Hey I’m Sam and I do design! I recently made a YouTube video demonstrating how to Render Realistically Really Rapidly! This process helps break down your 3D models and turn them into photorealistic renders. Below are a few tips that should help you get some eye-poppingly real Keyshot renders.

I recently attended a talk at Develop3D Live by Luxion Chief Scientist Henrik Wann Jensen and was amazed by how detailed the algorithms behind Keyshot are. He showed sample renders of the Ford Interceptor renderings used as adverts in car magazines, as well as various glasses of milk that, by inputting the chemical compounds of each into the Keyshot algorithm, could even distinguish between skimmed, semi-skimmed, and full-fat!

WANT GREAT RENDERS? THINK LIKE A PHOTOGRAPHER

If realism is what you’re looking for, it’s important to understand what you’re trying to replicate. Keyshot’s algorithms can do a lot behind the scenes, but making realistic renders means understanding photography theory, and knowing what to look for when it comes to image styles.

There are three golden rules that make up a good photograph:

• Subject matter: what is the thing you’re capturing?
• Composition: what is the right angle and the framing?
• Lighting: How is the scene lit?

The same principles apply to renders. In Keyshot, the first thing I do is import the data I want to render, and start laying things out to get the composition right. Camera settings also contribute to the composition: as a rule of thumb, I usually stick between 50mm and 80mm lenses. These are typically what photographers use for portrait and product photography, as it replicates what our eyes naturally see.

Here you can see the two image layouts I chose to render, before applying the materials.

The difference between a 30mm and 50mm lens can be seen here. The 30mm gives this coffee pot a strange perspective, whereas the 50mm is a lot more natural.

THE MORE ACCURATE THE MATERIALS AND LIGHTING, THE BETTER THE RENDER

With the scene set, it’s time to apply the materials. Keyshot’s material graph has become incredibly powerful recently. It’s possible to fine tune each material to have an exact base colour, reflection, translucency, opacity, and much more. Adding in these complex material nodes increases the render time so, while you’re still fine-tuning your scene, I would recommend keeping things simple with just the base materials (and possibly reflection maps to check the highlights aren’t blown out).

Once the base materials are set, it’s time to light the scene. Deciding on the lighting setup really depends on the style of image that you’re aiming for. A soft white light in a studio environment or a sharp warm 2700k temperature light simulating a sunrise with crisp shadows can really change how the scene looks, so remember to replicate real photography if you’re going for realism. I’d recommend learning the basics, like colour temperature and 3-point lighting as a starting point, and then you can really start to have fun!

IMPERFECTIONS MAKE IMAGES FEEL MORE NATURAL

The final push for realism comes from disrupting the perfect geometry that only computers can create; nothing in the real word has a mathematically perfect straight line. This is where rendering is different from product photography, even though the end goal is the same. Photographing products in the real world involves post-production editing in which all of the imperfections are airbrushed out to produce an “ideal reality”. Renderings come from the opposite direction; starting with perfect geometry and applying precise surface imperfections to make it look realistic. The end goal for both is to hit the ideal reality target, without falling into the uncanny valley, which would make the product look like an eerie airbrushed painting.

Adding displacement maps, refraction maps, specular maps etc. are great ways of adding these surface imperfections. Combining these textures, along with the three golden photography rules, will help create realistic images could one day be on the front of a magazine. Now the only thing left to decide is; would you like to advertise cars or milk?

For more tips and tricks, don’t forget to check out the @sam_does_design Instagram and Youtube pages, and www.samdoes.design

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Gwilt is an industrial designer with an eclectic mix of skills. He graduated Brunel University London and worked for Paul Cocksedge Studio, specializing in bespoke lighting installations and exhibitions internationally. He now works with clients globally at consultancy Precipice Design, and also runs an Instagram Page and YouTube channel – Sam_Does_Design – where he shares industry tips with the community.

The Senior Interaction Designer is responsible for leading design projects by utilizing their conceptual skills, industry experience and imagination to bring creative excellence to our client’s digital products. This is a position that will require exceptional problem-solving skills, a drive to innovate and the ability to come up with innovative

View the full design job here

People will adapt to the enhanced environments architects and designers are creating using technology, says Patrik Schumacher.

Speaking about the future of technology on a panel hosted by Dezeen and kitchen and bathroom company Grohe, Schumacher said that designers should develop a new aesthetic as “market leaders”, and not worry whether people “like it right away”.

“I think the role of design and architecture is to bring a level of newness into the discussion. We cannot rely on the past, we have to move forward,” said Schumacher, who is the principal of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA).

“When it comes to the urban, the look of a city, it’s something that is imposed on the citizen, it’s not something that is chosen. It’s up to the studio that creates something to educate the citizen or the user.”

Schumacher believes that as architects gain a better understanding of technology, and how it impacts the urban environment, people will learn to adapt to the buildings they create.

“First we need to develop an understanding of the environments that allow us to flourish if we acquire the user skills,” he added. “That’s leadership, and people are adapting to it.”

People can “learn to love” new architecture and design

The ZHA principal spoke on the panel with Marius Myking, director of product design at Snøhetta, head of research at tech startup MX3D Filipo Gilardi, and Grohe’s vice president of design Michael Seum. The panel was chaired by Dezeen assistant editor India Block.

