Rendering Your Own Reality
One of the most important part of any architectural project is being able to communicate the finished vision before the actual work brings it to life. Shaping the final product before you begin renovations or new construction allows you to make more informed choices for every detail of the venture from the color of the tile to the patterns that will appear on the wood grain. Additionally, a visual reference for a finished architectural project will keep things moving even when small setbacks may arise. architectural renderings created using a digital platform will bring a project to life before your eyes. The potential vividness of digital renderings will take the guesswork out of any endeavor and make communication between multiple parties a process that occurs naturally.
Photo-Real Architectural Rendering
Architectural renderings by Bobby Parker offer all of the above benefits to designers and homeowners for any kind of project both large and small. Bobby Parker renderings can reflect ideas and finalized designs for single rooms, entire houses, or multiple layouts and floor plans. Bobby Parker brings customers more than wire-rendered, digital drawings or 2-dimensional drawings that only vaguely reference the final concept. Instead, Bobby Parker delivers Photo-Real Architectural Renderings that can be virtually indistinguishable from an actual photograph of the final project. There is no other artist in the area who can offer the same skill and diversity in their portfolio when it comes to creating a photo-real rendering that will ensure the integrity of your designs when the work is done.
Photo-real architectural renderings can allow for advance completion of every aspect of interior design planning. These images can assist in shaping ideas for everything from the furniture in the room to the pictures that are hanging on the wall. With Bobby Parker as your partner, imagination in design comes to life in most realistic way possible. Over 24 years of professional experience will allow you to have the resources necessary to achieve stunning results in every architectural project in which you engage. The images are rich in quality and delivered quickly regardless of the project scope. Allow your imagination to have freedom and express itself with precision by allowing Bobby Parker to give it tangible expression
The Sketchbook Project Explained in 96 Seconds
"Everything you ever wanted to know about The Sketchbook Project explained in 96 seconds! Featuring James K. Polk and Presidents, A horse, and some other fun characters.…"
Understanding Tools Required for Color Management
Like any other craft, there are a few tools you need to ensure accurate and consistent color throughout your architectural rendering's color journey. Your monitor is probably the most serious tool you're going to be dealing with in any kind of color workflow, and you have to have a way to calibrate and profile that. Since most monitors don't come out of the box calibrated, well you need to know that what you're seeing on the screen is an accurate depiction of what's actually in your file.
So what happens if you don't take care of your monitor color? Stop and think about it. If your monitor is not accurately showing you your images, with the correct color and tonality, then your edits are guesses. I don't think anyone out there wants to sit in front of a computer for hours on end. Only get bad prints because your monitor wasn't showing you the correct color and tones in your image. Now what commonly happens? Let's take a closer look. Let's say your monitor is overly blue, and this is something that's not uncommon.
When you view your image on the screen, even if the file is actually correct it will appear bluish and you want to edit it. So in this case, we bring our editing software. We add yellow to the color balance and, oh now it looks great on the screen. But, the original file was actually pretty good, and you made it more yellow to counter your blue monitor. It may look better on the screen now, but when you print the image, it comes out yellow. Having your monitor set too bright is also very common. When you view your image on the screen, well, the image looks too light because in this case, the luminance of your display is set too high.
So you make some brightness adjustments in your software to get it looking the way you want. Now that looks better. But, once again, even though the screen looks better, but the original file was actually exposed correctly, and you made it darker just to counter your too bright monitor. Again, it may look better on the screen, but when you print the image, it comes out dark. I hear this from some of my architectural rendering friends all the time. The exposure was a bit under, sometimes done on purpose to keep from blowing out details, but it looks great on a monitor.
You get fooled into thinking the images are perfect, when in fact, the images are a bit dark and could use some brightening. When these images are sent to the printer, and come print too dark, you want to blame the printer when in fact, the culprit is your overly bright monitor. Monitor profiling and calibration help to end these common problems, and will make it much easier for you to get great prints. We don't want yellow prints, we don't want dark prints. We want perfect prints. Now to do this, you need some tools. Colorimeter-based devices like the X-Rite ColorMunki, along with other devices like Datacolor Spyder series, are great for those who need to profile their monitors when they're not planning on doing serious fine art printing on their own.
A colorimeter like these makes use of filters to measure the intensity of red, green and blue. Measuring these primaries is roughly similar to how our eyes work. The filters reduce a broad range of light into a few measurement values that allow your monitor to then show you red when it's asking for red. And these two X-Rite devices can also provide some other useful functions, including the ability to calibrate and profile projectors. They can also continuously monitor the ambient light around your workspace and even adjust your monitor's brightness if the ambient light should reach a certain level.
