Hello, I am Architect and I am trying make photorealistic images, videos and in a future VR experiences in order to show the architecture project to the client. I have review and I think that I understan all the matter about lightmaps, avoid overlapping, bake lighting… but I am allways fighting with materials and I don’t get the realism that I want…
IMO(!!)
The way you set your foliage lighting is unrealistic! They look like they don’t get any GI, they stand out with not having shadows… :S
I think most of your lightmaps are too low resolution and you’re missing all the contact shadows (maybe your smoothness + scale is also set too low)
Your materials also not the best… better size, more variation, better maps (normal/roughness…)
And the main thing is post process…
I’ve tried to tune up a few screenshots…
Thanks you, I am going to study the things you suggested.
You are right about foliage, I believed that I had to put them like movible and the sun in stationary… As the trees have movement in the leaves I believed that this was the way to work…
About the resolution of the lighmaps, I put the bigger elements with 2048 and the smaller about 512. Is it too low? I have to review the subject of smoothness+scale… I don’t know how it was set.
The post process is a problem for me… I tried but my eye is not trained enough…
I’m going to study again all the points…
Thanks for the orientation.
No worries!
Yes that’s a good solution! You can get distance field shadows… or cascaded shadow maps…
I’m not sure if you’re right about your lightmap resolution… I’ve seen a couple of part which was obviously lacking of shadow detail… I remember one: the kitchen table… non of the items had ANY shadows! :S
Post process… well we can’t do EVERYTHING ourselves! I’m sure you didn’t program Unreal or the video software… neither the website…
-more details - for example the glass banister doesn’t have any hardware in terms of bolts or things for how it’s installed. Also, the glass material there doesn’t look good, I don’t know if there’s another material setup out there for that kind of glass that would work better
-more imperfections
-it’s missing stuff like power outlets and air conditioning vents
-add round corners on some of the walls and edges, since nothing in real life has 90-degree corners
-add more variation to the grass, there won’t be as much grass under trees and in corners where there’s less sunlight
-look into using tesselation/displacement in some materials, especially for things like stone this makes it so that the stones stick out further than the grout.
Thanks you, I will bear in mind a few of your comments.
Only 2 thinks I can’t improve in the way you said:
About the 90-degrees corners, I am architect… my building has only 90-degrees corners. In this house the pillars are alwais inside the facades. Also I work in all the details in order to get the most clean architecture possible (the steps of stairs in line with the wall, putting the air condionair inside the ceiling and the impulse/return in the pitted for lights and curtains). Putting switch in the wall is a missing step until now, I will put it in the new renders.
The glass material, I am sure it can be improve but the frame is very simple. It is the high game of aluminium brands. the profiles are very light and small… Anyway I believe that I can put a little pieces in the rail (but I don’t know if this detail is valuable… it is a very small piece)
Anyway, I would like take advantage of this post in order to ask to someone of you who wants collaborate with me in the next projects (being payed). This renders/video/interactive visits will be to high level clients that contract me like architect and the house is going to be built in 6-12month… This renders are used also to help me to project and finish to define some spaces… Someone is interested?
i cannot help you with tips for rendering, but what makes this villa a little bit unrealistic, for me at least, is that it lacks some real world features, that i personally would want to have on a house. And it´s usually those small details, that breaks the illusion.
Most striking thing was that the roof have no gutter, no side of the roof have any way of collecting rain water and redirect it to somewhere else. Not sure, how often it rains in that area, but i guess, such a thing is always handy.
Another thing is some stuff, that i find… impractical, maybe personell taste, but yeah:
at min 1.40, that glass door, how is it intended to be opened? I cannot see any handle for either swinging it or pushing it sideways. I would not want touch such a nice glass door with my bare hands, would get dirty way to fast.
at 1.50, that window above that glass door, in the middle of nowhere. While it looks nice, how would someone get there, in case of cleaning, opening, closing or repairing it? It´s literally out of reach from any side. Even the stairs cannot be used, to far away. a ladder?
at 1.57, those stairs look a little bit narrow, and i would love to see some metal poles etc. for reinforcing those glass banisters. And something to grip on on their top, maybe a wooden rail? You don´t get much grip on a slim glass wall, and again, touching glass… (also i hope, that this will be heavily reinforced glass, accidents happen, and banisters are there to keep people from falling sideways from the stairs. Unless thats armored glass, then this will shatter, and cause even more injuries, if its not safety glass (and as far as i know, safety glass is not intended to stop people ) Several of my fam fell down some stairs, and believe me, if i say, that falling people generate a lot of force.
at 2.20, those lightbulbs over the area with the stairs, same challenge as the window, that hangs in nowhere. Just in case, that one of those lights have to be repaired, how would you get there? Also, light switches or whatever they use for controlling the lights? Where would those be?
at 3.30, again glass doors without a handle or door knob. Cleaning glass is not that nice
and at the outside, their wooden doors, that should cover them, could have some hinges
and maybe as small extra, hide a power supply to that nice frame with those climbing plants. Looks nice at day, could look nice at night with some fairy lights wrapped around ^.^ Could also light up that place at night, since i cannot spot any outside light source for enlightening that place and pool, or any part of the house and way to the pool and garden. A night shot would be interesting to see.
