It has been a while since I posted, and while this project has been completed for some time now, I have neglected to post it until now possibly because this is by far my biggest project in 3D work, and I feel more personally responsible for it than any other WIPs.
The project:
I was hired by a previous teacher to create architectural visualizations for a mixed-use (commercial/residential) apartment complex he is developing. The renders are based on floor plans and specifications laid out by the owners and contractors. Having only worked from reference images (and mostly just my imagination) before, this was a new experience for me.
At this point my portion of the project is finished, and while I would appreciate any constructive comments and criticism, know that I will not likely make any changes.
(www.pikestation.com for more information)
And a few more…Also, I re-rendered the main floor views with a plain painted ceiling as another option for buyers. Rather than upload very similar pictures requiring a third post, if you are curious you can see them at the link in the first post.
Last note, I was rushed creating the exterior views as they are actual photos taken from the construction site (on my cellphone camera :P) so I am aware that it doesn’t fit as nicely with the interior.
I was wondering about the bathroom and it’s relatively low noise…the light is all coming only from the window and the lamps mesh emitter? Or there are some point light or something in the back of the shot?
Yeah, I was pretty concerned with rendering the bathroom, and was actually pretty surprised when it worked out pretty well. The lighting is all from the window, the mesh lights above the mirror, and a window in a small room behind the camera. I also had some light AO. I tried to get a point light outside of the camera frame, but couldn’t find a spot where the light wouldn’t give very obviously fake reflections.
To help reduce noise, I also used a solution I think proposed by Jonathan Williamson (I forget exactly), to make a glass shader out of a mix of I believe translucent and glossy shaders which converges in fewer samples than the standard glass shader.
The render itself is the worst of the bunch in my opinion, but with the inherent difficulties of a room with lots of glossy, mirror and glass surfaces, I’m still pretty happy with how it came out.
Nice renders, but I think you should use some direct light source like sun. Your lighting is too diffuse and then everything looks a bit like a toy. Maybe also some materials need more work or textures - the books in the library, some texures to break the uniformity of glossiness(oven, pans etc.). And as a side note - the outside should be blown out - with a real camera (unless you use HDR) you’d never be able to capture the exposition for the inside and the outside just like you have.
