In the early 90s, I cut my teeth on hotel renderings. I worked for Motels of America out of Des Plaines Illinois, and as you might have guessed, they designed, built, and managed hotels across America. One of the Architect had an unopen box from Accurender. Since he had little desire to learn the software, I took the opportunity to dive into the world of 3D Visualization.
Computers were slow, and so was the software. I was amazed at being able to hit render and come back in the morning to see something on my screen, but it was painstakingly slow. From interior hotel renderings to exterior hotel renderings, I did them both. I would fly around the country, taking measurements at existing hotels due for a remodel and creating 3D renderings to show the company owner the design intent. Of course, we did new hotels, too.
When I was asked to illustrate these hotels, I took the opportunity for nostalgia's sake. They were rush jobs, which I usually don't take (I’ll tell you way sometime). Anyway, with further ado…
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Often I have clients who have to list a property. However, that property isn’t ready for photography. The 412 webster NOLA rendering is one of these situations. It might be months before the parcel will be prepared, so what better way to get a jump on marketing than a high-quality architectural rendering?
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Most of the time, about 90% of the time, I start from 2D CAD files. Most people still work on AutoCAD and draw lines. When I get these CAD drawings, I almost guarantee that I can’t build the 3D model from the 2D CAD files. There are often many things I have to guess at or make work. On the Vassallo House Rendering, there is a truss detail that didn’t work and is still there, but obscured by a tree, which was intentional. This house is fantastic and works for me. I get all kinds of homes, from all sorts of designers, and some I like more than others. The Vassallo House Rendering has to be one of my favorites.
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What a time-saver, Attach by Layer. I model on layers, and I want everything on that layer to be one object, which helps viewport performance. I use SINI Software’s suite of scripts to help me get through my day. It is all about quality and speed. I am not one to sacrifice quality for speed, but I do want to do my job as fast as I can, and SINI Software helps me do that. The SINI Software subscription is expensive (at least if you ask around), but the time I save with these little tasks makes it a great value.
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Often, I am asked if I can create a photorealistic rendering from a sketch. The answer is, yes I can. All my projects get two grayscale proof and two-color proofs, so starting from sketches does have it’s obstacles. What I try to avoid is someone trying to circumvent the design process to save a buck, which usually ends up costing people more. For smaller interiors, like this project, starting from sketches were perfectly fine. After 2-sets of color revisions, I was able to capture what my client wanted.
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The more power we get, the more we through at it. The trend over the decade has been photorealistic rendering; however, that is very subjective. I have recently seen some “photorealistic” renderings that resembled what I was doing in the early ’90s. Having said that, not everything needs to be photorealistic. I have several clients that prefer the softer look of digital watercolor. I started out in watercolor, so these are not even close. I think we should coin a new term. Digital watercolor might work, and here are some of those I just completed this week.
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I started, 25 years go, illustrating structures that don’t exist. I worked for a high-rise luxury residential design/build firm. To get bank financing, you needed to sell 80% of the units, and how do you sell a million-dollar studio, architectural renderings.
The Coleman Residence was a different story. The house is built, and there is a scheduled open house. The developer wanted a rendering and 2D color floor plan to have printed and set on an easel for people walking into the home.
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Great project for a great client. Architectural renderings are a great way to get people interested in your project. Either potential investors or future clientele, a rendering can tell the story.
How can you sell a view? Show them! These are interior renderings using site photos, used out the windows.
Generally, I overexpose the outside, just like real photography, however, the view was necessary on these, so they are correctly exposed, like the interior. Do you like it? Photorealistic purists might have issues :).
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Often, I get interior designers who need to convey their design ideas to their clients. The Garden Room Common Area Rendering is one of these cases. All the pieces you see were modeled and colored according to the interior designer's specifications. These are some of the more time-consuming projects since I am matching real-world elements. I get photos, and I model the pieces to work in my 3D environment.
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I love creating something from nothing. I mean, except for someone's concept. I start with a blank screen, and I virtually build the environment. In this case, I received sketches and inspirational photos to create these bowling alley renderings.
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Summer is coming to an end, which means families are flooding in to get those last weekends at the resorts. I do work for people worldwide, but I don’t often do work for the locals. This is a local resort looking to attract some of those families to a proposed new cabin.
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Again, I love brick! Improve the design, which is a benefit added. Often, when looking at the rendering, the design is redefined and dialed into. Like I always say, it is cheaper to move something on the computer than in the field.
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I love brick. I am not sure if it is because I am from Chicago, and in Chicago, everything is brick (O'Leary), or what? Brick construction is fantastic and gives me a good feeling—brick construction; made to withstand, even a stubborn cow.
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I have all kinds of clients. Some dictate every move I make, calling all the shots and others, like Shawn Fisher, tells me to do my magic. Guess which projects usually turn out best? Okay, there is another type that I work in collaboration with, which also turns out pretty good, too.
This is a beautiful house and it was a joy to illustrate. Shawn was an awesome client and I hope we work together again, soon.
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It was the Summer of 1980, and my parents commissioned an architect to design them their house. After going through the process and falling in love with the 2D plans, my father started construction. I remember my father took a few months off of work, and I helped after school and weekends. Some of the design elements, after actually building them were, not so good. I mean in 2D they looked good, but after actually seeing them in reality, not so much.
My favorite past time growing up was drawing. I always drew; you could always find me with some kind of drawing utensil in my hand. Like many, if not most, my drawing stopped once I got a little older. Even when I was in college for design and architecture, I didn't draw, we had computer-aided design (CAD). After college, I went to work in construction, and I saw homeowners struggle to understand the 2D drawings that they were given, and it sparked something in me. I remembered back to when my parent was reviewing their 2D plans.
In the early 90's I took up drawing again, and this time it was architecture. I started taking the architect's 2D drawings and transferring them into 3D architectural sketches, or I guess you could call them renderings. However, at this early stage, they were just pencil drawings. I remember the architects didn't like it because it usually caused the homeowners to make late design changes, and it held things up on the construction site. My premise was, and still is, it is cheaper to change something on paper than the construction site.
After a few years, my construction site pencil sketches turned into art. I started playing with different media, added color, and I took a lot of liberties. Light and shadow took precedence over actual site conditions and real-world locations. Okay, why my life story? When I received the Manchester Modern Farmhouse 2D drawings, I didn't see a whole lot. It looked like a small house, and I wasn't' seeing farmhouse. Not until I built the 3D model and added textures and materials did I start to appreciate the house. My mind flashed back to the early days of why I actually started drawing architecture. Had these 2D drawings been viewed by someone, I couldn't imagine much emotion would be evoked. However, ad perspective, light, and shadow, and it become something else, something someone could fall in love with.
Manchester Modern Farmhouse Rendering
25+ years later, I am still drawing and making a living doing so. I rarely pick up a pencil or paper anymore, and now I use a monitor and mouse. To tell you the truth, it takes more than a monitor and mouse, it takes a lot of high-end hardware to compute the information I give it. Not only does it take high-end software-hardware, but it also takes a couple decades of knowledge and wisdom using art theory. Face it, one thing software, hardware can't do is be creative, which has become my niche!
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