Product rendering is the process of creating a realistic virtual 3D model of a product. It is also called 3D rendering or 3D modelling. Rendering helps in understanding the product’s design, structure, and other details before it is manufactured.
This technique uses 3D modelling to create photorealistic images of products. This is an intricate process that recreates the look and feel of a product to help the audience understand how it will look in real life. Product rendering has multiple benefits not just for marketers but for other businesses like architectural firms, production houses, etc.
One of them is the ability to create realistic and beautiful images that will attract more customers. It can be used by marketers to advertise their products and services. The technique can be complex, but the results are worth it.
Renderings of products have been used by businesses in marketing campaigns for years. However, as rendering technology has improved, so has access to these services, and everyone is aware of the advantages.
Particularly for marketers, 3D rendering makes the impossibility a possibility. Like 3D rendering, nothing provides you complete control over a digital item. Images that have been rendered are accurate, lifelike, and perfectly suited for any purpose.
The same simply cannot be said of photography, particularly when it comes to difficult-to-photograph items like furniture, machinery, or medical gadgets.
There are many benefits of product rendering. It helps to create an emotional connection with the customer by showing them what their purchase will look like in real life. It saves time for marketers because they don’t have to spend time creating images of their products.
Brand recognition is increased because customers can see more of the company’s work when they view a product on social media or on a website.
Marketers can use product rendering to present their products in an attractive manner to their customers online. It can be used as an effective marketing tool for e-commerce websites and retail stores.
Besides offering more accuracy than photography, 3D rendering is also far more flexible and affordable. You’ll rapidly see a return on your investment because it’s simple to update and repurpose 3D photos. You can instantly modify 3D rendered work to make adjustments to photos in the future without having to spend money on expensive rebuilds.
What is 3D rendering and how does it operate?
3D rendering is a process in which a 3D model of an object is created from three-dimensional data and displayed on a 2D screen. It is made up of two parts: geometry and lighting. The geometry defines the shape of the object while the light defines how it appears to the viewer.
It is a computer graphics process, which can be used for marketing purposes as well.
Marketing is a constantly evolving industry. One of the latest trends in marketing is 3D rendering. 3D rendering has been used in marketing for a variety of purposes such as product visualisation, architectural walkthroughs, and even video games.
The use of 3D rendering for marketing purposes has been around for more than a decade, since the early 1990s and it has been constantly evolving ever since. It is used in marketing to create realistic images of products or services that are yet to be built, such as architectural renderings, interior design renderings, and product renderings.
In 2005, one of the first major examples was the Nike+iPod campaign where they created an interactive experience that let users run on their own personal treadmill while watching themselves run on TV screens in front of them.
The artists construct 3D wireframe models using the 3D information, which may be from an engineering file (CAD file) or specifications from the actual product. Then, they use a rendering engine to put those 3D models to use (like Redshift).
A three-dimensional image is created using data from 3D models using rendering software. With the help of this software, highly finely detailed, photorealistic 3D graphics can be produced.
One can now easily edit the rendered images. You are only constrained by your creativity when it comes to changing the environment or changing the lighting or colour.
There are no glares, dim lighting, or manufacturing flaws in a 3D rendered image. It’s also photorealistic. It can be challenging (and perhaps impossible) to distinguish between a produced image and a photograph.
History of product rendering
Product rendering is a technique used by marketers to create realistic images of products in order to showcase the product’s features and benefits. It is a snapshot of what the product would look like when it is created and finished.
It can be used for any type of product, from cars or gadgets to food or beverages. Product rendering has been around for decades and it has evolved with technology.
The first computer program created specifically for the creation of basic 3D models, Sketchpad, was created by “the father of computer graphics” Ivan Sutherland in the early 1970s, which marks the beginning of the history of 3D rendering.
Sketchpad was a very basic piece of software that could only be used to create the most basic shapes, like cubes or prisms. But this innovation gave rise to computer-generated visualisation as we know it today.
