how many years?

[nodar1978]

How many years you can give software developers

to create a softwere which can change 3d artists and 3d visualisers100% ?

So profession 3d visualiser will disepear and architects can do the job

Themself by one click after the modeling and photorealistic picture is done.

[Chris MacDonald]

I am of the belief that it wont happen.

 

Software has almost reached a plateau in terms of ease of use when it comes to producing visuals, when you look at the likes of sketchup, in conjunction with say Lumion, but the fact is that to get top end visuals you still need to invest lots of time into them that Architects quite frankly aren't willing to.

 

I can't ever see there being a software that you throw a building model into and it'll produce photoreal results without having any/very little user input. Even for Sketchy images I find the architects always come to me simply because they either don't have the time to model the building, or more often than not they can't produce the really nice end result, which comes through lots of photoshop post processing and a keen eye.

 

That isn't to say however that there are plenty of architects out there that are happy to produce their own visuals, be it of a high quality or a shoddy quality; but I feel they are and always will be in the minority.

[RyderSK]

So many people seem afraid of this scenario. Good visuals don't depend on technology. Architects can currently photograph their own creations with top end DSLR on market with touch of one button, but they still hire pro to take better pictures than they would. Pro photographer spends all the time just taking photos, he will understand composition, light and story telling much better. Interior shots often involve additional stylist, and some editorial shots for architectural and design magazines involve quite few people in photoshoots apart from designer himself. And lastly, they don't have time either.

I would personally love "one-button-click" solution, I could spend more time creating instead of tweaking and solving technical problems.

[Fooch]

Well said Juraj.

+1

 

 

So many people seem afraid of this scenario. Good visuals don't depend on technology. Architects can currently photograph their own creations with top end DSLR on market with touch of one button, but they still hire pro to take better pictures than they would. Pro photographer spends all the time just taking photos, he will understand composition, light and story telling much better. Interior shots often involve additional stylist, and some editorial shots for architectural and design magazines involve quite few people in photoshoots apart from designer himself. And lastly, they don't have time either.

I would personally love "one-button-click" solution, I could spend more time creating instead of tweaking and solving technical problems.

[M V]

+1 that too. You can give an architect a one-click render engine tomorrow but they still wouldn't produce very compelling images. Plus all of the other technical knowledge that comes along with creating great images. I thought Revit was going to be the program that really hurt our profession and then quickly saw that wasn't the case at all. Even with Maxwell now in Revit.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Not too many years ago, a genius yet egocentric painter said:

"I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else to learn."

 

Ofc that was said by Pablo Picasso, a guy who helped his contemporaries switch away from realistic depiction in painting forever...

 

A "fool" could press a button and generate the most realistic portrait or landscape a painter could ever dream of.

But fools could not dream past that click.

 

I cannot give a timeframe - 10? 20 years? 100? Doesn't matter.

Tech able to do what the inception movie describes, i.e. a computer generating worlds in real time based on our "dreams", or "dreams" based on our thoughts...same difference.

 

Artists of any kind will still be the better "dreamers".

Even if singulatity is true, and the machines will surpass us in "dreaming" just as they certainly will in the technical thinking (going past calculating a given problem), still the better machine won't be the faster, brute force approaching one.

[abhaysingh]

Either you become lazy or productive as technology advances.If that day comes when a one single button will decide the output then also architect will give you money to press that button.Either he will become lazy or will have 100s of projects in his hands.He will still stay "How much would you charge to press that button for me ? ".

[notamondayfan]

It's the robots you've gotta watch out for, before too long they'll be doing your job.....

[Tommy L]

Analogies with professional photography and the advent of digital are relevant here. There has been a thinning of the herd and a lot of work going 'in-house' in the ad agency world. Digital does make it alot easier, as does retouching in cheap/easy photoshop. As 3d is a developing product it will suffer the same trials as the photography industry, but it wont go away.

I always tell clients that they should give me some creative control or they may as well do it themselves. If you hire an architectural photographer you dont tell where to stand and what lens to use. You trust his professional eye, thats why you hired him. You may even have a similar camera at home, you hiring a specialist to do a specialist job.

Thats why I hate to here 'put the camera in the corner and I want to see everything'. Roughly translated as 'we dont want to pay for two renderings so get all my design into one shot and be damned with the composition.'

[notamondayfan]

Analogies with professional photography and the advent of digital are relevant here. There has been a thinning of the herd and a lot of work going 'in-house' in the ad agency world. Digital does make it alot easier, as does retouching in cheap/easy photoshop. As 3d is a developing product it will suffer the same trials as the photography industry, but it wont go away.

I always tell clients that they should give me some creative control or they may as well do it themselves. If you hire an architectural photographer you dont tell where to stand and what lens to use. You trust his professional eye, thats why you hired him. You may even have a similar camera at home, you hiring a specialist to do a specialist job.