So for example, if your desk is near a window and you've got from sunny to cloudy to dark, it will automatically adjust your monitor so that what you're seeing when you're editing is best displayed. Now both devices sit flush on the front of your display , and use their softwares to read color patches.
They are the way to go if you also want the ability to create custom paper profiles for your printer. If you're doing a lot of your own final printing, or setting up devices for others to use, custom profiles can go a long way towards making the most accurate print possible. Factory supplied profiles are certainly better than not having a profile at all. But a custom profile can sometimes be much better. The last tool in this group is also the least expensive and supports the idea that having the best files right at the start will produce the best print.
Lesser Known Composition Tricks
So you already know that the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing your rendering are some of the essential composition techniques architectural illustrators commonly use. Here are a few other not so common composition techniques that can set your renderings apart from the rest!
Left to Right
Put the focus point of your subject more to the right side rather than the left. Our eyes are used to reading text left to right, just like you are reading this article, so follow the same idea in your renderings. No, this is not the rule of thirds or leading lines; rather, it draws your viewer’s eye into the image.
Tell a Story
A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Telling a story with your composition is nothing new. You have probably heard that before; however, one thing that I consistently see results from in my renderings is paying more attention to what is excluded from the rendering than what is included in the rendering. The key to composition is to analyze every single thing in the rendering, and then place it in a way that adds to the subject itself.
Simplify Your Compositions
Keep the focus on the subject, not all the details in the scene. Too many details take the focus away from the story your rendering is trying to tell and make it more difficult for the viewer to figure out what you are trying to convey.
Another way to bring focus to your subject is with light. The eye is naturally drawn to the brightest spot of an image By using light, positioning, and depth-of-field to make the viewer pay closer attention to the subject, you will capture much more impactful photos.
Odd vs. Even
Odd numbers of things tend to be more visually exciting than even amounts. Because of this, triangles are more dynamic than squares (which often look like a frame). Three’s the magic number rather than two or four. Choose seven over six or eight, and nine over ten… You get the idea.
Crop with Care
I don’t go crazy about exactly where a crop, but I do think it is necessary to crop with care. My rule of thumb is if you are going to crop off, crop hard. Cut off a good chunk. The real problem happens when you just barely cut off a skiff.
Break the rules!
Don’t be afraid to break the rules and try something new. There are times when breaking the rules is precisely what makes a rendering stand out from all the rest
The Ultimate Guide to Adjustment Layers – Levels
In this tutorial, we will take a close look at the Levels Adjustment Layer in Photoshop. We will see how levels can improve low-key, high-key, and low contrast photos, as well as how you can use the Levels Adjustment Layer to make color corrections. We will also spend some time in this tutorial explaining a bit about Photoshop’s histogram and how it works. Let’s get started!
Histogram Details
For more information about Histograms, see this tutorial "What Does a Histogram Tell Us?"
- Mean: represents the average intensity value of the pixels in the image.
- Standard Deviation: (abbreviated "Std. Dev.") shows how widely the image’s intensity values vary.
- Median: is the midpoint of the intensity values.
- Pixels: tells you how many pixels Photoshop analyzed to generate the histogram.
- Cache Level: shows the current image cache Photoshop used to make the histogram. When this number is higher than 1, Photoshop is basing the histogram on a representative sampling of pixels in the image rather than on all of them. You can click the Uncached Refresh button to make the program redraw the histogram based on the current version of the image.
If you position your cursor over the histogram, you also see values for the following:
- Level: displays the intensity level of the area beneath the cursor.
- Count: shows the total number of pixels that are at the intensity level beneath the cursor.
- Percentile: indicates the number of pixels at or below the intensity level beneath the cursor, expressed as a percentage of all the pixels in the image.
Be More Creative Instantly
Smile to get smart! Being in a good mood makes you more creative, finds new research from the University of California, San Francisco.
Scientists reviewed a collection of studies that all pointed to the pros of a positive mood. Happy men had a more holistic approach to problems than negative guys, meaning they were able to recognize innovative solutions others may have missed.
How come? Research suggests when you’re happy, you release more dopamine—a neurotransmitter linked with motivation—which increases your control over your mind. Happiness also boosts activity in areas of the brain that handle decision-making, learning, and processing.
Manipulate your mind—even if you’re down in the dumps—by recalling happy experiences or simply smiling. Research has shown that if you’re bummed out, faking a grin can trick your brain into feeling happier.
