Archives for July 2019

Avoid Fast-moving Rotations

If you are rendering a race car then a fast-moving render might be appropriate. But when you are highlighting a product, the intent is to allow the viewer to experience the product. Stick with slower moving renders that allow the viewer to imagine the real product.

The above example is moving too fast. The example is also rotating, which for some people may cause a sense of vertigo, and make them dizzy or nauseated. This is yet another reason why we should always work at a low resolution in the beginning phases of a project. This render took about 14 hours to complete. At 10 seconds, this video is comprised of 300 rendered images. If this were rendered at a production resolution, it might have taken several days to complete.

Start your Project at Low Rez

Adding motion to a render can be very time consuming. At 30 frames per second, a simple 6 second clip will render 180 frames. It’s important to not go overboard with the quality of your render until you discover what works. A product video can run from 30 seconds, to several minutes, with a typical video to show on a web site, or at a trade show might run about 2 minutes. At two minutes, you are rendering 3600 frames, and that’s just for your final video. How long does it take your computer to render an image? Many motion renders will not be used, which is why it’s important to run your motion at a low resolution first. Once you have your story board for you whole video, then render at a higher resolution.

Rendering with Image Overlays

From photos taken from the customers boxes, an overlay can be created to add realism to the product presentation. This type of realism adds to the simplification of the render. By adding visual effects that the customer is already accustom to looking at, this rendered image allows the customer to focus on the product being proposed instead of focusing on the support products in the image.

Several images were provided to the team proposing the product. These two images show the same perspective, but varying levels of light.

Visual Presentation Renders

This customer needed a visual aid for him funding presentation. While in the concept phase, there was no 3D model to render. We created a quick 3D product while remained as vague as we could about the actual products that might be used for the final product. The customer was absolutely pleased with the outcome.

Seeing the Finished Product

Sometimes I design a product and then never see the completed unit. However, this product I am also building. It is great to see my finished product. Below is the rendering of this product. In my renders I will gray-up the blacks so they show a little more detail for the viewer.

This project had no fabricated parts. Everything was and off-the-shelf product except for the 3D printed parts. Everything that is black, other than the base plate, was designed for this project and then 3D printed.

Below is a 3D print job for several of the parts used in this design. Parts from other designs are included to maximize space and time.