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Does one need to be invited to the Discord?

Although a professional 2D graphic and 3D artist for the last 30-years, I have only recently focused the entirety of my creative energies into ArchViz. Therefore, referring to myself as a “newb” to the ArchViz world and process sort of fits even though I’m no newcomer to 3D modeling, materials, lighting, rendering, and post-processing. If you’re primarily self-taught, like me, (maybe) you’ll agree that when diving into discovering what the creative processes are in any given discipline, it’s important to do it like the professionals do, right? Back when I used to teach filmmaking, I implored every student to practice their craft at a level, so that if dropped onto a Spielberg or a Ron Howard film set, like if a treadmill, they’re immediately up-to-speed, ‘turn-key’, if you will. What this post attempts to do is pose the question, “What is the ArchViz process?” Below is my ArchViz process (to date), and I’ll leave it in your capable hands – the professionals on this forum – to either correct or confirm. Your interaction is appreciated as it will help me become more focused and become a professional ArchViz artist. So, I thank you in advance! My process, deriving from my research online: Pre-production and conceptualization – the process of gathering references, defining project goals, and if working for a client, understanding the project’s scope, architectural style, and deliverables. Do drawings exist? If so, acquire them. Create a mood board (I’ve used Pinterest and Behance for inspiration a lot when doing graphic design, are there others?) (I also use PureRef). Lastly, having all of the necessary software licenses in place and upgrading your CPU/GPU wouldn’t hurt. 3D Modeling – I’ve quickly learned that 3ds Max is the industry standard for ArchViz. I just qualified or an Indie license, so I am currently learning 3ds Max 2025. So far, it is easier (and different) than Maya, which I’ve been using since 1999. I’ve also read that Blender is… a choice, but I have some strong opinions about using Blender in a professional capacity, which is different topic for another forum. So, I’ll stick to 3ds Max. Question: My online searches for jobs in my area for ArchViz artists have suggested knowledge of SketchUp and Revit and other BIM-based modeling. Is this your experience? A part of the 3D modeling process, I think, is gathering furniture assets and landscaping assets. I’ve done some of this, but I’ll admit my library is lacking, so I’d love some recommendations on databases out there to subscribe to. It’s safe for you to assume that I understand that the 3D modeling process also includes UVs, material creation, lighting, camera setup, composition, and rendering. Question: V-Ray or Corona? I see a lot of pros and cons for both. I’m familiar with Arnold, but I already see limitations when it comes to ArchViz. I also have a decent grasp, having used the Unreal Engine in past projects. No matter what your opinions, I recently purchased V-Ray for 3ds Max and will try that before going to Corona. Note: those same job searches also listed knowing V-Ray and Corona are “pluses.” Post-Processing – Like other 3D projects that I’ve worked on, I’ve always included a post-process in my work, e.g., color correction, adding effects and final renders. This includes using video editing programs like Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve. Animation – I think it’s important, back in the pre-production process, to know if a client requires a walkthrough or wishes to employ virtual or augmented reality. I’m a bit familiar with both, more AR than VR, and as I mention I have knowledge of the Unreal Engine and animation (especially cameras), so animation is a necessary part of the ArchViz process. Delivery / Presentation – considering that I’m new to ArchViz, I have to build a fairly extensive portfolio. As a 2D graphic and 3D artist, I am remarkably familiar with creating website portfolios – easy for me as I know how to write HTML/CSS – and presentation decks. My only knowledge gaps though are using VR or other real time platforms as a deliverable presentation medium. I’ll have to bone up on that one. I’d love some recommendations on what are some of the required architectural styles one must have in their portfolio. Did I miss anything?

In this video, we dive into DeepSeek, an innovative new platform that operates like ChatGPT but uses far fewer resources, causing a big impact on the AI industry—so much so that Nvidia’s stock dropped by over half a billion dollars. This breakthrough could lead to a future where AI becomes significantly cheaper and more accessible, potentially reshaping the way architectural visualization works.

Welcome aboard!

If you're aiming for a shadow-free V-Ray Toon render, similar to the crisp, high-contrast visuals seen in Korean webtoons like those on blacktoon.com , follow these steps to maintain a clean, cel-shaded aesthetic: 1. Disable Shadows in V-Ray Toon Select the V-Ray Toon Material in your scene. Locate Affect Shadows and Affect Reflections, and turn them off. Adjust the lightness of your base material to ensure a smooth, evenly lit surface without shading artifacts. 2. Turn Off Shadows from Light Sources Select all active V-Ray lights in your scene (V-Ray Sun, Dome Light, etc.). Disable Shadows or increase Shadow Bias to a high value to minimize shading. If using a V-Ray Sun, decrease shadow opacity or replace it with an even ambient light setup. 3. Override Global Illumination In the V-Ray Render Settings, go to the GI (Global Illumination) tab. Disable GI or set Primary Engine to None to prevent indirect lighting from adding depth. This ensures a completely flat, 2D-style shading, perfect for webtoon-style visuals. BlackToon Webtoon Connection – Achieving That Bold, High-Contrast Look Webtoons on BlackToon feature strong outlines, high contrast, and minimal shading, creating a striking graphic novel aesthetic. By removing shadows in V-Ray Toon, you can replicate this bold, inked style, ideal for digital comics, animated webtoon trailers, or stylized 3D visuals. For an even closer match to BlackToon’s webtoon look, consider using: V-Ray Light Material for completely flat colors without gradients. Stronger Toon Outlines with controlled thickness for that crisp inked effect. Minimal to No Reflection to maintain a solid-colored look. By fine-tuning these settings, you can bring the clean, sharp webtoon aesthetic from BlackToon.com into your V-Ray Toon renders for animation, comic-style illustrations, or stylized 3D artwork. Would you like a step-by-step guide with specific software like Maya, 3ds Max, or Blender? 😊

