When it comes to professional 3D exterior rendering, getting the results you’ll be happy with hinges upon striking a balance between the desired quality and the time constraints. In our architectural 3D rendering studio, we have two quality tiers: Standard and Advanced. The choice between them largely depends on your project’s time limits. If you’re on a tighter deadline, you’ll most likely go for the Standard option.
However, with the Advanced solution, which requires more time to complete, a 3D artist puts additional work into details, lighting, and post-production. This gives the resulting CG visuals a more photorealistic feel. So, if you’re trying to impress discerning investors or a competition jury, you’ll probably want to go for this option.
What are the specifics of these two tiers of quality? And how long does creating professional 3D exterior rendering take for each of them? Let’s take a look.
#1. Standard Exterior 3D Visualization
The Standard quality level serves as a pragmatic solution for time-sensitive tasks. It offers time efficiency without compromising on visual appeal. Created in an average of 40 hours of a 3D artist’s work, this type of professional 3D exterior visualization has the following features.
- Though not as intricate as with the Advanced level, Standard quality renders still represent high-quality materials that ensure a polished look.
- Depending on your goals, realistic lighting can include natural or artificial sources or a combination of both.
- You can expect a basic realistic environment without too many details.
- The buildings’ windows are dark or show reflections of the surroundings.
- To ensure quicker workflow, the number of secondary elements is limited, and the image focuses solely on the exterior.
- The work includes basic CGI post-production, which most often means slight color correction.
As you can see from our example above, this type of 3D image looks realistic and compelling. It can be effectively used for client presentations and other purposes.
#2. Advanced Exterior 3D Visualization
For projects demanding an elevated visual impact, the Advanced tier comes in. To achieve this quality level, a professional 3D artist will need to spend about 70 hours working on a piece. So, if you know that’s what you need, make sure your CGI team has enough time before your deadline.
In comparison to the previous type, professional 3D exterior images of this level boast the following.
- Photorealistic materials. Here, you truly can’t say it’s a rendering and not a professional photo of an actual building’s exterior.
- Lighting gets ultra-realistic, sophisticated, and layered, requiring additional work on materials. This process is quite time-consuming
- The surrounding environment is highly detailed. For example, you’ll see more street signs, shop windows, plants, and so on. These details make a 3D picture exceptionally lifelike.
- Windows show interior spaces to maximize the depth and storytelling in the render. It takes some time to harmonize the interior scenes with the exterior though.
- Vehicles and people are present to add a touch of storytelling and give a sense of scale.
- Post-processing goes beyond basic corrections. It introduces weather effects such as mist or a rainbow for a more immersive visual experience.
- The same is true for additional camera effects such as bloom, glare, glow, and motion blur. These are used to add a cinematic touch and enhance the overall visual impression.
- Finally, in this type of 3D exterior image, an artist adds surface imperfections. Small details like creases, folds, and cracks in the materials make CGI less pristine and therefore more realistic.
Creating this type of exterior requires time, precision, and a commitment to excellence. As a result, it turns out ideal for presentations to major investors, competitive submissions, or advertisements, especially printed or large-scale. It also works great for all types of digital marketing channels.
Make sure your exterior design project takes your clients’ breath away
As you can see, making a professional 3D exterior image requires meticulous effort, skills, and, of course, time. Regardless of your specific deadline, our archviz studio will provide high-quality results. However, if you want to get Advanced level CGI, it’ll be best to plan our collaboration beforehand.
Need professional 3D rendering services? Contact us today to get mesmerizing images for your presentations and marketing materials!
Stacey Mur
Content Writer, Copywriter
Stacey is a content writer and a CG artist. Outside of work, Stacey enjoys musicals, Star Wars, and art talk. A proud Corgi parent.