douglasfenton

It is always tricky. If you browse through these forums, there are some very helpful older threads about this. Some people canvass architects, developers, builders and the like via email or telephone, and this may help raise awareness of you and your work, but you are always competing with the local visualisation studios/individuals who have built up a relationship over time. I think the best way is through your existing contacts. Satisfied clients will often refer you on to new potential clients through word of mouth.

Or are there any suggestions for a native windows laptop to do the same tasks?

Hi all, I am wondering what the opinion is as far as running 3ds Max and Windows on the new MacBook Pro Retina goes? I would like to get a new laptop to use as a second machine - to model and set up 3DS scenes in, but I would still do all of my rendering on my desktop workstation. I know there have been issues with Windows not displaying an adequate resolution on the Retina screen. Has anyone had any experience with this? Many thanks! D

Is it just me, or have good CG competitions dried up recently? Is the CG Awards going to run this year (2015)? There are many people doing fantastic work away from large studios, it is a shame not to have an active community and showcase... D

The image is good. Perhaps it needs a bit more contrast, a little extra reflection, as mentioned some interiors and interior lighting but you can even use an image of an interior on a plane within the buildings for that to keep poly-count low. I used to work in a similar small firm in the South West of England and was trying to introduce 3dsmax and vray visualisations into their workflow. We were doing almost exactly the same type of work - small residential developments. I find that a lot of the time it is the camera angle that makes an image. If the camera angle matches a physically possible position then you can sometimes trick the brain into interpreting the render as a photograph. Forgive me if I am wrong, but yours looks a little bit high. I also find that 1 point perspectives can be very impressive.

Hi Zu, Thanks a lot - I really appreciate your comment! I'm a huge fan of photography, and I try to bring photographic techniques into my visualisations. D.

Many thanks for all the responses and suggestions. Chris: I will look into Fotosketcher. I used to use Sketchup a lot, but I found that even with its myriad of output styles, it is tricky to escape that 'sketchup' aesthetic. George: Those MLK Library visuals are very interesting, and quite refreshingly different. Clive: You're absolutely right of course, being a visual artist involves far more than simply producing photo-real renderings. Simon: Thanks - these links are great starting points! Yama: Your project is great - thanks a lot for the inspiration! Corey: Again, what you say is true. I am a fan of Luxigon - the images they produce are always more suggestive and evocative than definitive, which I think is the direction we should be heading in. Thanks again! D.

Thanks for the feedback Stephen! I need to tweak my settings in places, and I am still trying to refine my materials to better replicate weathering and slight imperfections etc, but as you notices, my focus has been to see what different moods I could achieve. Much to learn of course. Best, D.

Ok thanks - I'll take a look. I normally try to achieve photo-realism in my images, but I have a new potential client who is keen to produce something that is not so 'polished' and is more in keeping with their way of working, which is through sketches and card models etc.

Hello all, I have been browsing these forums for years, but have only recently (and rightly) joined up to the community. I work with visualisation and animation; gradually teaching myself 3ds Max and Vray. A small selection of my visualisation work can be seen here: http://www.edgargeorge.com Best wishes, D.

Has anyone come across some interesting and impressive alternatives to photorealistic architectural visualisation? Perhaps something which is a bit more sketchy, not fully textured etc. The industry seems to be dominated by the more photorealistic fully-textured image. D.

Hello all, I have been browsing these forums for years, but only recently signed as an official member. I am freelancing in visualisation and image-making, and you can see some of my work so far here: www.edgargeorge.com Anyway, I have a new potential client who is keen to produce some imagery that avoids the photorealistic rendering style that is so prevalent. They want something that has a more work-in-progress and sketchy/collage feel to it, maybe incorporating hand-sketched overlays as textures. I am curious as to whether anyone has produced work in a similar style, or come across any precedents in the past. Many thanks in advance! Douglas