Hello ! Im an architect and been wanting to get into the Archviz industry, been messing around with Enscape -Revit and would greatly appreciate your experienced feedback on these images in terms of composition, lighting and so on. I know Enscape is not considered industry standard for rendering but its pretty easy to get a decent image and very fast! these images have been also enhanced with AI tools. thnks

Stephen, It is nice to - I guess - e-meet you here on this forum. I wanted to send you a reply and tell you that I love the dynamic nature of your rendering. You cannot go wrong with a one-point perspective! Very nice! Your subject has the word "newbie" in it, so may I assume you're relatively new to ArchViz? So am I. Although I've been a 2D graphic and 3D artist for over 30-years, I am only now focusing 100% on ArchViz. I just wanted to reply and say, "hello" and welcome to CGArchitect! See you around!

Hello everyone! My name is Declan Flynn. I hail from the Gulf coast of Florida, USA. I guess you could call me a seasoned 2D graphic and 3D artist with over 30-years' experience. For the last two years though, I've been working dilligently honing my 3D skills mostly in Autodesk Maya, the Unreal Engine, Adobe Substance Painter/Designer, etc. As a former award-winning filmmaker, videographer, and editor, my skills gained from practicing cinematography, lighting, editing, and storytelling coupled with my formal, traditional art training, and many years as a graphic designer, I feel blessed and grateful to be able to integrate the entirety of my creative knowledge into my 3D designs. Recently, I made the decision to discontinue my journey toward the gaming and film/TV industries as a 3D artist and instead channel my creative energies exclusively toward ArchViz. Though I do have past experiences in architectural design during my undergrad years, it's been a long time! Thankfully, my love for architecture has be reignited, and so, I guess you could consider me a burgeoning ArchViz 3D artist who's thirsty for knowledge and advice. I have so many questions! 🙂 I hope that I may ping a few of the veterans out there who are successful ArchViz 3D artists, so that I might pick your brains on how to best navigate a path toward a successful career! I thank each of you in advance for your assistance, paitence, and advice. Although I only have a few architectural-related or interior design 3D renderings in my portfolio, I am already underway learning 3ds Max, which I've read is an must in ArchViz vs. Maya and render engines like V-Ray and Corona. I look forward to our interactions on this most professional forum and architectural-focused community like CGArchitect!

Hello there, Although some of us are architects and can give you some valuable feedback on design, CGarchitect is more of a place for architectural visualization professionals, meaning most people here work with archviz rather than architectural design itself. Still, if you want some feedback, I'd suggest posting some rendered images and ask any questions you might want. Then, we can help. 😉

It's for Computer Graphics. CGarchitect is the main community for architectural visualization artists and studios. 😉

What does CG stands for?

Hello, I’m new here. Is it ok to be here even if you are not a real architect? I just have it has a hobby and I wonder what you think of this house I have designed? I live in Sweden and it’s so cold and dark here with a very short summer so I though I draw a dream house with a winter garden that has a pool in it so I can pretend it’s summer all year round. 🥶😀🏝️ SketchUp file More info on the bottom of this site that also has a bigger version on top of the page

Sketchfab makes it easy to embed 3D models into websites, presentations, and other projects.

Thank you for the suggestions! (I thought this was solved since another project - from the same artist - linked correctly. Figured he started using the others' template and all was good.) 😔 Unfortunately, I am linking the .RVT file using the File >> Import >> Link Revit command, NOT importing an exported FBX. The objects in the Revit file should be linked, but the objects are coming in as editable, which means they are bound/embedded, not linked. In Max, in the File LInk Manager, the icon next to the link has a red flag. When linked properly, it should have a paperclip mark on the icon. Would you elaborate on "preserving hierarchy" and "workset visibility"? I mentioned these to the artists, but they didn't know. Understand that they are fairly new to Revit (between 0-1 year). We prob need to get some outside training! 😅 Anyway, when I first encountered the problem I went ahead and made my own helper and linked all the objects to it, in order to get my work done. However, I didn't realize the file was bound until now. I just tried to update the link. Even though I go through the same steps/options for linking, instead it ends up as a traditional import as new bespoke objects like at the beginning. This totally sucks because it doesn't replace the geo or keep my material assignments. I will try linking an exported FBX as a workaround. 🤞 Okay, I've been composing this post for a long time while doing other tests, researching, etc. We tried some test files: 1. Basic walls, using Revit default project template; and 2. Basic walls, using our custom template that has BIM families from different manufacturers added to it (but not placed as objects). The families are from KingSpan, MetalSpan, Clopay, and others. Both of these test files linked correctly! Is there possibly something in the way that 3rd party BIM families are added, imported, or assigned? Or is it possible a BIM family itself could be wonky? Perhaps something in the way these families are set up? Or maybe something in the way a family could be manipulated within the project? Maybe the artist does some sort of customization to a family that they don't realize is breaking something? We will also be opening a ticket with Autodesk to see what they say. I will post back with whatever I learn. Edit: BTW, Revit hung trying to export to FBX. I was also able to successfully link a version of the problem file where one of the BIM panel families was turned off and it linked correctly! We are going to stop using those 3rd party families for the time being. My work doesn't really need all of that info anyway. However, my questions above are still valid for gathering info! 🙂 Prob have to create our own custom families for the materials we use.