In addition, Edwin Catmull, a student of Sutherland’s, developed the first realistic 3D animated model utilising Z Buffering not long after Sketchpad was developed. One of the earliest uses of animated CGI was in his student film “A Computer Animated Hand” in 1972.
The history of product rendering in marketing dates back to the late 1800s. The first ever rendered image was created by Charles Mott in 1877. He used the new invention, photography, to create an advertisement for his company that sold lamps and chandeliers.
In the early 1900s, there were many companies that advertise their products by using rendered images because they were very realistic and helped customers visualise what they would eventually buy.
The first recorded use of a product render was in the 1940s when General Motors commissioned artists to render illustrations of their new car models. These illustrations were then sent out as postcards, brochures, and magazine ads.
They also created an animated commercial for their new Chevrolet model. This animation was created by John Hubley, who had previously done animation for Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
In the 1960s, General Motors started using photos instead of drawings because they were cheaper and easier to produce than drawings.
The first company to create an actual 3D rendered animation was Pixar Animation Studios, which did it for their film “Toy Story.”
Advantages of using product rendering by marketers
Communication of the value, purpose, and differentiators of a product to customers is the main difficulty facing marketers of hardware items. Starting a business on a tight budget for marketing makes the challenge even more difficult.
Customers are under time pressure and have more options than before. Marketing materials must therefore exert more effort to interest them. Product presentations and images are better able to convey a product’s vision and value proposition thanks to 3D rendering.
Customers may visualise a product in ways that traditional photography can not with the use of high-fidelity renderings. Marketing professionals may demonstrate a product and its features in simulated locations, from various perspectives, and with many variants using 3D rendering, which enables customers to make decisions more quickly.
Here are some of the advantages of employing product rendering for marketers :
Versatile and Flexible
Some tasks are simply impossible to accomplish in any other way. Perhaps you want your product to be in 30 different colours and styles, or to be at the bottom of a swimming pool or on top of a mountain.
All of that is feasible with 3D rendering without the need to travel to an impassable site or spend all day repeatedly photographing the same item. Even better, you can modify the lighting or change your mind later without having to schedule another photo shoot.
The generated 3D assets are also adaptable, so you can use them with just about any marketing channel you can think of. Use them for billboards, trade exhibitions, newspaper advertisements, and product packaging. One can customise advertising campaigns to a variety of target populations by using photorealistic rendering.
For instance, a marketer can ask for diverse lifestyle images or offer colours for customers with various preferences. Every potential customer can find something for themselves when there are several possibilities for product advertisements.
The ability to make pullout images that reveal a product’s interior components and quality is another benefit of 3D technology. Such a variety of visual aids will both draw clients’ attention to the products and simultaneously highlight all of their features and options. Because of its timeless properties, product rendering is a wise investment.
Cost-Effective
The impact of 3D rendering is far greater than that of actual photography!
Rendering 3D products is incredibly less expensive than photography. Consider that you are introducing new merchandise or a seasonal line. Prototypes need to be made, shipped to another location, and then a photo shoot needs to be scheduled.
In addition to the logistical nightmare, those expenses pile up quickly. When you release a new product or line, you will have to recoup those costs if you rely solely on product photography for your marketing materials.
One benefit of choosing a 3D rendering over photography is that it is far simpler to generate a 3D model than it is to produce a real-world object.
Without ever constructing the product in physical form, 3D Product Rendering allows you to visualise both the physical aspect and possible functionality of your product. Moreover, you can easily update the design if something changes based on client feedback. With genuine products, last-minute modifications are hard since you would need a new prototype, which may take an additional week to complete.
Precision
It is feasible to adjust several minute details while keeping the lifelike qualities because images are produced from 3D models.
Experts in 3D rendering may easily make little tweaks that would be impossible with photography, like individual water drops on a cola can, etc.
Utilising this high degree of accuracy, marketers can highlight product attributes or provide samples of how a product might fit into a space.
