Bowling Alley Rendering

Here is a shamless plug for my latest project.

Brief: Create a 3D rendering to accurately portray a proposed restaurant addition to an existing bowling alley. The 3D Rendering will be printed at 24x36 for city approvals and 8.5 x 11 for the owners bank.

Project location: New London, WI

Architect: Tim G. Carlson AIA, ALA

General Contractor: Badgerland Buildings

Working with Tim G. Carlson, Architect and Owner of True North Design LLC, was a real pleasure. I received 2D AutoCAD drawings of plans and elevations for both the existing bowling alley and proposed restaurant. A collaboration site was created, and all the assets were uploaded. After 4 progress sets, posted and collaborated on-line, the project was completed in about 7 days.

Balance

We are daily bombarded with so much information our mind has unique ways to manage all this information. One of the most basic concepts of graphics is that the human mind seeks to identify patterns. Even when a scene contains essentially random elements, the mind looks for order.

If a point is placed within a frame, and the point is located in the center, a viewer will recognize that the pattern is symmetrical and thus balanced. If the point is displaced from the center, symmetry will be lost and a sense of imbalance will result, but complete symmetrical balance within a composition is usually uninteresting; a general rule, complete visual symmetry should be avoided.

So, how do we have a balanced illustration and not have the focal point in the center of the frame?

It is the illustrator's responsibility to ensure that within his illustration there is some kind of order imposed on the objects enclosed within the frame. This order can follow some established formulas. One rule is called the Golden Section. The Golden Section is the proportional relation between two divisions of line or two dimensions of a plane figure such that short : long :: long : (short + long)

If the point is displaced from the center the addition of another point displaced an equal distance from the center but in the opposite direction will restore the feeling that the composition is symmetrical and thus balanced. A similar relationship can occur even if the points have different visual weights. If the center of the frame is thought of as acting like a fulcrum, then a "heavier" point close to the center counteracts the weight of a "light" point located farther away in the opposite direction. The size of an object, its tone, and its nature all contribute to a viewer's subjective evaluation of how much visual weight the object has.

 

 

HDRI

In computer graphics, high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to light starlight.

Here are 2 videos that I have recorded showing how I typically set up my exterior architectural rendering scenes. The HDRI's were purchased from www.hdri-locations.com and are the best HDRI's I have found on the market today.

 

 

I hope you enjoy these, I enjoy doing them for you. if you have any question, feel free to contact me, and I'll help you out in anyway I can.

Camera Angle

One of the most subtle parts of a rendering is the camera angles and the way those angles affect the viewer's perception of the scene. A good understanding of these camera angles is essential to anyone who's going to make a compelling rendering.

• Oblique/Canted Angle
  • Sometimes the camera is tilted, to suggest imbalance, transition and uncertainty (very popular in horror movies). This method is used to convey Point-of-View rendering (POV), when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular person, seeing what they see.
• Low Angle
  • Low angles help create a sense of uncertainty to a viewer, of powerlessness within the scene. The added height of the object may make it inspire awe and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figures in the scene.
• Eye Level
  • A fairly neutral view; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.
• High Angle
  • Not so severe as a bird's eye view
• The Bird's-Eye view
  • This shows a scene from directly overhead, a highly unusual and awkward position

Night Rendering

The allure of a great night rendering is undeniable. The stark and dramatic appearance of night rendering lends an air of the extraordinary to what would normally be everyday places.

Tilt-Shift

Tilt-shift is a technique used in photography, but you can use it in your illustrations to make an image look miniature. I tried almost every plug-in know to man, but with a couple steps in Photoshop, you can quickly, and easily, apply the tilt-shift effect to you renderings.