About this article CommonPoint has announced an upcoming 3D+AI Masterclass designed to equip archviz professionals with the skills to leverage AI for enhanced speed and efficiency. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/4bf00b0a-commonpoint-announces-3d-ai-masterclass-to-empower-archviz-artists

Look into utilizing the VPN features of your network router. The remote artist would connect via VPN to your local network. If your local artists use UNC paths (network paths that start with //), then the remote artist should be able to open any project over the VPN and keep the bitmaps linked as if the artist was local. This requires that the remote computer can find the NAS by its network/machine name. If the local artists instead have the NAS drive mapped (e.g. Z:/sharedfolder/textures/...) then the remote artist would need to map the NAS drive to the same drive letter/path that the locals use. Either way, regardless if the NAS can be found by its name or not, as long as the artist can connect to the local network, they will be able to point Max to the mapped drive or network server to re-link bitmaps if necessary. This would be the simplest way to solve the issue, only needing to have a secure VPN setup (and decent bandwidth). Perhaps you already know this, but linking bitmaps to a remote server over the internet is less efficient the more links a project has. And every time the remote artist presses Render, all of the remote data is read into memory, which can slow things down considerably with larger projects, especially if your network bandwidth isn't robust. A more expensive solution to this is to provide a local workstation on the premises. Have them connect to the network via VPN and then connect to their workstation via Remote Desktop. This way, the paths will always be local, the software/licenses stay local, plus rendering will be more efficient by reducing bandwidth utilization over the VPN.

We are a small archviz studio that just bought a Synology NAS DS1621+. We currently have 6 people working from the office on a local network and a couple outside of the county working remotely. The artist working on the local network do not have any issuu with bitmap relinking or assets (because it´s the same path for everyone), but the remote artist working with the synology drive, can not have the same path for all the local textures & proxies. I have been reading about UNC file and relative path in 3dsmax. What do any of you recommend for this situation for 3dsmax to automatically relink all the assets (mainly when having many xref linked to a file) even though the path is not exactly the same? How do professional studios work around this?

Kickstart your real-time rendering journey in 2025 with the Enscape Masterclass! About this article Skip endless tutorials and gain the skills and tools you need to complete your first project quickly using the fastest and easiest real-time visualization tool on the market. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/bbc9e36b-kickstart-your-real-time-rendering-journey-in-2025-with-the-enscape-masterclass

About this article Samsung's recently teased prototype VR headset, Project Moohan, represents a significant leap forward in the world of XR (extended reality) hardware, particularly from the perspective of an architectural visualization artist. This collaboration with Google introduces a new Android XR system that could help solve some long-standing issues in VR and mixed-reality platforms, especially fragmentation. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/22736650-samsung-s-project-moohan-a-new-frontier-for-architectural-visualization-in-vr-ar

It’s important to stand firm on your terms. Politely remind the client of the original agreement and explain the additional work required for the full files. Offer a clear breakdown of the extra fees, and if necessary, suggest mediation.

About this article Arch Viz Artist has shared an insightful comparison between V-Ray 7 and Corona 12, highlighting their key features and how they stack up against each other for architectural visualization. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/5a6bddba-v-ray-7-or-corona-12-which-one-should-you-choose-in-2025

To all Chaos users out there - there is an important update for the Chaos license server: due to an expiring security certificate, versions older than 6.1 of the Chaos license server will not work properly after January 28th 2025. The latest versions of the installers on our website are already updated with a newer version of the license server; you can also update the license server manually. Here is a step-by-step guide you can follow: https://support.chaos.com/hc/en-us/articles/30185867975185-IMPORTANT-Update-your-Chaos-License-Server-Version Apologies for the inconvenience! The update is simple and will take just a few minutes but it's mandatory as your licenses will stop working after January 28th unless updated to the latest version.

Free scene from Chaos Campus About this article Teodor Vladov, one of the masterminds behind Chaos Campus, has just shared a free scene for group members to download. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/b76ad686-free-scene-from-chaos-campus

Free scene from Chaos Campus About this article Teodor Vladov, one of the masterminds behind Chaos Campus, has just shared a free scene for group members to download. https://www.cgarchitect.com/features/articles/b76ad686-free-scene-from-chaos-campus