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Non Photo Realistic Renderings (NPR)
Typically, I share my photo-realistic architectural renderings, however, this time I have some non photo-realistic renderings to share with you.
About 20 years ago, I started producing hand drawn architectural renderings, so I know these fall short when you put them up to the real thing, but they are meeting my clients current needs.
A lot of the times, people want to market an idea or design, but they don't want something so refined that it doesn't give the buyer room to dream. Or, it doesn't obligate the architect or designer to the design, which at this point is just a concept.
If you have any questions on my process, please let me know by commenting below, or sending me an email.
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Barrett Lane Architectural Rendering
I absolutely love what I do for a living, creating architectural renderings; each rendering is an opportunity to create something cool.
The Barrett Lane house came to me, via a web lead, which is how I get the majority of my work. I was provided the 2D CAD plans and elevations, built the 3D model from the 2D plans, and sent a couple gray scale proofs. Several things, on this project, were changed due to the insight the gray scale proof revealed.
After a couple iterations, I created some color proofs, and then some final 4k stills.
““Very professional and responsive. The renderings were high quality and accurately represented the architecture.””
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David White Lane Architectural Renderings
Here is my latest piece that I wanted to share. We started with floor plans, exterior elevations, but no interior details. The owner, architect, and myself worked through things as we went. Back and forth with the owner and architect went smoothly and everyone considered the project a success.
There are more in the series, which I'll add later. We are in discussions about the next house to illustrate.
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V-Ray 3.3 for 3ds Max – Overview
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Latitude Delray Beach Interior Renderings
Interior rendering is challenging, but oh so fun. Here, are the Latitude Delray Beach interior renderings, which will be used to market the new Latitude Delray Beach units.
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The Ross Home Architectural Rendering
A panicked real estate agent, who was about to list the Ross Home, reached out to me with a need for my architectural rendering services. The agent was given a rendering, done by another illustrator, however, it wasn't something she felt would sell the house.
After a brief email exchanged, I was given the MAX model from the previous illustrator, and within a day, I presented my rendition of the Ross Home, which was received very well by the agent, and it'll be used to sell the house.
The Ross Home Architectural Rendering
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The Shed Architectural Rendering
Great project done for a great architect. This architectural rendering was really fun to see get developed from a set of 2d plans to these two photo-realistic exterior renderings.
“Bobby is great to work with and does an incredible job at bringing the rendering to life.…”
The Shed Architectural Rendering
The Shed Architectural Rendering
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Chicago Custom Kitchen
Chicago is home, so I always welcome architectural rendering projects from Chicago with open arms. This, is a kitchen remodel for a Chicago gray-stone. The project started with sketches and evolved into this architectural rendering over time, about two weeks. It was nice to see the kitchen develop using my architectural renderings; a great use for them, I would say. Now, the client is extremely excited with his kitchen remodel and he decided to extend my contract to the outside area, with a patio garden.
Please, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment below. Also, please share them, if you would like.
Custom Kitchen Rendering
Custom Kitchen Rendering
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Say No to Spec Work
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Dyer House Plan Renderings
The Dyer house plan rendering is especially close to my heart. Often, I see house plan companies go from wonderful ink and pen renderings to poorly done computer renderings. My goal for the Dyer house plan rendering was to create a high quality computer architectural rendering that will help the future home buyer fall in love with their house plan. Hopefully, I was able to accomplish my goal with these two architectural renderings.
Exterior House Rendering - Front
Exterior House Rendering - Front
Exterior House Rendering - Back
“How many ways can you say WOW!”
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How Long Does a Rendering Take?
There are a couple questions that I am often asked. I have covered the, "what makes a good architectural rendering?" questions and now I would like to discuss the question, "How Long Does a Rendering Take?"
Like the first question, the second most common question I get, which is "How long does a rendering take?", is not an easy question to answer. Each rendering project is unique and each rendering project is custom. First, I would like to say, if you see someone stating that they have a 2-3 day turnaround, run for the hills. Now, I am not saying that there isn't such a thing, some of my project only take 2-3 days, but that is unique to that project specific needs and can't be applied across the board.
Over the past 25 years I have successfully completed hundreds of architectural renderings and each one had its own challenges, obstacles, and in turn, turn around time. Some might consider an architectural rendering a commodity, as in some cases they are, but that's not the niche I am in. All of my architectural rendering projects are custom pieces that I invest a lot of time and energy to get right. From the lighting, to the colors and materials, everything is painstakingly done with as much attention to detail that I can.
Typically, when I receive a request for bid, I review all the documents very carefully. There are some things that are very non-subjective, like the actual modeling portion of the rendering project, however, there are many more subjective things that have to be considered. Creating custom textures and materials can be very time consuming, and like the modeling, can be non-subjective. What isn't non-subjective is the creative part of the process.
