Does anyone have any experience in using Blender (instead of 3D Studio Max or any other package) in creating architectural ‘verified views’, or happen to know whether Blender can be used in a ‘verified view’ workflow ?
A verified view is a highly accurate visual representation, or photomontage, of a proposed development superimposed onto a photograph of the actual site. It uses precise site data, like GPS coordinates and survey information, along with professional photography and 3D modeling, to accurately depict how a new structure will appear in its real-world context. The purpose is to provide a verifiable, realistic, and precise visual aid for planning applications, stakeholder communication, and visual impact assessments, ensuring the proposed design is accurately represented.
Yes, we just call it architectural visualization or arch-viz. This is just a type of visualization, nothing too special about it. How highly accurate and professional it gets only depends on the skill of the person doing this as well as time/money available. So… You can see a wide range of that in the wild.
The path from asking this question if it’s possible and actually learning to do it might not be very short and effortless though. Think years not days maybe…
In this field 3 Max is probably the most popular software used(at least as far as I can tell) and it probably has the advantage of many available pre-made assets that you can buy since there are a lot of those made specifically for 3 Max and V-ray. V-ray is also a mature renderer and is probably a great tool for this, but Blender and Cycles can also be very successfully used and even the situations with pre-made assets made for Blender is getting somewhat better in recent years, even though it is probably not as good as for 3 Max users. Blender is strong at modelling so there should be no issues there, I also think Cycles might be easier to use than Vray in a sense that there are far less knobs to turn, so I guess it could probably be a bit more user friendly, but it’s hard to say. You can also use Octane or Vray in Blender if Cycles would not match your needs for some reason. I don’t think the renderer matters in this field as much as some people would have you believe to be honest, because realism is mostly in the detail, textures, lighting and artistic ability of the creator. You can definitely use Blender for this and many people do despite the majority using 3 Max.
Edit: Almost forgot to call 3ds Max “3 Max” because of its icon. It’s all fixed now. Having lot’s of fun. Any 3 Max users here? How are you doing?
Thanks, MartinZ, for your input. I’m aware of Blender’s use in arch-viz generally. Currently, I’m trying to establish whether Blender may be used for ‘verified views’, specifically.
Thanks, oo_1942. Yes, I’m prepared for technical challenges and a learning curve. Currently, I’m trying to establish whether Blender may be used for ‘verified views’, specifically.
Well, i have done a lot of those photomontages, even in Blender ( Photomontage for a church competition ), but i never thought about calling them veryfied views. I usually get no GPS data, just the usual plans, and professional photos, well that would be nice. I often hae to work with smartphone photos because the client want to save on hiring a photographer. As Martin says, its a lot of try and error and you need some experience in 3D as in 2D for the montage. There are a few helpful tools to make camera tracking easier, means to find the correct settings for the camera angle and the lens.
Never heard about 3DS Max or how you call this software, i guess it has to do with the fact that Autodesc prefers weird OS’s
I think yes, you can use Blender for verified views
If you import data correctly
match the model and scale
and you can keep a record of which version you used and which settings
You can make obj export afterwards which is compatible with 3DSmax if somebody wants to check it.
Our company is archviz only - We do use our renders mostly for marketing purposes for clients, but sure you can import data and export in the format required
I think the answer is definite yes. If the output is images, it’s most likely good for it and I would still group this into archviz no matter how you call it. Of course it’s also a matter if it’s going to be convenient for you and your specific requirements. Do you have any more specific concerns about it? Like for example, what specific kind of data do you need to import? What kind of specific tasks or aspects of it are you concerned about?
Hi, Mark. I can’t claim to have made progress with this, though only because my interests moved in different directions, and I just haven’t had time yet to loop back round and take a close look at it all…The fact is I would still like to establish whether verified views can be achieved using Blender. So if you make any progress with this yourself, I’d be grateful for any pointers you can provide..
Hello Alan. Thanks for responding. From my understanding I can create a spatial referenced Photomontage using blender. I’m not sure it is quite the same as a Level 3 verified view but my initial aim is a get a model into blender and at least get it displaying as close to reality as possible in a photograph. Did you make any progress at all or did you not get past the initial research stage? I’ll let you know how I get on.
Having lot’s of fun. Any 3 Max users here? How are you doing? 
