One of the constant challenges for a designer is the responsibility to fully represent the vision of a project in a rendered design. As more software advances, technique equally gets tougher. The struggle to have a fresh and unique layout seems to be a constant discovery. While applications continuously develop, maybe it is also the right opportunity to go back to the basic foundations of rendering.

Whether you are rendering for products, interior design for rooms, or architectural visualizations, these hacks will make your job easier. Before you know it, no rendering project will be too small or too big for you.

1. Understand the project’s purpose and vision

To set you on the right foot when beginning a new project, you should gain clarity first. Consider the aesthetic that should be achieved.  Lay the expectations and set milestones to guide you on the right path. Once you successfully identified these considerations, you should then find inspiration.

If you are working for an architectural design, gather reference images or take a photo walk to get a first-hand glimpse of the details of a structure. Meanwhile, if an interior scene is to be achieved, you may look around your office or home or take the extra mile by making time to research the most popular render pieces and artwork related to the project.

2. High-quality texture

One key difference between a good model vs bad is the quality of its components. You cannot get realistic results if the resolution of your texture is not detailed enough. The higher the resolution the better the material will look. This means close-up shots will look impressive.

Also, make sure that the texture is on the right scale, textures being too small or too big can make your render look impractical. You can search or use real-life examples around you for reference.

3. Create a real-world scale of objects

The human eye can easily pinpoint if something is off the balance in a room design. To further improve the tour into the picture experience of your renders, create an ideal and real-world scale version of objects when arranging them in a scene. Make an effort to search for the actual dimensions of objects close enough to make them realistic in the stage.

4. Add home décor

Model the scene by adding small details such as photo frames, rugs, appliances, wall art, mirrors, and more. These accents help the viewer visualize how space could be decorated in real life. Mix and match the cabinetry and home décor to furnish your design. This will increase the value and layout of the render.

5. Use proper lighting

A good model with good textures can still look off if it has bad lighting. Light impacts the experience and interpretation of the elements you have in the scene. To emphasize details and highlight key features of the space, use additional light sources. Make use of correct light assets for correct lighting fixtures to match your design.

6. Composition like in real life photography

Even if you have a stunning model but the camera set-up is not correctly positioned, then your render can still look bad. The role of composition is to create a visually appealing structure for the photo. Create attention-grabbing renders by guiding the viewer’s eyes with leading lines and focal points. Having a central point draws the eyes to important parts of the image.

There are several tips to improve the composition:

• Using a two-point perspective. One unnoticed mistake a designer can make is tilting the camera up and down. When you do this, the vertical lines will become slanted, which is bad for composition. So, to make it better use the two-point perspective feature. This will fix the slanted verticals and make your composition look better.
• Having a wide-field view will make your render look distorted. Adjust the field view so that it is not too wide nor too narrow.
• Follow the basic rule of thirds. This principle suggests breaking an image down into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The four intersection points of these dividing lines are where subjects can be placed to create a balanced image.
• Make use of the camera settings such as ISO, shutter, and aperture. Do not get intimidated by these features and allow yourself to experiment until you get the right blend.

7.  Embrace Imperfections

Perfection can be counterintuitive when it comes to design. In the real world, it is uncommon to see a room perfectly organized or an object flawlessly clean. If you are constantly trying to avoid imperfections on a piece of furniture or unorganized supplies in your interior design, you might be holding yourself from progress and creativity.

In computer graphics, the software makes it possible for a designer to craft perfect lines and spotless objects by default, when your render is too perfect, people will have the impression that it is a hyper-realistic 3D model.

When decorating the scene, add a little twist and turn to the objects and move it slightly so that it is not perfectly aligned, it can be adjusting a stool, adding surface imperfections, chamfering the edges of a brick wall, leaving one drawer open, or placing an open book on a table. This method will give the scene more personality hence making it more realistic.