RealSpace | 3D Rendering Buyer's Guide: Architectural Visualization, Animation, and CGI

About this guide

We at RealSpace created this guide to help you understand the rendering industry. We aimed to be as un-biased as possible and hope that this guide helps you better understand the options available to you.

After reading this guide, you should be better equipped to negotiate your rendering project and find a provider that suits your needs. We hope that you consider us as a provider, but as outlined below, there are many different rendering styles, at different price-points. This guide should help you find what works best for you.

Who is this guide for?

First time 3D rendering buyers looking for still 3D renders or animations.
Past buyers looking to make a more educated decision or to get better results on their 3D visualization projects.

Understanding the Process as a Customer

The following is an outline of the rendering process from the client’s perspective:

You tell the rendering company what you need visualized. It is helpful to provide any plans, drawings, or sketches of your design, and reference images of similar designs, materials, or items to be included.
The rendering company creates a 3D model based on the client’s requirements. This is analogous with building a physical model, except that the model only exists digitally.
The rendering company renders images or video based on their 3D model. This is analogous to photographing or filming a physical model. This is the only way to view the digital model, and may initially be done at draft quality to save time.
You work with the rendering company to make revisions to the 3D model, the camera angles, the lighting, or the materials simulated.
The rendering company produces high quality rendered images or videos and delivers them to you at an appropriate resolution.

For more information, click here to learn about the process as a 3D artist.

Understanding 3D Rendering Pricing

There are two main ways that rendering projects are priced: a custom quote for the project, or a price per image. At Realspace, we exclusively custom quote projects because we feel that every client’s project and needs are unique. For more information click here to read our rendering pricing guide.

Understanding the Timeline: Turnaround Time

Turnaround time really depends on the client’s needs. Many companies advertise a 48-72 hour turnaround time, but if you read the fine print, that time can be for a first draft only. This is somewhat deceiving, because most projects require several back and forth revisions.

It is best to get a deadline for the entire project. This way, the company will work to satisfy your needs and complete your project, instead of taking 48-72 hours every time you request a change.

Evaluating Quality of 3D Renders and Animation

Like most things in life, 3D renders are not all created equal. As a general rule, if it looks good then it probably is good, but some things to look for are:

The clarity or sharpness of the image.
Obvious noise, graininess, or errors.
Repeating patterns, particularly in wood, stone, or grass.
2 dimensional elements – these are added later with a photo editor.
Off-scale elements.
Obviously duplicated objects.
Matte colored elements.
Unrealistic or out of place elements.

Rendering Styles

A render can be done in several different styles, and each should be evaluated differently. Click here to read our rendering style guide.

Comparing Still Images and Animated Video

Most rendering software can create animations or still images. It usually requires a similar amount of labour to model a scene for animation or for multiple still images. The only additional work required is to create the path that the camera will follow.
The main cost in an animation is rendering time.

An animation is comprised of 24-60 frames per second depending on the standard being used. This means that for every second of video, 24-60 images have to be rendered. Although they can generally be lower in quality than still images, this ends up taking a considerable amount of time to do. Additionally, for every revision required, many frames will have to be re-rendered.