Where are we going?

[M V]

Very open question but I have been a member of these forums for several years now and just recently I have felt that things are super quiet these days. Is this because we are busy at work (or find it for that matter) or are we losing artists due to the economy and the dying art of illustrating replaced with one click rendering solutions and the "that's good enough" attitude that comes along with what these engines produce?

 

Where are we heading? Where is the future of arch/viz? I am just wondering what the next big thing for us is. GPU and RT get a lot of press these days. Will be abandon the computer and build models from cardboard once again?

[RyderSK]

I allways hear and read how this (vizualization) market is saturated but I find this hardly to be to true. To be honest, the architectural field is over-saturated, hence I think our "services" ( I prefer to call my work "product" ) will be required more and more.

 

Yes, the technology is getting better, but not truly easier, it's easier to achieve your mentioned "good enough product", but since so many architectural offices will compete, they will want superior product, one they aren't able nor have time to produce.

 

I think everything is alright, atleast so it seems to me, artistic ability is immortal, hence work like MIR studio produces will allways be wanted, technique will adapt to whatever is popular, and marketing ability to get a job is a personal trait. Who wants job, should be able to get for himself.

 

Last, you are right, this is very quiet community, it's great we have people like Ronen Bekerman or otherwise everyone would just keep to himself.

[datacrasher]

most people are working i believe or only answers when there are new questions on fourms. most people jump in and out of fourms they are not register on one i use this one, 3dbuzz and renderosity.

 

The cad programs are getting better but they are getting more pricey each time they bring out new verisons of the software, either people cannot afford to get the new verisons of the software or they stick to the ones they have. i am still usings 3ds max 9 and it works as well as the new verisons i find with the new versions they put stuff in you won't use.

 

over-saturated? that is true but if you stick to one location that will do you no good so you need to spread yourself out.

[Devin Johnston]

This question comes up at least once a year, I know I've been seeing it for at least the last 10. Back then when things like Maxwell were just coming out people thought that was the end of the visualization industry because Maxwell was the closest thing we'd ever seen to a one button renderer. Well you can see how that turned out, Maxwell gave us things like a physical sun and sky but it didn't end our industry it just made it a little easier to work in. You also have to ask yourself how many of those architects and designers want to spend all day messing with materials and lights, most are too busy to bother and so there's value in what we do beyond the images we make.

[M V]

I wasn't trying to bring doom and gloom here. I guess what I was wondering is if we lost a lot of illustrators to the downturn in work. Did they go over to gaming or product viz? Where is the arch viz industry heading? More real-time stuff? Virtual reality and 3D glasses stuff?

[BrianKitts]

When CGA started there wasn't a lot of information on the internet to guide new visualization artists. Everyone came to the forums to share, learn, and post. Now when you want to learn something new you google it, watch a youtube video or find and old forum post that's 2 pages long and answers your question because someone's already gone through it.

 

CGA is still a great resource because it contains so much information in the old threads, but new one's aren't started as often because there are other outlets for content.

 

(wow just realized I've been on here for 8 years now)

[David Arbogast]

Now when you want to learn something new you google it, watch a youtube video or find and old forum post that's 2 pages long and answers your question because someone's already gone through it.

I too have been feeling that the CGArchitect forum has grown quiet, but I think you nailed the answer Brian.

 

Valero, regarding your joke about cardboard modeling, I noticed that CNET gave their "Emerging Technology" award to a 3d Printing hardware company for this year's CES. Looks like 3d printing is starting to get more and more financially accessible. That could be an interesting trend to keep a sharp eye on. Here's the link: http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33372_1-57355399/makerbot-replicator-3d-printer-beams-in/?tag=mncol%3bcontentBody.4

Edited January 18, 2012 by David Arbogast

[realvisual]

I think that it will be defined by the growing use of 3D - when it was first used, we didn't have high tech animation film studios or people using it for sims and training. As the trend grows and more people move towards using 3D in different areas the quality, innovation, technology and peoples ability to understand it will increase. Consumers may demand plastic printed models from architects. Some things like augmented reality seem to have passed and stereoscopic publishing is not really taking off, so who knows?

 

Its an interesting subject and in my mind has changed over the last 2 years at a phenomenal rate.