Increasing Your Creativity at Work
Do you ever think, "I'm just not that creative"? You're not alone. But companies increasingly expect their employees to think about problems in new ways and devise unexpected solutions. The good news is that creativity is not a gift, but a skill that can be developed over time. Learn how in this course with innovation expert Drew Boyd. Discover nine simple tips to boost your creative output at work and learn how to think about the world in a different way, break problems down into manageable parts, divide and conquer a problem, and evaluate ideas systematically.
SAVE 20% OFF New Chaos Group Products and Upgrades
If you’re new to Chaos Group you’ll get 20% off any Chaos Group products just for registering for one of CGschool's live or online masterclasses. If you’re an existing customer, you’ll get 20% off any product upgrade. With V-Ray 3.0 just around the corner this could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars off your studio’s upgrades.
FREE V-Ray for 3ds Max License
We’re also giving away one full license of V-Ray for 3ds Max in each Masterclass city and we’ll also have a bunch of cool Chaos Group swag to give out to students.
For more information, go to http://masterclass.thecgschool.com/
Announce Your Availability
Let's say you're all set up and ready to go. You know where you'll be working, your office systems are in place, and you're ready to show your portfolio to prospective clients. Now it's time to find those prospective clients, and more importantly, to let them find you. In another video, I talked about building your professional network but cautioned at that stage not to hit them up for work. Now it's time to get a bit more aggressive. First, follow up on all past leads. Always keep track of whom you talk to, when, and why as you go. Make that a habit.
That's how you build your professional network over time. Once that's done, here are some things you can do to make yourself more accessible and attractive to clients going forward. The first is to beef up your website. In an earlier video, we talked about preparing your portfolio and, of course, that's going to become a substantial part of your site. But there are a few other elements it needs as well. First, a description of what you do. Put it front and center, preferably, on the homepage. This is where you express all the soul-searching you did earlier while sharpening your market focus.
It should define your business in terms of the skill you're selling, the industry you'll target and the type of customer you'll sell to. Other elements include information about your credentials. That is, why people should trust you with their projects. Finally, make sure it's easy to find a way to contact you and that it. You can also add other elements, and I recommend you start paying close attention to other freelancers' sites for ideas. But your website is not done yet. You'll also need a domain name and a place to host the site.
Your site will also need occasional maintenance. A website isn't just a set it and forget it kind of thing that won't take a lot of time. But you'll either need to get the necessary skills or hire someone who has them. In either case realize that benefits you get from your site are directly proportional to the attention you give to its planning, creation, and promotion. Your website is only one way to announce your availability online. You'll also want to have presences on the big social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook.
I recommend that you do a land grab on those services for a name that reflects your business, even if you're not ready to add any content yet. And don't forget to add yourself to professional directories related to your skill and location. But eventually you will start building out your social media homes. Twitter of course, is only as good as the regular post you make to it, but there is a little space for self-description. And on Facebook it's possible to display quite a lot about yourself. On both systems, as on other social sites, there are opportunities for responsible promotion.
GRAVEL - VOLUME ONE
Next to 3D people and vegetation, rendering realistic gravel is one of the last remaining challenges when it comes to architectural visualization. Most 3D artists try to avoid graveled surfaces wherever possible. But gravel is a very important building material and cannot always be avoided - nor should it be. Its role in architecture, landscaping and even interior design will let this challenge persist.
Fortunately, technology has now caught up with the problem. With this texture collection we are attempting to close this particular gap between the imagination of the client and what you as a 3D artist can deliver. This collection contains 134 different gravel textures and - as an industry first - gravel as real 3D geometry. Along with the included 257 stone textures, this opens up a near-endless variety of different gravel styles.
The product consists of the following three major parts:
GRAVEL TEXTURES (Disks 1 and 2):
This product contains a total of 134 gravel textures, based on 15 different gravel styles. Each texture consists of diffuse, bump, normal, displacement and reflectivity maps, as well as a number of special maps that will help you to modify the gravel textures or to create entirely new textures. Also included are ready-to-use material setups for 3DS Max™ and MaxwellRender™.
GRAVEL MESHES (Disk 3):
As a first on the market, we offer gravel 'textures' in form of real 3D geometry. This product contains gravel meshes based on 15 different gravel styles in sizes of 4m² and 16m². All meshes are provided in .max format (compatible with 3DS Max™ 2010+), as well as .obj format (compatible with many other applications).
STONE TEXTURES (Disks 4 to 6):
Meant to be used with the 3D gravel meshes, this product also contains especially optimized stone textures in 257 different styles and colors, based on 94 distinct sets. Each texture set consists of diffuse, bump, normal, as well as reflectivity maps. As with the gravel textures, we also provide ready-to-use material setups for 3DS Max™ (2010+) and MaxwellRender™ (2.x). For further information to this and other products,
please visit our website: www.arroway-textures.de