Creativity is what brings an architectural rendering into the WOW zone. One value I can bring to any project is decades worth if a study on basic art theory. What draws a viewer into your rendering? How to capture your viewers attention, and hold it? How to successfully use light and shadow to take your viewer's eye right to your focal points, and the leading lines to help make the journey pleasant. This, is what the commodity renderings don't do and it's very difficult to put a time limit on it. Part of this process might mean you take your eyes off the project for a day. Lots of times I study my renderings in black and white, or totally blurred, and many times I study my renderings at a stamp size. Each of these trick provides me a chance to study my composition, the use of contrast, and double check all my values.
Having said all of that, when I estimate a project's time, I add up the non-subjective things, in term up amount of time it'll take to complete, then I add some time for the creative process and then I usually double it. This allows me not to rush the process, which is critical for the success of an architectural renderings. After I have reviewed all the gathered information, I'll review it against your project brief, and give you a proposal with options to solve your project needs.
So, to answer the question, "How long does a rendering take?" it depends on many factors and if someone tells you otherwise, please save your sanity, and your projects chances for success, and move on.
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Custom Kitchen Architectural Renderings
Custom kitchen architectural renderings have become one of my favorite things to illustrate. Here, the architect needed to share his design intent with his non-technical speaking client. So, the architect reached out to me to assist him in his goal to impress his client with his Chicago Gray Stone kitchen remodel.
Custom Kitchen Rendering
Custom Kitchen Rendering
Technically speaking, I used 3DS MAX, V-Ray, and Photoshop to create this custom kitchen architectural rendering. If you have any question, please comment below, or send me an email, I am always willing to answer any questions that you might have.
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Seeing Tonal Contrast in Your Rendering
Tonal contrast is created when light tones and dark tones are positioned next to each other. The greater the difference between the two, in terms of brightness, the greater the tonal contrast. When viewing an architectural rendering, the eye tends to go to the brightest parts first. But, as the architectural illustrator, you want to direct the viewer’s eye to the part of the architectural rendering that you believe is the most important. A hallmark of the poorly composed architectural rendering is a conflict between where the architectural illustrator wants the viewer to look, and where visual elements within the architectural rendering (such as bright highlights) are pulling the viewer’s eye. A characteristic of the well-composed architectural rendering is that everything works in harmony. Visual elements pull the eye towards where the architectural illustrator wants it to go. All the elements work together, instead of fighting each other.
A little trick of mine is to squint while viewing your architectural rendering. By squinting, you'll remove detail and your architectural renderings contrast will really become evident.
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What Makes a Good Architectural Rendering?
Architectural Renderings is part science, part art. On the technical side, you need to understand software (most renderings stop here) Then there’s the creative side, of which composition forms a large part. Here, there are no absolutes, and the discussion is much more subjective.
That’s why the answer to the question of what makes a good architectural rendering? varies widely depending on who you ask. However, there are principles (not rules) you can follow that will greatly help you improve your architectural rendering. There are two questions to ask yourself whenever you create an architectural rendering. They are:
- ‘How do I make this rendering more interesting?’
- ‘What am I trying to communicate?’
When someone asks how to improve the composition of an architectural rendering, what they are really asking is how can they make it more interesting or dramatic to look at, and how can they communicate the mood of the scene, or the moment they wanted to capture, more effectively? The answers to these questions help determine how the architectural rendering should be composed.
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V-Ray Proxies and Large Scene Optimization
Recently, I had a large scene and some possible Windows 10 memory management issues, so I had to do something to lower my scenes RAM consumption. My solution was V-Ray's Proxies.
Here, are the plug-ins I used in my scene optimization, using V-Ray Proxies:
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3D Artist 86 - Contribution
It's always nice to see your name in print. This month's addition to 3D Artist Magazine reached out to me last month for some tips on photorealistic architectural renderings. I was glad to help and here is some screen grabs of my name in lights. Get your copy, today!
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Church Fund Raising Rendering
It's kind of difficult to get excited about a parking lot, but the Pastor of this church had an idea. Pastor Steve reached out to the civil engineer, who drew the plans, who then reached out to an architect, he knew, in regards to getting a rendering done for a fund raising campaign. Long, stony short, Pastor Steve gave me a call, I took his brief, and created him a parking lot rendering, showing the new parking lot.
Church Fundraising Rendering
I knew I couldn't just have a parking lot, so I built the 3d model of the existing building, using Google Earth Street Views. Then, I took the civil engineers 2d CAD drawings and modeled an accurate 3d model from them.
