UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURAL ANIMATION
What are 3D Architectural Animations?
3D architectural animations, also referred to as flythroughs or walkthroughs, allow you to fly or walk through a property before it is built. Animation allows you to bring a project to life. You can showcase everything from walking through the front door to providing details such as floor designs, lighting features, wall textures, and so on.. I offer exceptionally high-quality 3D architectural animations with the option of scriptwriting and narration. I offer all animations at resolutions ranging from 360p (low quality) to ultra-sharp 4K UHD.
UNDERSTANDING THE 3D ANIMATION PROCESS AS A CUSTOMER
The following is an outline of the animation process from a clients perspective:
1.) Communicating Your Ideas and Vision
The first step in any 3D animation process is to communicate your design, idea, development, invention or concept to the designer. You may choose to provide architectural drawings, plans, engineering plans, sketches, an architectural 3D model, an engineering 3D model, or a similar video or animation. The key is to clearly communicate exactly what you want the animation to showcase.
2.) 3D Model Preview
The designer will then create a few rendered images from the materials you have provided. These images are presented to you as either a series of images to show you what the animation might look like. This step allows you to provide feedback prior to making the animation.
3.) Storyboarding/Narration (not always required).
Depending on the complexity of the animation, your project may or may not require a storyboard. For example, architectural walkthroughs tend not to require storyboarding, since the path is usually linear from the perspective of a person walking from room to room. If you are envisioning a more dramatic cinematic experience, storyboarding can be very useful to get everyone on the same page and to direct the animation properly. If your project requires you to explain to the viewer more information in terms of the project outline and technical specifications, then the next step would be to add text and/or speech.
4.) Low Resolution Drafts and Refining
The designer will send you low resolution drafts for feedback to refine the animation. The draft is done in low resolution to significantly cut down on the time it takes the computer to generate the animation. Low resolution drafts will be provided to you that incorporate your feedback until you are satisfied with the animation.
5.) Full Resolution Final Animation
Once you are satisfied with the animation, the full resolution final draft is computed. Generally, any changes needed at this point, other than issues that are made visible by the higher resolution draft, are considered a change of scope. Therefore, it is very important to make sure you are completely satisfied with the low resolution animation before giving your go-ahead.
UNDERSTANDING 3D ANIMATION PRICING
There are three major costs to a 3D animation project: the modeling, setup labor, and the time it takes to compute the animation.
UNDERSTANDING THE TIMELINE
3D walkthrough projects generally take 4-6 weeks to complete. This time span is usually due to the computing time for drafts, and can vary from project to project depending on its complexity. Updating part of an animation can take several hours and upwards of several days to compute. To make even minor tweaks can have a long turnaround time.
TURNAROUND TIME
‘Quality’ in 3D animation can be defined by three components: resolution, frame rate and realism. Resolution is the dimensions of the animation: the difference between DVD quality and HD quality, and now as high as 4K Ultra HD quality. The higher the resolution of the animation, the crisper and clearer the video quality will be, and along with that, the longer the rendering times. The frame rate refers to the measurement of how quickly the number of frames appear within a second, which is why it's also called FPS (frames per second).
Realism is achieved through a combination of the 3D rendering software settings, along with the setup of the 3D scene. Realism really depends on the setting utilized, and the skills of the designer, to create the desired realism of the scene. Putting aside the setup of the scene, it is important to note that the more realistic the settings, the longer it will take to compute the animation. The software is simulating real world flow of light, which is extremely complicated. Simulating the interaction of light between objects takes very complex calculations and takes the the computer a long time to complete.
3D ANIMATION QUALITY
3D animation is an extremely flexible media. The designer has control over almost all aspects of the 3D scene, which makes the possibilities almost endless. In the case of architectural animation, realism is generally the main goal. Although, some alternative styles can be used to enhance the experience. This could be a watercolor animation that gives off more of an artistic look. Generally, the best way to communicate to the designer the style you would like to see for your animation project is to find an example of an animation style you like, or take a look at my 3D Rendering Style Guide.
ANIMATION STYLE
WHEN TO USE ARCHITECTURAL ANIMATION vs STILL RENDERS
Still renders are a great way to present rooms and their features. Animations are a great way to tie those rooms together and bring the space to life. It allows you to show the viewer the flow of the space. Moving through a 3D model can bring it to life and give the user the experience of “being there”.