We all want our cosmetic renders to look realistic, but what can we do to ensure that they look as realistic as possible? How to improve your 3D cosmetic renders?
This tutorial helps you to render shadows, reflections, and other effects on your 3D models using Blender software, open-source and free software available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other operating systems.
You don’t need any specific knowledge about Blender in order to understand this tutorial and you can use it to improve the quality of your 3D cosmetic renders with some basic adjustments.
Wondering how to improve your 3D cosmetic renders? The following are some things to take into consideration that will help you create stunning renders with ease.
What is a 3D cosmetic render?
3D Cosmetic Render is a type of rendering that creates an image or animation of a three-dimensional object, such as a cosmetic product. It’s also used in the fields of design, architecture, engineering, and film production.
3D renderings help visualise what a building, piece of furniture, or product will look like from all angles before it’s actually made. The end result is clearer communication between designers and manufacturers, as well as faster production time and less wasted materials.
There are many steps you can take to make your 3D cosmetic renders better such as using reflective materials, adding depth of field with camera lens blur, and realistic lighting. Reflections are important for products because they show how a product would look on a person and how light bounces off the surface.
You could also add some depth-of-field by blurring parts of the screen when moving towards something close up – this effect makes objects in focus clear while blurring those that are further away.
When designing for beauty, good lighting is essential: there should be light sources coming from behind so it looks more natural (avoid putting all lights on one side). And lastly don’t forget about reflections: try making glossy objects wet and shiny!
Make sure you keep changing perspective as often as possible to avoid viewers getting dizzy from constantly looking at the same thing. A lot of people think hair just has colour but there is a lot more to consider when designing hair such as colour gradients, strand thicknesses, density, frizziness, and different kinds of hair textures like curly or straight.
Make sure to always give your viewer enough information so they know what material it’s made out of: real-life materials have properties not found in most 3D software.
Types of 3D cosmetic render
There are many types of 3D Cosmetic Renders, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The two most common types are the Solid-Model and Wireframe Rendering.
Solid-Models are best for people who want to get an idea of how the design will look in real life as they work on it. Wireframes offer a more realistic view without focusing on colour or lighting, which can be distracting while working on a project.
Both have their benefits, so choose the one that best suits your needs.
The next step is to take this render into Photoshop where you’ll create textures from it. You’ll need to define what the surfaces will look like before you move on to the next stage of modelling (whether these surfaces will be reflective or matte).
Once you’ve created your materials and textures, you’ll need to make adjustments such as adjusting brightness and contrast levels, adding glare from light sources like bulbs, fluorescent tubes, etc., and adding shadows where necessary (such as under eyes), etc.
It’s important not just to make things prettier but also to make sure that everything is accurate. Once you’re satisfied with the product go back into Max or Maya and add any final touches such as reflectivity/matte adjustment or anything else desired before exporting!
After completing all the steps listed above, congratulations! You now know how to improve your 3D cosmetic renders by using various techniques including solid models, wireframe models, lights and shadows, etc.
These can be combined to produce high-quality results whether you want to show your projects off online or use them commercially. If you want to showcase your designs as realistically as possible, there are plenty of ways to do it.
Another way is to use photoshop filters to alter different aspects of the 3D model. Add special effects such as atmospheric effects and gradients – some filters give better results than others depending on the type of filter used: however different filters may allow for different unique looks that wouldn’t otherwise be achievable through rendering alone.
Get the right lighting
Lighting is one of the key elements in a successful render. It sets the mood and creates an atmosphere. The direction and intensity of the light will affect shadows and highlights. You can use lighting to highlight some areas while leaving others in shadow.
The type of light you use will also have an effect on how your render looks, so be sure to choose wisely! Soft lights create a warm tone, which makes for a more comforting environment.
Soft lights are typically used for skin and portrait work but can also work well for other subjects such as furniture or architecture if used sparingly. A harder light source will create harsh shadows and highlights, making it ideal for fashion shots or editorial projects where the subject is more angular.
Daylight-balanced LEDs are great when shooting outdoors because they have softer tones that don’t produce heavy contrast as sunlight would. They’re also great for indoor shoots where natural light might not be enough, although you’ll need to find a balance between artificial and natural sources.
For indoor shoots with limited space and few windows, fluorescent bulbs offer strong colour consistency from different angles and provide even coverage of light.
Halogen lights offer similar benefits but require special equipment (ballasts) due to their higher power consumption. With any fluorescent or halogen bulb, make sure you get bulbs with sufficient wattage (around 60-150 watts). Fluorescent tubes are perfect when trying to mimic natural daylight indoors.
As mentioned above, the ballast requirements mean you may need to install a 220-volt line depending on what country you live in. Assess your personal value before deciding.
Lighting isn’t just about what’s visible. Ambient light includes all of the various types of indirect light that bounce off walls, floors, and ceilings into every corner of a room.
These sources can include natural light coming through windows, lamps, and tungsten fixtures among others. There are many ways to control ambient lighting during post-production editing using Photoshop, After Effects, or Cinema 4D with plugins like Maxwell Studio Render – these let us play around with different textures & reflectivity values until we achieve our desired look.
Use high-quality textures
Create a high-quality texture for the object. If you want to make it look shiny, use a glossy texture. If it is a brick wall, use a brick wall texture or two. Adding extra textures is always a plus!
This will give viewers the impression that the object is real and not just an image on their screen. Also, try using shaders which produce the effect of depth and shade; this may also help convince people that what they are seeing is in fact reality.
Lastly, lighting effects can help emphasise detail; these effects are not just limited to shading but also reflections as well as any other type of light present in the scene such as street lights, headlights, etc.