Now, the church fundraising rendering will be printed in bulletins, posted on a construction road sign, and it'll be posted on their website. Good luck, Pastor Steve, and I hope the rendering helps get your congregation excited about their new parking lot.
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I Alway Ask for a Deposit
I Always Ask For a Deposit
I alway ask for a deposit before I start working on an architectural rendering project. There are three main reasons for this:
- I need to pay my bills, and I can’t wait until the end of a project to do that. Plus, I’m doing my best work, so I deserve to get paid during the work. Sometimes projects take a few weeks, or even months, and going without any money during that time is a hardship.
- The second reason is that sometimes, My client and I will decide to part ways before a project ends. That isn’t my fault. Clients occasionally run out of money or need to stop a project for reasons that have nothing at all to do with me. But if I have the project set up so that I don’t get paid until the end, I run the risk of walking away with nothing, even if I’ve already put a lot of hours in.
- Most projects require me to invest in new assets or maybe a plugin speciaclyy needed for that project
Agreeing with my clients on a few payments over the course of the project, which includes an initial deposit, assures me that my work wasn't done for nothing if we do part ways early.
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Creating Tilable Brick in 3DS MAX
Making materials for your architectural rendering is both a science and an art. Like most things in life, the more effort you put into it, the better the results. Here, is my workflow for making bricks in 3DS MAX.
There are a lot of moving parts when building an architectural renderings. Some might think that there is a magic RENDER button, but there isn't. Out of the box, the software is dumb. It takes a good eye, lots of patience, and some good workflows.
Bricks are a tale-tale sign of a good architectural rendering from a poor one. Typically, brick covers larger areas, so the repeating pattern when using a bitmap is painfully obvious. Even when you are lucky enough to get a high resolution brick sample from your clients, it wasn't photographed to be repeated, so those can only get you so far. Here, in the video, I show you my brick workflow.
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Market Price for Architectural Renderings
The market price for architectural renderings has a wide range, just like anything else. Just as a pair of jeans can be either very cheap or very expensive, the cost of an architectural rendering can vary greatly.
Would you buy a car for $50 and then use it to drive your kid to school? Probably not. When a car is being sold for a ridiculously low price, you know something stinks. Maybe the engine is rotten, or the police are looking for it. You know you get what you pay for, and a $50 car is probably a bad idea.
Some clients do think that architectural renderings are a commodity. Some think that all illustrators do the same job. We know that’s not the case at all.
Personally, I have a niche. I live and breathe architectural renderings. I have been in architecture for 25 years. Working within a niche means that I only work with clients in architecture. When I work on these projects and with my clients, I have increased my value for other clients in that same niche in the future.
I am always trying to improve my skills. Too many people stop improving on their technical skills as soon as they finish school. Do you think you know all of the shortcuts in Photoshop? Do you even know if Photoshop is the most efficient tool for you? Have you tried Sketch?
By investing time in improving my technical skills, I can get stuff done faster, which means a more profitable project. Even better, it means improved results.
I try and innovate my process. That’s right, innovation is not only for companies like Apple, it’s also something I do. What I mean by innovation is simply trying new ways of working, all the time. A new ways to send proposals, I try new workflows, I try running my meetings differently. The point of innovation is to find a better way to do the things I already do. By investing time in trying new and better ways to work, I can save a lot of hours and make myself more profitable. Trying new things takes time. Not every idea I have improved my workflow right away, but I consider this an investment that will pay off in the long run.
The architectural illustrator who charges too little, in a few weeks into the project, they will inevitably realize that they hadn’t priced the project correctly. They would then start suffering. The low-priced illustrators would lose all motivation and become hostile to their client, because they knew that they were losing money. The client would have no clue why, that they weren't nice anymore, and the project would stop being fun for both.
One of the biggest questions I am asked is, "how much do you charge for a rendering?". After 25 years of doing architectural renderings, I am still confused by this question. An example would be to call your local real estate agent and ask how much does a house cost. There are many questions to get answered before a price can be given.
First, I would need to see the plans and elevations. Each project is unique and each project has its own obstacles and challenges.
Also, doing something I love and find meaningful is a major part of why I chose to be in this business in the first place. And some clients have more exciting projects to work on than others. To be totally transparent, As a rule, if I’m not that excited about a project, I always charge more. By doing so, I make it worth my time to work on something that’s probably going to bore me. It also makes it possible for me to take on more interesting, but less profitable projects as well. On the other hand, if I’m super interested, I might not push the price too high, to increase my chances of getting the project.
Every project I take on is another part of my career journey. It will have an effect on my future. Understanding the long-term effect a certain project might have will help me to understand the true value of the project, and therefore how to price it correctly.