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 24×36 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.

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.

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

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 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.

Simplicity is common illustrators techniques; a cluttered rendering confuses the viewer and takes away from the center of interest. A straightforward rendering can be achieved by getting closer to the subject.

Simplicity is one of the main components of most potent renderings. The simpler the rendering, the easier it is for the viewer to understand and appreciate it. Cluttered images are less visually pleasing and more likely to cause the center of interest and peripheral objects to confuse each.

There are several ways to achieve simplicity in a rendering. The most obvious (and easiest) use is to put the center of interest against a neutral background like a cloudless sky.

The more practical method of achieving clarity involves focusing on the subject while ensuring the environment is unfocused, which is the depth of field.

Here, is a small cabin rendering located in the woods of upper Minnesota. The architect provided 2d floor plans and elevations and the owner provided site photos. The owner needed my assistance to provide potential investors with an image to excite them in investing.

The plans and elevations were provided to me on a Tuesday, late morning, and Friday morning I presented them with the small cabin rendering. The small cabin rendering will be printed on premium photo glossy paper so all the rich colors of the forest, and the historic lodge colors can be truly represented.

Software:

• Autodesk 3ds Max Design 
• Photoshop CS5 Extended

Plugins:

• Chaos Group’s V-Ray
• Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 
• Richard Rosenman’s Depth of Field Pro

Polygonal modeling is an approach for modeling objects by representing their surfaces using polygons. In this screen recording, I’ll give you an idea of what poly-modeling is. The video is for those who are foreigners to computer modeling and would like to learn the terminology used by computer modelers.

Living in the Midwest, particularly in Northern Illiniois, I have memories of sitting in front of an open window listening to birds chirp, smelling the lilacs outside, and feeling the heat of the sun on my shoulder. I wanted to create an image of a tranquil place to sit, read a book, and relax.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Software:

Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

Plug-ins:

V-Ray for 3ds Max 
Nik Software Color Efex Pro™ 3.0

Photoshop is a key tool in illustrations – but like any tool, you need to know how to use it properly. 

Vignetting is often an unintended and undesired effect caused by a camera settings or lens limitations. However, it is sometimes 

purposely introduced for creative effect, such as to draw attention to the center of the frame.  

Adding a vignette (darkening or lightening around the edges of the photo) is easy these days with the introduction of Adobe Photoshop. 

The following is a quick and easy way to create either a dark or light vignette for your photo and give you the ability to have 

virtually limitless control over the effect.

1. Duplicate the Image

Open the image in Photoshop and duplicate it (Cmd/Ctrl + J) to a new layer.

2. Set the Blending Mode

If you’re wanting to darken the edges of your photo, set the duplicate layer’s blend mode to Multiply. If you’re wanting to lighten the 

edges, set the blend mode to Screen.

3. Make the Selection

For a vignette that is more even around the edges, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and make your selection and leave an equal 

amount of padding between the selection and each edge of the photo.

For a more custom and unique shape, grab the Lasso Tool (L) and draw more of a blob shape, or do a rough outline of the subject in your 

image.

4. Feather it!

Now we will feather the selection by going to Select > Modifiy > Feather and setting the amount to 250 for higher-res photos or around 

150 for lower-res photos..

5. Put On Your Mask

Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide Selection (or click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel) to mask your selection. 

This gives you the greatest flexibility of your vignette.

6. Set Visibility

If you are using the Multiply blend mode to darken the edges, you can vary the intensity of the effect by dropping the opacity of the 

vignette layer.

If you are using the Screen blend mode to lighten the edges of your photo, you may find it necessary to duplicate the vignetter layer 

(Cmd/Ctrl + J) once or twice to change the intensity of the effect. You can then change the opacity of the duplicated layers for 

further control.

Volumetric light with dust particles floating around, done in Photoshop, in a couple simple steps.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. — Ferris Bueller

I wanted to create a relaxing space that I would want to lay my head.  After spending about an hour searching the web for reference photos I realized that the web is full of clean, aseptic and sterile spaces.  when I close my eyes and picture a room that I would want to relax in below is what I see, so my imagination is my only reference.  Unfortuanly you can’t hear the birds chirping out the window, smell the fresh cut lawn, and feel the warmth of the sun coming through the window, but when I close my eyes I can.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

Software:

• 3DS Max Design 2011
• Photoshop CS5
• Glare

Plug-ins:

• V-Ray
• Nik Software

For most artists, skill is the product of hard work. Some ability is important, but you must have the dedication to refine your talent. Few are born with amazing abilities.

It sounds cliché, but perseverance is paramount. You should develop your skills as an artist first. Always look for opportunities to improve.

Not everyhing is a commisioned work of art. Some project are down and dirty with little budget allocated for illustrations.