Thats why I hate to here 'put the camera in the corner and I want to see everything'. Roughly translated as 'we dont want to pay for two renderings so get all my design into one shot and be damned with the composition.'

 

I suppose the same theory applies to a lot of professions. I could write and publish stuff on-line very easily, but that wouldn't make me a professional writer, or give anyone a reason to employ me to write.

[Stan Zaslavsky]

+1 to Juraj too ...

 

I too believe it will never happen - we as specialists must always continue to improve as the software improves and be consciously thinking of what innovations we can bring to the marketplace as the software and hardware gets better.

 

Change is the only constant in this world

[Chris MacDonald]

It would be interesting to get the opinion of someone outside of our industry.

[Tommy L]

It would be interesting to get the opinion of someone outside of our industry.

 

Really? Not sure that would be any help at all. Do you mean the opinion of an architect? The only architects i know who have an opinion on this matter tend to think that the business of visualizing proposed buildings should remain in the hands of someone else. If its not an arch viz person or an architect, I can't imagine who else would even have an opinion, let alone a valid one.

[Nils Norgren]

http://forums.cgarchitect.com/29542-impression-autodesk-2009-danger-cg-arch-industry-disappearing.html

 

My opinion is unchanged from 2009, 2003 or late 1990's for that matter when an architect said to me "I have to take a weekend and learn this stuff", PREETY sure that didn't work out.

 

-Nils

[M V]

What I think we will see is the reverse. A synergy in which viz artists with an architectural education being able to model / design / render/ present more efficiently and taking a stronger role as designers and not just the guys who make pictures of the architect's stuff.

[Justin Hunt]

In a few places I have worked that almost happened, but always ended badly. There is just too much to do for one person to to do it all.

 

There is more to being an architect than designing, which is only a relatively small % of there whole process. In fact most architects dont do design work and are more glorified project managers or drafters. If you reversed the argument I think that architects would be more concerned that visualizers would be taking over their role. It does happen. Although its more down to cheap clients not wanting to pay for an architect.

 

jhv

[M V]

I am more worried about these template files like the ones that Evermotion just came out with. Now every illegal software basement render sweatshop will be churning out renders for $75 a pop.

[Dimitris Tolios]

That's not the sweatshop's or evermotion's problem though. They do what they can to survive against their competition, and tbh for most places in the world paying what high-end Arch viz studios in rich western economies are charging is out of reach.

 

It is the large firms in AEC industry in those rich economies that charge their clients considerable amounts per rendering, then outsourcing it for a few $100s in India and China that need to be punished.

Ofc when they are undercut and business goes @@ they complain. It is sad how fast people get spoiled having it both ways and taking it for granted.

[Vince Paske]

What I think we will see is the reverse. A synergy in which viz artists with an architectural education being able to model / design / render/ present more efficiently and taking a stronger role as designers and not just the guys who make pictures of the architect's stuff.

I agree - I've been working in that sort of capacity for a while, although I'm not labelled as a designer I understand the process, know the language and offer ideas/suggestions. Designing is more of a team effort depending of the office and the size/complexity of the project. Most "architects" I work with rarely design anything in a direct way, but tend to massage the process with budget issues...known client desires from a phone conversation of meeting, etc - all the thousands of things that effect the design. It's fun working with other professionals on a design from sharpy/bum wad, massing studies and then photo real material studies, but I have difficulty thinking a sole person can accomplish it all given the complexity of even small projects. But I do agree that there is a synergy between me as a viz artist and my architectural team which influences design in a positive way.

[Tommy L]

That's not the sweatshop's or evermotion's problem though. They do what they can to survive against their competition, and tbh for most places in the world paying what high-end Arch viz studios in rich western economies are charging is out of reach.

 

It is the large firms in AEC industry in those rich economies that charge their clients considerable amounts per rendering, then outsourcing it for a few $100s in India and China that need to be punished.

Ofc when they are undercut and business goes @@ they complain. It is sad how fast people get spoiled having it both ways and taking it for granted.

 

Its all about finding the right clients that appreciate what you do.

I have a bunch of interior design clients that have the same end client. When they put their presentations in front of the 'the Boss' he only looks at the renderings. Forget your fancy sections and material boards, these clients need to get the renderings right above all else. That means consistency, quality and punctuality come above price. You dont put that kind of responsibility in a part-time 3d/designer, you give it to the specialist.

What people are forgetting here is that design and 3d imaging are separate for a reason, they are both hugely complex specialist occupations. Would you have your mechanic do the plumbing? No. Is that going to change any time soon? No.

The people who find 3d 'simple' either have no idea what it entails on a deeper level and so produce mediocre work...or they are a genius.

[Guest dialog]

Either you become lazy or productive as technology advances.If that day comes when a one single button will decide the output then also architect will give you money to press that button.Either he will become lazy or will have 100s of projects in his hands.He will still stay "How much would you charge to press that button for me ? ".

 

Completely agree.... just like now "Can you print this for me?"....ummmm ok