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How To Create Realistic 3D Renders: A Step by Step Guide

REALISTIC 3D RENDERINGS

3D rendering has become the go-to visual form of communication for many industries such as architecture, interior design, furniture design, jewellery design, and product design.

However, not all 3D renders are created equal. Producing realistic 3D renders requires a lot of skill and experience. To get there, a few important steps must be taken and repeated until you reach a certain professional level of mastery.

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REALISTIC 3D RENDERS: STEP BY STEP GUIDE

  • Step 1: Find Out What Your Client Needs

    This is an important step that will set the tone for your entire 3D project. Establish rapport and communicate with your client to know exactly how they want their images to turn out. Be open to their ideas and make informed suggestions from a creative standpoint. Discuss their vision in detail and address what is realistically possible for you to create, until you reach an agreement that both parties can be happy with.

  • Step 2: Analyse and Plan Out The Project

    Now, you need to sit down and come up with a game plan. Thresh out the bad from the good ideas and find the best way to put the best ones together. Create a final sketch that roughly shows all the elements you want to include in your rendered image. With that, you’ll then have to visualise the specifics on how you’ll build the 3D model inside the software so that it gets as close to your vision as possible.

  • Step 3: Start Modelling

    Build your 3D model as accurately as possible and slowly start adding materials and textures until you have a rough draft of the final image. Feel free to spend time tweaking the fine details as this will make up the base of your render. Once you’re happy with the 3D model, you can start adding more detailed textures that will help add a sense of realism to your image. As a 3D artist, you’ll need to master getting these textures just right and get them as close to the real world as possible. When everything is in place, and your objects get the dimension you want, you’re ready to move on to the next step.

  • Step 4: Apply Light & Shadows

    Light and shadows play a huge role in creating photorealistic 3D images. Determine where your light source is and add highlights and shadows as appropriate. Feel free to play around with different filters, colours, and reflections to get your image to look as real as possible. The goal is to feel like you’re looking at a photograph of the real thing and not a computer-generated image. Master this step and it will definitely show through your work. This level of finesse is something your client will truly notice and appreciate, and can even get you more projects through the door.

  • Step 5: Start Rendering

    Once you’re happy with the output and feel it’s ready for presentation, it’s time to render. Over time, you’ll determine what rendering techniques fit which projects and software, so keep building your experience and your workflow will only get faster from here. 3D rendering can be a lengthy process, especially if you’re working on a huge project or large images, so be sure to account for these working hours early on in your proposal too. Inspect your render output for any errors and make final adjustments as necessary in post-productionsoftware. Finally, prepare your images for the client presentation.

  • Step 6: Get Feedback and Fine-tune

    Photorealistic 3D renders have become an integral visual communication tool for many industries and businesses. Technology will continue to evolve and even more use cases for 3D will emerge. Perhaps clients’ expectations will continue to grow with the 3D technology improving at break-neck speed. Stay on top of your competition by mastering these steps and always be learning.