From start to end this render took approximately 4hrs to complete.  The intent was to help the developer market a piece of property to potential investors.  With colaboration from the project manager, developer, and architect the front entrances recieved gables to give the building a litlle more curb appeal.

Challenges 

• Low budget
• North facing building
• Simple architecture

Software used:

• Google SketchUp
• Autodesk® Revit® Architecture
• Autodesk 3ds Max Design
• Adobe® Photoshop®
• PixPlant

Plug-ins:

• V-Ray for 3ds Max
• Nik Software Color Efex Pro™
• Knoll Light Factory
• Little Ink Pot
• MultiScatter

Textures Resources:

• CGTextures
• Vray-Materials.de

The different types of perspective

A reference image (whether drawing or photo) could be characterised with one of three different perspective types. The key difference between the three types is the number of ‘vanishing points’ – an actual point, or points, in the scene towards which all lines converge.

Let’s now take a look at each type in turn :

One-point perspective

An image with ‘one-point’ perspective will contain only one of these ‘vanishing points’, and as such there will be only 3 ways that lines in the scene can be shown – 1) running vertically, 2) running horizontally, or 3) at an angle, converging towards the ‘vanishing point’.

Take a look at the example images below. In the top one, you can see that the camera has been placed so that it looks directly down the street. The fronts of the buildings are exactly perpendicular to this direction, and therefore present us with only vertical or horizontal lines. The tops and bottoms of the buildings (and the other lines in between) however, are all at an angle. If you were to take a pencil and ruler and extend these lines further into the scene, you would see that they all come together and cross at a single point, and that (as you’ve probably guessed), is our vanishing point.

The photograph below it shows the same effect, this time looking down a train track.

Two-point perspective

As you have probably inferred from the name, two point perspective has double the amount of vanishing points. If you take a look at the examples below, you can see that the camera is no longer positioned so that it’s looking directly towards a particular vanishing point, and as a result the horizontal lines from the previous perspective type are now running at an angle – something that introduces our second vanishing point. If you were to extend all of these angled lines as before, you’d see that they now eventually meet on either the left or right side of the image. Vertical lines are still vertical however!

One other thing to take into account are ‘horizon’ lines, the imaginary line at the same height as, and running perpendicular to the camera. This can quickly be created by drawing a straight line between our 2 vanishing point, and is used to get an estimate for the height of the camera.

The photo shown gives a typical, everyday example of two point perspective – the corner of a building.

Three point perspective

This perspective type takes things to their natural conclusion. Our camera has now been rotated, giving us our two vanishing points, but also tilted to look either up or down at the scene. This tilting makes our previously vertical lines angled, introducing a third vanishing point either high above, or far below the scene. The examples below both show this three point perspective, and you can see just how much more dramatic this makes the image feel.

Wow, 1068 pages… I am starting VRay – THE COMPLETE GUIDE today. I had this book on my to-buy list for awhile now and I am excited to dive in!

VRay – THE COMPLETE GUIDE – second edition is the first book in the world completely devoted to VRay. Its aim is to provide an advanced support for the specialists in this branch. All too often we lose a lot of time searching the meaning of a particular parameter. Who hasn’t spent entire days trying to understand what was wrong with their rendering? Having some “presets” is not enough: it is necessary to understand and have knowledge of the tools daily used. This is the only way thanks to which you’ll be able to face more and more difficult tasks.

VRay – THE COMPLETE GUIDE – second edition was born thanks to two year’s hard work, during which we tried to produce a high-quality handbook committed to VRay’s users. Not just a basic list of commands, but a special tool, composed by technical and theoretical parts, by which you’ll be carried away! You’ll be able to find, through 1060 pages, 2300 images and 3200 renderings expressly created for this handbook.

Enclosed you’ll also find a DVD-ROM containing 32 animations in .mov format, bearing examples otherwise impossible to understand via images only.

It’s an unrepeatable handbook, difficult to find elsewhere: made up of 1060 pages, full color, A4 21x29x6cm (other manuals are usually smaller: 21x19x4cm). Bound with extreme care, through paperback binding stitched with wire referendum and not simply glue, it holds up through the time. The hardback cover also is hardbound disk, allowing a better usability.

The relationship between the camera and the object being rendered (ie the ANGLE) gives emotional information to an audience, and guides their judgment about the character or object in shot. The more extreme the angle (ie the further away it is from eye left), the more symbolic and heavily-loaded the shot.

1. The Bird’s-Eye view

This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers’ legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

2. High Angle

Not so extreme as a bird’s eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting – they become part of a wider picture. This is that god awful SE Isometric that we see from newbies.

3. Eye Level

A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors’ heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

4. Low Angle

These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

5. Oblique/Canted Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted (ie is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies). This technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots (ie when the camera becomes the ‘eyes’ of one particular character,seeing what they see — a hand held camera is often used for this.