Recent developments in rendering

Computer modeling and rendering seems like an old subject at this point. However, the extreme advances in the last decade has changed the technology to a point where firms should consider hiring more than young Architectural grads.
Whenever a client asks for a photo realistic image of a future space, they have many expectations in mind that often have nothing to do with design. These are expectations that they often can’t verbalize, but they are still very real.
Some of the expectations, that are implied are realistic lighting, visually accurate textures, scenes filled with cars, people and trees. The last most common request is for Romance in the image, that ambiance that makes a space attractive and alive.

While there are a few Architectural Interns capable of handling all of these expectations, it is often less expensive and easier to achieve a greater quality of rendering with a few specialist on staff. Lighting, textures, and all the entourage in a scene is often better handled by people who specialize in the computer rendering software and don’t divide their knowledge base by trying to work on construction drawings.

The Architectural staff is still the most qualified set of artist for creating a model of the building under design. Often their singular focus can keep them from seeing anything in the image other than the building. Unfortunately, the building is often the background set by which the rest of the story is played out in the rendering. The People, animals, birds in the image are actors. The cars, trees, and furniture are props.

Architects often focus on the building as they should, but unfortunately forget the rest of the ingredients for a great image. The actors, props, and background have to come together to create a believable scene.

Render packages and render engines are complicated programs. The most common render package for Architects is 3ds Max. The most common render engine is Mental Ray, because it is free in 3ds Max and Revit.

There are two major advances in render technology in the last five years; lighting and textures.
It often seems a great rendering is all about the lighting. The most important lighting advances in the last few years is High Dynamic Range Imagery, Global illumination, and Ambient Occlusion.

High Dynamic Range Imagery or HDRI, is a method of capturing a realistic background and using it as both texture for the environment of a computer model and a part of the lighting for the scene. HDRI creates very realistic lighting solutions and greatly improves the reflections within a scene.

Global Illumination or GI, calculates lighting as it enters a space and bounces off surfaces. GI is great at softening a scene and adding to realism as light photons pick up a color of one surface and projects it on to the next surface it comes into contact with. GI greatly improves the ambient lighting of a scene.Global illumination has been around for a while, but can require a lot of computer power. Many artist avoided global illumination for a long time because their computers or deadlines on a project could not handle it in the past.

Ambient Occlusion is very subtle, but important. It improves the shadows at corners and edges of objects to give greater definition.