1st time exterior night shot ... need comments

[mojie]

Studio/Institution: studio
Genre: Commercial Exterior
Software: 3ds max
Description:

First shot at an exterior rendering.

 

 

Modelled in Revit, imported into 3ds Max and rendered with iRay.

 

 

Your comments and critiques are appreciated. (good or bad)

 

 

Thanks

[ivanjay]

Not looking too bad. Not sure if it is your design or someome elses but the exterior of the building is losing all detail because it has no lighting on it. I would put some lighting in the exterior (actual fixtures) to give the surrounding area some light and the face of the building as well.

[jordanp]

Looks good, though maybe a bit over the top on the green? It's very Matrix-esque to me. I would agree with Ivan as well, the exterior is underlit - you've got those lamp posts in the front, see if you can throw up some mood lighting with them.

[mojie]

Thanks for the input.

I agree with the Matrix comment.

I'm actually working with the client's Revit file, the existing lighting was a little off.

 

 

I've made a few tweaks trying to eliminate the greenish tint and better light the face of the building.

 

 

Just curious, how would one typically tackle the lights inside a commercial building similar to this one?

- photometric free lights scattered behind the glazing

- illuminated glass material

- other

(most of my work has always been on much smaller spaces such as retail, restaurants and residential ... and almost entirely on the interior side of things.)

 

 

This scene is lit with approximately 400+ lights, combo of standard and photometric.

I'm thinking it's way too much, but didn't have the time to completely re-do the lighting that was in place in the existing file received by the client.

 

 

Thanks

[Jane Namenye]

Unless the number of lights is making the render time give you a problem, I think you might as well keep them. Normally I place a limited number of photometric lights to approximate the lighting which would be visible through the windows. Not random scatter, but not doing the full interior lighting for each room either. For example, if a room has 50 recessed lights in the ceiling I will make the same quantity of light with 5 lights. Usually these are diffuse point lights or sometime spotlight, occasionally IES.

 

I did see a very interesting rendering that had self-illuminated images in the windows but I've never tried that myself.

 

The change you made to the green was good, but more could be done with the color. My overall impression is that it's a bit grim or unfriendly. Whether this is good or bad depends on what the building is for, and who the rendering will be presented to. If it's going to be used to promote the building, then it would worthwhile to make it look more inviting. I've normally done twilight rather than total dark night when going for a "warm and friendly" look, with interior lighting on the warm side to contrast the deep blue of the sky.

 

It would probably be helpful to spend time looking at renderings in the gallery (and night/twilight/sunset photos of buildings) to see the different ways night lighting can be handled. Then decide on a particular look and adjust the lighting with that in mind.

 

Interested to see how this one will develop.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Jane Namenye

[ivanjay]

I think the exterior lighting certainly looks better. However, I think someone mentioned this, the building looks vacant. If it is an office building put some desks in there etc. If a residence some beds and other things you would expect to see. Give it life. We are a foodservice company so if we are rendering a banquet hall for example we put wine glasses, flowers, etc. to bring to life the rendering. Artwork on the walls, etc. All of that detail will really transition this.

 

I am having a hard time with the sky. It looks like it wants to be lighting the scene more than it is. Is it hdri? If you are going for a sunset shot get a great drama hdri shot with the sun setting. The colors etc. will be a great backdrop

[ajsingh]

nice if first time, i think you should add more night environment and effects on it , then it will look much better (like night sky view behind the scene)

[Ernest Burden III]

With a picture like this you either have the building existing as an object or a part of the entire scene. The daytime role of the glass is often to provide a skin and helps make the building a closed, discrete object. Your lighting invites the outside in, so the question is, shouldn't the out and in relate?

 

I would want to see the lighting of the areas around the building to be brighter and more sympathetic to the interior. That would allow the open feeling I think you are going for.

 

Alternatively, if you want to have the building feel unified, discreet, you could try cutting back on the transparency a little bit, allowing the feel of glass planes. Also, a bit of light on the non-glass surfaces so they read, and finally, if the building is to be an object, it should BE somewhere--widen the framing to show more of the surroundings.