3D renderings enable accurate measurements to be performed even while the rendering is still being done, in contrast to digital photos which are unable to provide precise 3D distance information. You have total control over both indoor and outdoor lighting with 3D renders.
You don’t need to wait for a clear day or a stunning sunset to get the ideal shot of your landscape or building. Additionally, you won’t ever have to wait for the weather to improve, the sun to rise, or the shadows to shift. With 3D rendering, you have absolute control over everything, including the time of year, day of the week, sun angle, sunlight intensity, etc.
By using 3D product rendering, you can consistently have flawless, accurate assets.
Environment friendly
Marketers may produce spectacular pictures using 3D rendering that display products in their natural environments and enable compositing without needing to build numerous photo shoot locations. Customers can then picture the goods in their minds while considering the setting and intended application.
The environmental costs associated with photography are also high. Think how unnecessary photographic sets can be. Although they occupy a lot of space, they are rarely utilised more than once. In fact, following a shot, the majority of sets wind up in the trash.
On the other hand, photorealistic 3D rendering doesn’t squander physical resources. It’s a waste-free and greener option than creating and destroying photo sets.
Fast Turnaround Time
When compared to traditional photography, product image rendering is much simpler and quicker to complete. A marketer does not have to plan manufacturing prototypes, rent venues, and hire a photographer, then wait for everything to come together when employing CGI. He simply needs to hire 3D artists to replicate his product, texture it, and set it up in a selected 3D setting.
This can not only save the marketer time but also give him access to a source that can consistently produce a large number of product photographs in a short amount of time. The advertising specialist can even order a large quantity of the photographs he requires for his online store at once and have them completed on schedule.
Create the impossible
You can essentially construct the impossible with 3D rendering, be it an environment or even other items. For a picture shoot, there is no need to waste time or money assembling elaborate sets.
You have access to everything, including luxurious furnishings, far-off places, and exquisite landscaping. You don’t even need a physical product before you start promoting it because generated pictures employ 3D data.
Marketers can obtain the most incredible backgrounds and landscapes without having to spend a fortune thanks to 3D rendering. A product can be shown in an underwater environment, on top of a mountain, or almost anywhere else one might imagine. It will present itself to the customer as something interesting that they simply can’t ignore and look credible.
Market Even Without A Physical Product
A new product’s development might take a long time and be very expensive. You must wait for a prototype that you want to start marketing right away after creating engineering files and sending them to the manufacturer.
What if there are alterations at the last minute? They might not arrive at the factory in time, which would mean you might have to wait weeks for a new prototype. You’ll still need to organise a photo shoot after all that.
However, consider having graphic marketing materials available before even delivering those files to a manufacturer. Rendering of products in 3D makes that possible. Take into account these renderings as a pre-prototype that will enable you to promote your new product without a physical version.
You can adjust the lighting, choose the ideal perspective, and highlight particular product aspects. All of that is before your product has ever been created.
Interactive advertisements
Customers today want interactive experiences that they may have without leaving their homes. But they still want to look at items in-depth and understand how they can use them. In light of this, marketers may be confident that utilising 360-degree views and other interactive 3D models will satisfy customers’ needs, leading to an increase in online sales.
Customers can detect a product’s attributes, such as its structure, functionalities, and design specifics, through the use of 360-degree views, for example. Users can thoroughly verify that a product gives what they are looking for by checking the features online.
Conclusion
The possibilities of 3D rendering greatly exceed those of conventional photography thanks to its wide range of uses and timeless characteristics. Even the underlying technology of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality is 3D rendering.
In fact, it is predicted that the market for virtual and augmented reality technologies would reach $150 billion by the end of 2020.
3D rendering offers a cost-efficient, enduring, and adaptable choice for marketers seeking the best ROI. Nothing else provides you with as much total control over each and every element of your digital assets.
Those exact visuals and animations will undoubtedly leave an enduring impact, aiding in the growth and retention of your audience. The advertising industry will be significantly dominated by 3D modelling and rendering.