Each expert on the panel spoke about recent projects and research where robotics, artificial intelligence, new manufacturing technologies, and generative design – where computers create designs from a set of parameters – are playing a role in the future of design and architecture.

Patrick Schumacher spoke about the future of technology at the talk

ZHA has been using generative design and virtual reality to test how people will respond to buildings, and how tech-enhanced buildings could respond or adapt to occupants’ needs.

In discussion with the panellists about MX3D’s 3D-printed concrete bridge for Amsterdam, Schumacher reiterated that people need to learn to adapt to new technologies and not the other way around.

“I don’t think we need to answer necessarily whether people like it right away or whether they buy into an aesthetic. I think we need to be market leaders,” he said.

“People should learn to love this bridge because, downstream, it is lighter and more efficient than a kind of traditional welded up truss of beams. We should start to learn to hate those, because they’re wasteful of time, material [and] energy,” he said. “That’s why we need aesthetic revolutions.”

Designers can help program a more sustainable future

This is the same logic ZHA applies to large, complex building projects where architects use cutting-edge simulations to predict behaviours and how individuals and groups will move around a space.

“The buildings we offer, they initially might be alien, but if they allow you to learn to navigate and be close with many other people, many events, in a mixed-use environment, you’ll learn the empowerment of that quite quickly,” continued Schumacher.

Filipo Gilardi, head of research at tech startup MX3D, some about a 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam 

It’s an approach that Schumacher believes could be applied to the very pressing future issues of single-use plastics. The Grohe event was entirely plastic bottle-free, with filtered water from its taps served in glass bottles.

“I’ve given up plastic bottles a while ago. But what I’m learning is that you need to develop this revulsion against plastic bottles. It becomes a sensibility you acquire and consumers will learn this quickly,” said Schumacher.

“A radical new product can fly through the market. That’s why start-up culture is so, so fascinating,” he added.

“We are living in a world of opportunity, where many try to make this breakthrough, and some of them will win, and resources will flow back to do more. It’s a nice risk-taking atmosphere.”

Technology can help forge human connections

All the keynote speakers spoke about the ways in which their work has pushed the boundaries of technology and design.

Gilardi explained the process of creating the world’s first 3D-printed concrete bridge. MX3D used generative design to come up with the shape of the bridge, which was built using robots.

Getting people to trust a bridge that has been built without humans is a challenge of what Gilardi called the new industrial revolution. The team has outfitted the span with sensors to help them collect data on how people use the bridge to help inform future designs.

Director of product design at Snøhetta, Marius Myking, spoke about how technology can make people’s lives better.

Myking discussed several new Snøhetta products that use technology to foster human connections and meaning.  Rather than use “technology for technology’s sake”, the architecture and design firms use it to make people’s lives better, or on projects that are better for the environment.

Snøhetta projects that used technology in this manner include a door handle that can fit any hand, cutlery that doesn’t need to be polished, and plans for a remote hotel on stilts that will rest lightly on the landscape and produce more energy than it uses.

The discussion was held after Grohe’s The Wave of the Future talks, where the brand unveiled their new range of 3D-printed taps. The Atrio Icon 3D and Allure Brilliant Icon 3D are made of 3D-printed metal, opening the potential for customisation and bespoke projects for clients.

The post People will “learn to love” architecture created using technology says Patrik Schumacher appeared first on Dezeen.

New York designer Joe Doucet has created a motorcycle helmet with built-in lights that flash red when the driver slows down or breaks.

Called the Sotera Advanced Active Safety Helmet, the product is made of polycarbonate and the synthetic fibre kevlar, which are both durable and heat-resistant materials.

There is also a transparent visor to protect against wind, rain and dust and an LED light panel that runs through the bottom half of the helmet.

Doucet wanted to create a helmet that would prevent accidents, as well as protecting users in the event of one.

His research found an 80 per cent chance of injury or death on a motorcycle in the event of an accident, compared to 20 per cent for passenger vehicles.

“Currently, helmets are designed to limit injury after an accident. I simply asked, ‘what if helmets worked to prevent accidents instead?’. The design solution became rather obvious to me when viewed from that angle,” the designer told Dezeen.

The LED light panels on the helmet, which can be charged via a USB cable, are designed to make the motorbike rider more visible to drivers.

Similar to the brake lights on a car, built-in accelerometers in the helmet detect when the biker is breaking and switch to a red colour, alerting drivers behind them.

“Motorcycle lights are very low above the ground compared to other vehicles,” said Doucet. “Sotera solves this problem by putting the light at the eye-line of other drivers.”

Doucet has chosen not to patent the invention so that companies can adopt the idea and reduce the risk of accidents.

“I began the project with a goal of commercialising the helmets. Prior to filing the patents, I realised that the innovation had great potential to save lives. That would be like patenting a seatbelt and having it available to only one car company,” he said.

“I opened up the intellectual property to any company who chooses to produce a version of the helmet. Weighing the potential of saving a life against a royalty check is an easy decision to make,” he explained.

In a similar attempt to improve safety on the roads, the Lumos smart bike helmet – which won the transport design category at the 2016 Beazley Designs of the Year awards – also features embedded brake lights and indicators.

The post Joe Doucet’s Sotera motorcycle helmet uses coloured lights to prevent accidents appeared first on Dezeen.

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