Blog
Paper is Flat
The essence of paper is flat, a dimensional plane. When possible, put your light source in a spot that helps accentuate the big plane changes of your model. This often means placing the light a little off to the side of the model. Angle the light source so either the light or the shadow shapes ...
Atmospheric Perspective
Atmospheric perspective. Often referred to as aerial perspective, atmospheric perspective references the compounded effect that air and light have on objects as they recede. As the reflective light off the object filters its way through the intervening air to the viewer’s eyes (referred to as the line of sight), the contrast between the object and ...
Knowing When To Stop
Knowing when to stop is an issue many artist struggle with, particularly those employing a photo-real style. I’ve created some terrific architectural renderings by not stopping at the “pretty rendering” stage, but instead pushing on to that magical moment when the piece turns into a “capital -B Beautiful rendering. Yearning for something more has become my greatest struggle in creating art.
Know Your Potential Client
Prior to contacting a potential client, do the research. Search the internet to piece together a historic perspective of the company.
Start With Good Photographic References
An architect friend of mine once told me that your rendering will only be as strong as your reference. With enough experience, you may be able to make a successful rendering, no matter how compelling the reference is. However, until you’re making consistently strong, engaging renders, take this idea as gospel: start with good photographic references.
Point and Click (render)
Pulling a camera view and hitting render is much like picking up a point-and-shoot camera and clicking away. Many renderings I’m seeing have exceedingly little that is artistically pleasing. The renderings provide raw information that does not take into account the concept of aesthetics. An artist, working digitally, can manipulate the viewer’s eye by leading it through the composition to a specific focal point. The lightest ...
The Race Against the Machine
In Race Against the Machine (which is a terrific read, BTW), Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson make the point that the impact of Moore’s Law is just beginning to hit its radical phase. Andy and Erik use the analogy of the fable of the invention of chess as a way to talk about what happens ...
What’s Your Message?
Like every painting, every rendering, should have a message. The message may not be earth shattering, and your viewer may read something different, but, nerveless, a message should always be there. Having something to say is the most valuable thing and illustrator can have!
Search out the Composition
Sometimes ideas for composition just come to you, fully formed. Other times you have to build them from scratch. In both cases, you still need to play with the idea to develop it. Once you start to render, there many other things to work out that you may not notice serious compositional flaws. Once you have committed a lot of effort to developing a view, you may be reluctant ...
Rhythm in your Rendering
If any interval, or rhythm, in your rendering, becomes too repetitious or systematic, it feels lifeless and unnatural. This remains a typical problem that afflicts beginners, but it happens to me all the time. In art, the principle of line rhythm is essential in creating a hierarchy of information that feels comfortable and natural for your viewer to interpret. Without variety, your rendering can become wallpaper fading ...