Once again it is all about adding realism to the render by utilising all three types of light sources: direct, reflected, and ambient. Remember when doing this though do not forget about shadowing and tone mapping because even though those are only used in post-production work they still serve an important role in rendering so don’t ignore them!
Use real-world references
In order to get the best quality render, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. The first is that you should always use high-quality textures with high resolution and a large number of polygons.
The second is that you should use as many lights as possible and make sure they are all set up properly. Finally, you should consider using Ambient Occlusion (AO) which will help achieve more realistic lighting effects.
It is important to note that these techniques may take a bit longer but it will be worth it in the end. First, create your model by using references for accuracy.
Then import a high-quality texture into the scene. Make sure you can see every detail by adjusting the size and resolution accordingly.
Next, add an environment or background to set the mood and time of day for when it was created. Remember: shadows look better on top of colours while highlights show colours better on dark surfaces so place them accordingly before adding light sources.
For AO – Add one directional light behind or in front of your character; this will give you even illumination across surfaces like skin which makes it look much more realistic! You can also use two or three-point lights from various angles to get the same effect.
Render at a high resolution
One of the best ways to improve a render is by increasing the resolution. If you are working with a large model, such as one that is 20×20, then rendering at a higher resolution will result in sharper details and less noticeable pixelation.
Additionally, if you’re an architect or designer and are using CAD software, it’s always better to render at a high resolution because the software cannot handle rendering at scale.
Lastly, if you have access to VR headsets, rendering at a higher resolution can help reduce motion sickness while looking around virtual scenes. You may also want to consider anti-aliasing which can reduce graininess and blurriness in textures, lines, edges, and curves.
Anti-aliasing should be used when creating architectural visuals for web pages but not for animations. Make sure you avoid vertical aliasing which can cause objects to appear jagged and uneven.
In addition, make sure you use shading techniques that mimic natural lighting conditions; this will make the rendering look more realistic.
For example, if there is sunlight coming through windows during the daytime, make sure there is strong directional light coming from a window on the side of the room that corresponds to where there would be sunlight coming through during daylight hours.
Use the right software
There are two types of software that can be used for 3D modelling and rendering: commercial or free. Free software is ideal for beginners because it will allow you to learn the basics before investing in a more expensive version.
There are three free software programs that are worth checking out: Blender, SketchUp, and Wings3D. They each have their own strengths, so it’s worth researching them before committing to one.
Commercial software has many benefits as well: they’re often easier to use, they usually come with tutorials so you can learn how to use the program, and they have better customer support.
With these benefits in mind, there are still some things to consider before making the purchase. Is this something I really want to do? How much time am I willing to dedicate to learning how to use the program (and teaching myself)?
If you’re not sure if 3D rendering is something you want to spend money on yet then try downloading any of the free programs mentioned above and start experimenting!
You’ll soon figure out whether it’s something you enjoy doing and want to continue investing your time into.
If you’re looking for help with anything specific, such as design choices when modelling an object, there are tons of tutorials available online that can teach you everything from how to export images from the software to best practices when using certain features.
You’ll find answers to most questions just by searching online; however, don’t hesitate to reach out if none of your research finds an answer either.
Beginner’s guide to 3D cosmetic rendering
3D rendering is the use of computer graphics software to create an image from a 2-dimensional model. The process is broken down into three stages: modelling, texturing, and lighting.
This section will take you through each stage in detail so you can start creating beautiful 3d renderings of your own. Modelling Models are made using polygons and textures (the visual appearance).
It’s important that the shape, size, and orientation of the polygon accurately match how it would appear on a human face or body. For instance, for eyebrows if you were modelling them out as two straight lines side by side it would look weird on someone’s face because their brows grow together at the end; however, if modelled out properly with one line going above the other like real life then it would look much better.
Lighting is used for highlighting parts of your 3D model so they pop out more to make them more noticeable and realistic looking. The main types of lights are point lights, spotlights, directional lights, and hemisphere lights.
Each type has different properties which affect where light comes from and how bright it is. Point lights have no directionality so light emits equally in all directions while the spotlight emits light only along a certain angle depending on its location relative to the object being lit.
Directional light has a specific direction but casts shadows like a sunbeam coming through a window; hemisphere light creates an even, 360-degree light around the area it covers. Again these various properties can be adjusted depending on what effect you want to achieve with your 3D rendering!
Conclusion
According to the final aesthetic direction, any effects created can be kept or removed, played up or played down. Depending on your preferences, you can alter the lighting as well as the backgrounds and any other element of the image.
Images are created with the intention of looking lovely and appealing, and this should come before all other considerations. It is very common to make various adjustments in post-production to achieve the desired look.
Below are some tips that can help you create a more realistic and believable render:
– Start by creating an eyedropper tool. This will allow you to select colours from a photo or scanned object and use them in your render.
– Create more realistic shadows with the help of a layer style. Adjust the opacity level and choose one of the three preset styles: Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, or Bevel and Emboss.
The Inner Shadow will create an outline around any object while the Outer Glow will create a softer appearance. The Bevel and Emboss style can be used on text as well as objects within your scene.
– Create realistic skin tones by using adjustment layers with levels, curves, hue/saturation, exposure, or brightness/contrast.
Additionally, you can choose pictures or videos that interest you, watch VFX movies, pause when you see a cool effect, and take a screenshot. then pay attention to the colour grading, experiment with the saturation and gamma, zoom in and out, and start analysing the image using the eyedropper tool. You will undoubtedly learn all the minor, subtle effects that are utilised to produce stunning, realistic photos and sequences if you do this over time.
