and title "passes" from you to her-that is, if she pays you the full $1500.00.
In the real world, of course, few people pay right away. And if you're partially paid (deposit) she gives you $750.00 now and plans to pay you another $750.00 in a month - you only keep title to the rendering for as long as you actually hold on to it (that is, keep it on your server or wherever). By letting your client take the rendering, you're giving her title to it - even though she hasn't fully paid you! She still owes you $750.00, but you don't own the rendering anymore.
It is easy (and lawful) to get around this default title rule. All you have to do is state on your invoice:
Ttitle will not pass until payment is received in full or Paid in full upon completion.
This makes it clear that you are not letting your client become the owner of the rendering - even if she's already received the file - until she's paid for it in full.
Another straightforward way to prevent title passing before you're fully paid is to keep the rendering, or watermark it, until you're fully paid.
Value your work:
Architects and Illustrators
We architectural illustrators have a great deal in common. That's why we all get along so well. But there's something about us that may seem a little surprising. When it comes to how we deal with our clients, there are as many methods as there are illustrators. No two are the same.
Well, maybe it isn't all that surprising. A lot of us are self-employed mavericks who enjoy the independence that our career offers, so why would we want to imitate anyone else? As a result, when it comes to our business relationships with our most faithful and dedicated patrons — architects — anything goes. Maybe there should be a few guidelines?
Style
Let's start with how we work. Some of us prefer that our clients give us complete information about a project and then let us vanish until we have finished the job and presented it to wild acclaim. Others want to keep the lines of communication open constantly, avoiding any surprises at the end, pleasant or unpleasant. Some illustrators like projects in which everything has been worked out complete to the last detail. Others would rather have vague instructions — the less information the better — allowing them to create their images almost from scratch.
These opposites describe two poles in the architectural illustrator continuum. At one end, is the illustrator as supplier, selling an artistic product to a client for a price. At the other end is the illustrator as consultant, interacting with the client and providing advice for a fee according to specific needs. This is product vs process. So the first question to ask is: What does the architect-client want — a product or some advice — an illustration or an illustrator? Or a little of both? More than any other consideration, the answer to this question will provide the basis for the success or failure of the relationship.
Trust
In either case, a second element, one that is extremely important to any relationship, must also exist. That element is trust. In my discussions with other illustrators on this topic, this feature was given highest priority. Illustrators feel that each party must understand and appreciate what the other is trying to do as well as how this is to be accomplished — sympathy and accommodation.
For the architect, this means that the illustrator should be treated fairly. Comments will always be helpful ones and given at the right time. Decisions will always be made by the appropriate person. Deadlines will be honestly arrived at and reported and the effect of changes to the work will be considered. within the context of these deadlines. Some media (watercolor, e.g.) are notoriously difficult to change. Clients should understand the process and the necessary sequence of events, especially if the budget and deadline are fixed. One illustrator told me "Some architects seem to want to make changes solely as a way of maintaining control. But what's really annoying is that their changes are often good ones."
For the illustrator, the responsibilities are even greater. Hired for her expertise, the illustrator is being well paid to perform a vital (perhaps critical) function. First, she must meet her clients requirements regarding budget and deadline, but she must equal or surpass the client's expectations regarding quality of work. The illustrator should maintain portfolio samples that are appropriate to the job and represent an accurate example of current capabilities. She should be familiar with and understand, as much as possible, the architect's design philosophy and intent. As discussed above, she should appreciate the degree of involvement, camaraderie, and discussion that the architect is comfortable with. Most importantly, she should understand exactly what the illustrations are to be used for.
Function
This last requirement is the result of the illustrator's unique experience. Architecture in the twenty-first century involves the work of many, many specialists. No one architect can ever possess all the knowledge required. Illustrators are specialists in the communication of architectural ideas. If there is some particular aspect of the project that needs to be communicated in a particular way, it is the illustrator's job to know how to do that. If the architect is having trouble connecting his design intent with the design execution, it is the illustrator's job to find that connection and to help express it. If the project just needs a drop-dead gorgeous image to keep it afloat, then go to it.
OK, Money
But how can we leave the discussion without mentioning money? The illustrators that I spoke to were generally in favor of receiving more, but mostly agreed that they were currently compensated adequately. But, they all want to know: What is the deal with giving the illustrator a week to do the work and then waiting four months to pay for it? Any and all responses to this question will be gratefully entertained.
Just as we illustrators all have different ways of working, we also all have different reasons for having chosen this profession, although we would probably all agree that we do this work because we like it. We chose it — some of us even invented it — for ourselves. Architects tell me the same thing: the work is rewarding, enjoyable and meaningful. Working together, architects and illustrators can expect to accomplish a great deal. And enjoy doing it.