What would make this better

Studio/Institution: Ac- Visual
Genre: Retail Exterior
Software: 3DS Max, Vray, photoshop
Website: http://www.acvisual.co.uk
Description:

Hi, I've just completed a project for a client which is a front and 3 quarter view renders of a building they are developing. It'll be a Fish and Chip shop downstairs with apartments above. They are happy with the above render and I'm sending higher resolution copies over on Monday morning so all is well.

Although they are happy to pay for it, which is great. I'd like to improve the quality of my work for future projects. Now I know it's not exactly some flashy modern sky scraper or architectural work of art so it's impressiveness in this case is limited but I feel it could definitely be improved.

What would you do differently / better?

It looks good in general.

* overall the building is a little washed out and needs a wee bit more contrast (compare it to the white building)

* your eye will ALWAYS go the the area of highest contrast which are the guy/dog and the building on the right - tone those down.

* sidewalk is too dark and uniform - looks like it's made of asphalt.

* shop sign text should stand out more and be centered

* inside looks too darkish gray. look at photographs - I think it could use stronger reflections

* have people placement be consistent - if the view is at eye-level all the figures eyes should generally be on the same horizontal line.

There's not much room to make a chippy fancy. But you could improve the composition by giving the building a little more room to0 breathe. It looks all cramped into the frame.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

To answer a few comments.

Contrast wise - Yes I did actually wash out the main building a little as it just looked a little too CG, but you'er right I should have also done the guy with the dog to get things matching.

The sidewalk (or pavement as we say in the UK) is asphalt so that's okay.

I know what you mean with the shop sign but I was told to just make it generic text for now but yes, probably centre would be better.

I wasn't sure how to play the inside, there is reflection in there and I can increase it in post but didn't want it looking like a mirror. There are lights internally but it's always going to look dark compared to daylight. Admittedly I didn't consult much reference on this so that's something to look at in the future.

And Tom, I agree completely about it being cramped but there was good reason for this. The building to the left has a complex mixed stone finish and I had no photography to sit it in. So decided to cut it out as much as possible. I suppose I could have maybe just done it in simple grey for a better composition but I'm not sure the client was ready for that yet.

I think the building looks nice. A lot of modern buildings look good when rendered and viewed on a screen but when standing next to them in real life they are often brutal and lack human scale. This building would actually be nice to walk next to.