Creating unique and flawless interior design renders can become very frustrating and time-consuming after a certain period. The sheer volume of work involving textures, materials, small details, and colors essential to perfect these renders can quickly become stressful.

Designers usually spend a lot of time trying to mimic and visualize our reality as closely as possible. However, it takes a ton of patience, time, and hard work if you want your render to turn out just right.

Even the most minor details and changes in the decor, textures, and lightning can significantly change the appearance of the photo from “genuinely realistic” to “apparently fake.” And, let’s be honest, no designer can be creative and focused on every 3D interior render.

Luckily, this is a great place to find inspiration and helpful advice on attracting more clients and breathing freshness and new life into your ideas and designs. Take a look at these eight tips to help you take your interior design renderings to the next level and demonstrate your capabilities.

Get inspired by looking at references.

In architectural visualization, designers spend a lot of time trying to recreate the real world. Using all the visual instruments and references you have on offer is always good. You can get motivated by looking at reference images, and you’ll indeed find fresh inspiration for your work.

Some artists avoid using visual references in their pursuit of originality, but there’s a lot you can learn from observing other designers’ work. You can get inspired and learn how to combine new ideas with different materials, styles, and colors.

Create a visual library on your computer, and save every photo that might help you with your rendering ideas. There’s nothing wrong with getting inspiration from other artists.

Define your goals!

If you want to avoid a bad reputation, you need to make sure to define your goals. A portfolio that doesn’t show your true potential and has repetitive designs is not good. So, address this every time you’re starting a new project.

That can help you avoid the typical design scheme and work with more focus. Consider your target audience, the story you want to tell them through your renderings, and pay attention to the following checklist:

• Decide the right style
• Feel the colors
• Highlight important features
• ‍Pick the best lighting to showcase the beauty of your interior design renders.

Materials are very important!

If we look at interior design renders from a customer’s point of view, materials might just have the most important role in evoking the “wow” factor. So, when working on rendering ideas, pay attention to your choice of materials. Materials have the power to change the characteristics and style of your design entirely.

If you have a clear idea about what you’re trying to represent to your clients, you must consider the combination of materials and textures you want to implement. For example, concrete can look awesome, but only if you mix it with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

If you’re wondering whether some materials work well together, check for similar reference images.

Set the mood with the right lighting.

Just as materials are essential, lightning can change the perspective and emotion of every render. Lightning highlights the small details and guides the client’s eye. You should carefully consider whether to go with natural or artificial lighting.

Each type of lightning feature has its pros and cons. But, if you can visualize the desired atmosphere in your head, and with enough practice, you will easily be able to emulate your idea in your render.

Find the right color options!

As a designer, you can easily get carried away by your artistic side and start to use many different materials and colors. That can sometimes be a good path, sure, but it can also lead to failure. So, before you let your inner artist take over, take a step back and ensure all the colors you picked work together.

Color rules exist for a reason, and you must ensure every color in your render blends well with the story you want to convey. Consider that people react differently to colors and pick the ones that evoke calming feelings unless you have specific instructions on which colors to combine.

Work on your 3D models.

As you probably already know, interior rendering requires realistic and high-quality 3D models. If you’re using low-poly and ill-proportion models that lack life and details, your interior render will not hit the mark.

So, make sure you use unique, high-quality 3D models for your interior renders. You can either work to learn how to make a 3D model or purchase prepared 3D models on the online marketplace. Either way, you must be picky so that you can offer high-quality visualizations to your clients.

Try out different camera angles!

A wide-angle camera in the corner of the room is the most frequent choice, and for a good reason. This type of camera shows the entire interior. However, in some instances, such renders might be a bad choice since you can’t play with the focal point or highlight the composition.

Trying out different camera angles can help you develop fresh ideas, and you can showcase specific aspects of your work - perhaps something you are specifically proud of.

Combine different styles - but be careful!

If you’re at the beginning of your designer career, we recommend you keep it simple. Limit yourself to one style per interior, and stay consistent. If you’re creating a render for a kitchen, stick to the contemporary style, and don’t mix different designs in one render.

Limiting your design to one style will reduce the chances of failing. Using furniture pieces and materials from the same style scheme, you’ll avoid clashing elements and end up with a perfectly composed and balanced interior render.

Once you gain some confidence and experience, you can start experimenting with different styles and combine different colors and materials.

Conclusion

Creating a perfectly realistic and lively interior design render takes hard work, and clients tend to take this for granted. It’s easy to overlook a few details or get stuck for hours trying to find inspiration. However, following the tips listed above can help you stay on track, find motivation and inspiration, and stay on top of your game.