I need help with my render - SketchUp, Vray, Exterior

[raymondharrison]

I need help with my render. I have tweaked the VRay render settings about a million times, changed the materials and even the lighting. I still don't have the realistic look I am after. I don't know what the problem is. Please, I need some help.

 

[Eliot Blenkarne]

Issues I can spot...

 

The building has a very low level of detail, which instantly jumps out as unrealistic - it looks almost model-like.

 

The material palette is too limited, and the materials are pretty basic. The white plaster (or whatever the house is?) looks to be the same as the driveway and the pavers. Parapet caps are also the same, etc etc

 

What is your lighting set up? It isn't awful but it needs work for sure, if it's just a vray sun, try using an HDRI in a dome light, and play with the levels in post to get more contrast as needed.

 

Those tree models are pretty bad. You can get free fairly decent 3d models at xfrog.com. The 3ds or OBJ files can be imported into sketchup pretty easily, you then just play with the various materials to get them looking better. You will likely need to convert them to proxies too. Note that these will bump up your file size/ram usage and render times a lot.

 

You should really be using 3d grass, or at least a displacement map for your grassed areas. Easy to make in sketchup with the fur plugin.

 

Those car models are flat, and poorly detailed/textured. I would delete them and find something higher quality, and get all the textures/materials sorted out.

 

Your composition isn't bad - my eye is drawn to the building through the framing of the foliage and the lines of the fencing. But look at the vertical shift option in vray - this will correct your verticals (which aren't vertical) and give the image a bit of character - have a look at actual architectural photography, Shulman, Ban, etc. See how they frame and compose their images and replicate them, but understand what they are achieving first!

 

You just need a bit of life in your image. There isn't much going on. The sky is blah, the building is blah, the materials are blah... You actually aren't far off, you just need to go up a couple notches in detail - tell a story!

[raymondharrison]

Thank you so much. Wow!!! That was a comprehensive analysis. I really appreciate your feedback. I always thought my problem came from either my lighting or render settings. Never really thought of all that. I will make the changes and upload them back here. And I will also do well to go check the links you have given me. Thank you once again

[Eliot Blenkarne]

No probs. Don't try to achieve pure photorealism immediately - you'll just be constantly disappointed, as it's extremely difficult to achieve. Most never will it seems (myself inclusive for sure), but finding a level you are happy with and identifying that style as "your own" is probably most useful. Look forward to seeing how you get on!

[fenxaing]

It is very comprehensive analysis. I learn from you guys a lot.