The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire world to quickly change and adapt to the new circumstances, often involving the internet and online presence. It wasn’t easy at all, and many professions faced countless issues along the way.

When it comes to architecture, the transition wasn’t that difficult. In fact, this field already heavily relied on architectural rendering software, so it was only a matter of time when most artists would switch to completing their projects online.

Due to the numerous benefits architectural rendering offers to both artists and clients, especially in the hard times such as during COVID-19, architectural rendering experienced a steep increase in use.

What is an architectural render?

Before jumping straight into why architectural rendering is growing during COVID-19, first, let’s say something more about what exactly it is. If you’re not familiar with this term, architectural rendering is a virtual design of a potential or upcoming project.

Whether you’re an architect, interior designer, or property developer, you’ll find great use of architectural rendering software. Including 2D and 3D realistic photos, animations, and videos, you can bring to life every part of your project, regardless of its nature.

With it, artists can showcase their ideas in the best possible way and present them to their clients. Additionally, clients get a clear picture of what they’ll receive, so they can easily point out the things they would like to alter, add, or remove and thus edit the project before the construction phase begins.

Ultimately, architectural rendering is a great tool of communication between artists and their clients. It makes the initial project phase run smooth and quick while providing a mutual understanding of what clients want and artists create.

How it works

Instead of using countless sketches, drawings, and blueprints to try to visualize an idea, one architectural rendering program can contain all of the information you could need for a project. That includes pictures, walk-throughs, measurements, and other info – rendering artists don’t need anything else to tackle a project.

Namely, they create realistic photos, animations, and videos from scratch, using various tools architectural rendering programs come with. Because most popular and used programs are specifically created for designing and developing purposes, the features included are ideal for these projects.

Whether the artists are working on room renovations, floor plans, or an entire complex of buildings, rendering software can perfectly execute every step with the right use.

Essentially, the clients roughly describe what they are looking for, after which the artists immediately start creating a render. The parties can decide on how detailed the renders can be and how often the clients need an update. Going back-and-forth with renders and applying the required changes lead to the final render both clients and artists are satisfied with.

Keeping in mind how simple and easy to follow architectural rendering is, it’s no wonder so many artists throw out their sketchbooks and substitute them for innovative rendering software.

No need to meet face-to-face

The rigorous COVID-19 restrictions made it impossible for clients to meet up with their architects and artists and discuss the development of their projects. All offices closed their doors, and people relied heavily on the internet to complete their personal and professional obligations. Because of that, most projects faced a stalemate, where taking further action was impossible.

On the other hand, architectural renders didn’t need to stop whatsoever. It’s an initial phase before any construction can happen, which is why the meetings can easily take place online and don’t require physical presence at all.

Thanks to the advantages of architectural rendering, clients can organize online meetings over any platform and easily follow the progress while simultaneously respecting all the introduced measures for preventing the further spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Renders are easy to send and share online, so everyone can access and view them even at the same time when needed. Without any physical contact, all participants can safely join the meetings from their homes and contribute to the online discussion.

Since they don’t need to meet face-to-face, architectural rendering witnessed a large increase in use during these challenging times.

Lots of artists online

Back when architectural rendering first hit the market, not many architects jumped in to join this innovative trend. The well-familiar pen and paper were the tools older artists stuck to until the external factors and younger generations forced them to either adapt to the new changes in the industry or face a slow but steady decrease in the number of future projects.

However, the last several years showed us a rendering of any sort was here to stay. Merging creativity, skill, and knowledge with advanced technology continuously brings impressive results, and, naturally, many present-day artists work with rendering software.

What’s more, as the first generation that completely grew up with computers and is native to the digital world, Generation Z slowly enters workplaces and the changes are already visible on all fronts. Young rendering artists are using rendering tools in universities, and other alternative education institutions introduce them to rendering software and base their entire higher education on it.

Naturally, all artists continue using software even after finishing their education and launching their professional careers. Whether they choose to work for an architectural company or freelance, you can find countless successful and ambitious rendering artists online. It’s safe to say present-day clients have a wide selection of available artists they can work with.

Moreover, platforms such as Easy Render make it even easier to find rendering artists and get in touch with them. Simply post a project idea with some information, and interested artists will apply for the project. You can also browse artists if there’s someone you’re specifically searching for.

Fast results

One of the greatest features of architectural rendering is how fast the entire process is. Traditionally, the initial phase of each project tended to drag on for ages before the actual realization began.