I answer you in red:
Most striking thing was that the roof have no gutter, no side of the roof have any way of collecting rain water and redirect it to somewhere else. Not sure, how often it rains in that area, but i guess, such a thing is always handy.
The collector is hide in the roof. Attached a detail of the solution.
at min 1.40, that glass door, how is it intended to be opened? I cannot see any handle for either swinging it or pushing it sideways. I would not want touch such a nice glass door with my bare hands, would get dirty way to fast.
This kind of doors has a very thin plate in the profile.
at 1.50, that window above that glass door, in the middle of nowhere. While it looks nice, how would someone get there, in case of cleaning, opening, closing or repairing it? It´s literally out of reach from any side. Even the stairs cannot be used, to far away. a ladder?
This windows is in order to iluminate the stairs and save the the neighbour’s house and see only the hills. this kind of windows roll in the midle in a x-axis.
at 1.57, those stairs look a little bit narrow, and i would love to see some metal poles etc. for reinforcing those glass banisters. And something to grip on on their top, maybe a wooden rail? You don´t get much grip on a slim glass wall, and again, touching glass… (also i hope, that this will be heavily reinforced glass, accidents happen, and banisters are there to keep people from falling sideways from the stairs. Unless thats armored glass, then this will shatter, and cause even more injuries, if its not safety glass (and as far as i know, safety glass is not intended to stop people ) Several of my fam fell down some stairs, and believe me, if i say, that falling people generate a lot of force.
This glass is supported by 2 plates of steel, It support from 0,8 to 3,0KN (certificated as we ask). It usually and all our projects have it. In houses, in hotels, in every project we make.
Attached a few pictures of our projects:
at 2.20, those lightbulbs over the area with the stairs, same challenge as the window, that hangs in nowhere. Just in case, that one of those lights have to be repaired, how would you get there? Also, light switches or whatever they use for controlling the lights? Where would those be?
This lights are in ceiling. We put always plaster ceiling with the facilities and the light. These are led light… long life and when they die… the clients always have people to know what to do;) Our architecture is in this way. Attached a few pictures of our projects:
at 3.30, again glass doors without a handle or door knob. Cleaning glass is not that nice
Our clients don’t clean anything with their hands
and at the outside, their wooden doors, that should cover them, could have some hinges
The hinges are always hide in the profile of the doors.
I appreciate your comments, but our problem is not the constructive details. I understand that this kind of solutions aren’t the architecture that the people usually see (or live) but it is our style and it works…
Thanks you, best regards.
Hi Hades, those reference images look amazing and they also show you what is missing in your scene. I can’t see any sunlight coming into the house. That would make such a difference for some rooms. And what maki girl said: You need to do a bit of post processing. I would try to change the time of day to morning or late afternoon and add a LUT into the post process for that time of day. It will change the mood to look more like in the reference images.
Also what has been said before: Nothing has a razor-sharp 90 degree edge. Stone walls are rounded at the edge and concrete for example always has a 15mm chamfer. Even wood has a little bit of broken edge. If you have those chamfer edges you’ll get a bit of a highlight on them which looks more realistic. The stone walls and the wood for me break the realism of the scene. The stone walls look like someone painted them onto the walls, especially outside. And the wood goes the wrong way in some cases.Both seem to have a bit of a scaling problem. The wood somehow looks too big compared to the rest.
Hello S-Dot, thanks for the comments. I am going to take in consideration them.
I desagree about “razor-sharp 90 degree edge”, the builder who makes these house is a perfecionist and also as all the corner are made with pladur, you have to put a 90 degree profile. The first day of the house the corner are clean and perfect… maybe in the life of the house, this perfection is going to lost… but we sell this perfection…
The stone walls is a fault… I don’t get a similar wall as we put in the house… I have to study how make that.
You are right with the wood, this texture is not studied with the proper time…
Thanks, best regards.
I just found this here. Just read the first part to see what we mean with: You have to chamfer everything! - Trust me, I know where you are coming from but not putting a chamfer in is unrealstic! I’m talking about 2-3 mm for a table edge. 5 mm for a solid wood roof beam or 10-20 mm for the outdoor walls. It’s not about precision. No one can fabricate stone razor-sharp. It is about realism.
where did you get that palm i need palms for my project and your project is solid, you need to do little details and tweek materials a little but in general its good, for photorealistic you have to practice
Thanks, I will try add these chamfer corners. I am very grateful for your comment. Chamfer can be the hell on earth… but I will try (maybe there is a way to chamfer everything automatically… I will read about that…)
I’m sure you didn’t program Unreal or the video software… neither the website…
(also i hope, that this will be heavily reinforced glass, accidents happen, and banisters are there to keep people from falling sideways from the stairs. Unless thats armored glass, then this will shatter, and cause even more injuries, if its not safety glass (and as far as i know, safety glass is not intended to stop people 
) Several of my fam fell down some stairs, and believe me, if i say, that falling people generate a lot of force.
and your project is solid, you need to do little details and tweek materials a little but in general its good, for photorealistic you have to practice