Photo-realistic rendering is an essential part of the architectural design process. In this blog, we’ve put together a list of architectural rendering mistakes that can ruin the impact of a design.

Too complicated

Many designers and architects make the mistake of letting their imagination take the reins and creating designs that look like they belong in a dystopian movie, adding strange or unnatural details in an attempt to impress their clients. The issue with making renders too complicated and futuristic is that clients will find it difficult to conceptualise for the present. While the design might be striking, when it comes to architectural rendering, it’s better to make the design look as realistic and natural as possible. An eye-catching background or unique lighting will distract clients from the focus of the design.

Unrealistic reflections

Reflections are a key element in making 3D rendering look realistic. Every single object will be able to reflect light to some degree, so it can be tricky to recreate this effect in architectural designs realistically. When including reflections in 3D rendering, it’s important to make sure that imperfections are included. Adding the occasional flecks of dust or scratches will create a diffused lighting effect and will help to make the design more realistic. Beveling is also essential. Buildings are never perfectly straight, so if the design doesn’t contain any round edges before reflections and light are added, the entire render will look unnatural.

Too simple

Like a real photograph, architectural rendering should tell a story. In order to impress their clients, designers must create a compelling story with their render. The sole purpose of photorealistic rendering is to focus on a room or building to give an impression of what it will look like in real life. However, an empty room with only windows, doors and walls is unlikely to make an impression. In order to avoid a render looking unnatural and plain, it’s important to bring life into it.

This is relatively easy to achieve, with the addition of features such as bookshelves, plants and furniture in order to bring the design to life. By adding a human touch, designers are able to display the building as a place that is meant to be lived in.

Overlooking texture quality

An extremely important element in architecture is texture, and so this plays an important role in architectural rendering too. High definition textures can bring a project to life and help attract investors and clients. Overlooking the quality of textures in one element of a design can have a significant impact on the entire render. If the building itself looks as real as a photograph but the asphalt on the road outside looks completely perfect, it will be extremely distracting. Each aspect of a render will affect the rest of the design, and so each texture needs to feed off another. By leaving one area untouched, the entire design will seem unrealistic and fake.

Incorrect perspective

Camera angles play an extremely important role in photography. They hide distractions and imperfections while highlighting the most important features of the image, and so the same is true in architectural rendering. When a photo-realistic render is presented from an incorrect perspective, it can completely lose its realistic effect. Lifting the design to a bird’s eye view or keeping it at eye level is ideal for architectural rendering, but it’s an even better idea to present both angles if possible.

If you’re in need of steel detailing services or photo-realistic rendering services, get in touch with our team at Restoric Design today.

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