It’s very challenging to set a date and time when all participants can meet and discuss further decisions related to the project. Furthermore, the bigger the project, the harder it is to organize everyone involved in it, which led to many obstacles which needed solving, but time went by.

Not only did this increase the planned costs, but it filled all participants with stress and worry. Unfortunately, due to the high frustration, many mistakes weren’t detected on time, which further led to bigger problems and issues surrounding the project. It was almost impossible to create a project that’ll run smoothly and worry-free.

Nevertheless, with architectural rendering, quick and easy execution of your ideas doesn’t have to be just a dream. Since the participants don’t need to meet up in person at all, you can finish each step much faster.

Therefore, you’ll get fast results handed to you on time, often even before the deadline expires if you’re working with experienced artists who’ve had a lot of practice with projects of similar nature.

More flexibility

As previously mentioned, online meetings that don’t require face-to-face interaction are key benefits of architectural rendering. In addition to them being the safest option currently, they supply the attendants with so much more than that.

For instance, architectural projects often involve international partners who would fly in for important meetings. With borders closed, many people can’t attend the traditional meetings involving physical sketches and blueprints even when their presence is obligatory.

Fortunately, the renders provide plenty of flexibility. Namely, the meetings can take place anytime and anywhere thanks to the power of the internet and technology. Setbacks such as different time zones and locations don’t exist anymore because anyone can view the render no matter when or where.

Clients can be located thousands of miles away from their artist and still successfully complete a project. Whether you’re in your office, at home, or in a hotel room, you can access the renders as long as you have an internet connection. What’s more, time zones don’t pose a problem anymore because people can view renders in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Finally, even if someone cannot join the meeting, it can be recorded and sent with the renders. That way, everyone can quickly catch up and be on the same page for the next meet-up.

Easier to make edits

If you’re an artist or someone who works with them for some time, you already know that edits are impossible to avoid, no matter how experienced someone is. Flawless render results from many hours, meetings, and discussions put into the project, so a perfect render without any edits simply can’t occur.

Even though the edits are part of the entire process, there are two ways you can approach them. Firstly, traditional edits are harder to apply since they imply the creation of new sketches. The clients often dislike the edits and go with the old plan or in a completely new direction. Not only is this process more expensive, but it’s also more time-consuming.

Secondly, useful tools included in rendering software make editing easy and fast. For example, you can transform the entire plan with just a few clicks and swipes without affecting the rest of the project. Furthermore, the clients immediately see the difference and can decide whether they’re satisfied with the outcome. If not, one click is enough to undo the changes and go back to the previous render.

Making edits and experimenting with the project has never been simpler, and it’s something your clients will appreciate very much.

Can help recognize mistakes

Never forget that artists work very hard on each project, but they too sometimes feel underwhelmed and overworked. Even with the sharpest focus and determination, mistakes will still find their way to happen from time to time – mistakes are an essential part of personal and professional life, no matter our job.

However, it’s not mistakes that are the issue, but how soon and how well we respond to them.

Rough pictures and sketches can’t paint a realistic picture of a project, which is exactly why so many mistakes go unnoticed. Nevertheless, they’re very hard and expensive to correct as they typically don’t get noticed until construction. Depending on how serious the mistake is, it can greatly affect the cost, deadlines, and final architectural appearance.

With architectural rendering, clients and artists can spot the mistakes shortly after making them, if not instantly. That way, it’s easy to correct them and learn how to avoid them in the future. Additionally, some programs are so advanced that they can even predict mistakes and alert you before they occur.

Amazing results

Summarizing everything we mentioned in this article, rendering will, without a doubt, provide you with some of the most amazing results.

The key features of rendering software, such as flexibility, efficiency, ease of use, and ability to edit, make this tool an ideal device for the times we’re currently facing. Most architects and rendering artists quickly realized this and ensured to implement rendering as the essential part of their upcoming projects.

Considering how useful rendering for architecture during the COVID-19 outbreak is, we’re most likely to see some of these new approaches even after the pandemic.

Conclusion

All in all, we witnessed substantial growth in architectural rendering use and demand ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, which is to be expected due to the nature of software tools.

Artists can work from the comfort of their homes to meet deadlines and provide breathtaking 3D renders no matter what happens in the outside world. In addition to that, clients can count on complete flexibility and follow the progress of their projects anytime, anywhere.

As a result, both parties end up being happy with the communication and the outcome, which is the whole idea of architectural rendering in the first place.