AI Paints with a Broad Brush
When AI Paints with a Broad Brush: Why Skilled Illustrators Still Matter in Architectural Rendering
AI is transforming the way we visualize architecture. With tools that can churn out atmospheric renderings in minutes, it’s tempting to think the rendering process has been solved. But anyone who’s worked through the design pipeline knows the truth: AI paints with a broad brush. It’s fast, it’s bold—but it lacks the control and intention that architects and illustrators need when communicating a vision.
Broad Brush: What AI Can Do (and Can’t Do)
Rapid Conceptualization: AI excels at mood studies—massings under stormy skies, or quick tests of materials in daylight vs dusk.
Style Approximation: Feed it references, and it can quickly mimic a visual style.
But:
Lack of Precision: AI often misreads orthographic drawings, distorts geometry, or overlooks proportional relationships.
Over-Reliance on Training Data: Its results lean on visual clichés and patterns, rather than reflecting the unique architectural language of a project.
Contextual Blind Spots: Urban grain, cultural details, and environmental nuance often vanish in favor of generalized, “pretty” images.
Fine Brush: The Illustrator’s Role
Illustrators bring more than drafting skill—they bring interpretation:
Accuracy to Intent: They cross-check against drawings, ensuring that mullions, stair widths, and rooflines are accurate to the design.
Narrative Crafting: They highlight circulation, sightlines, and materiality to help the rendering tell the story of the architecture.
Iteration-Friendly: Unlike AI, which “hallucinates” with every prompt, illustrators refine, adjust, and iterate in dialogue with the design team.
The Balanced Palette
The future isn’t AI vs human—it’s AI + human. Let AI set the stage with quick studies, but let illustrators refine the play. A rendering that’s both rapid and rigorously accurate is only possible when the fine brush follows the broad.