Bobby Parker

Welcome to the other side! Although I am not an architect, I have worked in architecture for 30 years, and it isn't much different. Stress to find work, and stress to get the work done. Like architecture, it is almost impossible to keep a schedule, because the clients ignore milestones and deadline. Double book, just to keep things moving, knowing schedules are meaningless. Try to find the right clients and keep them happy. Good luck!

Architects have become shady over the years. Three times this year the architect has brought the project to 90+ completion, and then puts things on hold, never to be heard from again. I get a 50% deposit and I release nothing until the balance is paid, but nothing keeps them from screen grabbing and there is AI software to remove watermarks. A lawyer won't touch anything unless there are many thousands in it for them and with small claims, nobody cares about an out-of-state judgement. One architect put the project on hold after 90% completion and came back with updates a month later, claiming they sent a check in the mail, but it never arrived. The person inquired about progress, so I mentioned the check never arrived; I never heard from him again. I would love to find a bill collector to handle these.

I enjoyed using it, but was a short-lived. There was another AD software, Stingray, that I had high hopes for, but it too vanished.

I have seen great stuff from almost all render engines. I don't think it matters nowadays. If I were to start over, I would go Blender.

Pleasant images. How do you find Final Render compared to the other players?

Oh, I always require a 50% deposit, even with repeat clients. Often, I get rush projects; the check is in the mail, and when I follow up about the deposit, they don't respond. I never start without a deposit in hand, for this very reason. I think the whole not responding is poor business. I don't think I have ever not responded to an email, other than spam, of course.

I know it shouldn't bother me, but what goes through people's mind when they ghost you? They reach out for information; you stop your day to provide it; they take the second step in requesting a quote, which I am also glad to do, but then nothing? When I follow up, I get no reply. I aways follow up at least twice, and then I put them on a cold list. I don't mind people saying they put a project on hold; they took another direction, or they found someone cheaper, but the ghosting bothers me. Have people lost their manors? I think it is poor business practice. We should have a resource to report people who don't pay, don't return emails, and are people you should avoid working with. I literally have had people ghost me and months later reach back out to me to start the project that they were originally interested in. This has happened more times than you might think and I say no. Ghosting is a big red flag and they'll probably ghost for when it is time to pay, too. What are your thoughts?

No way! I went from Accurender to Lightscape, and that had to have been 25 years ago.