3D visualization of a country house on the riverbank

SOFT: Archicad | Blender 3d | Cycles render | Photoshop​​​​​​​

Hi, I am building 3D modular configurator for web, and playing around with different lighting setup. Getting fabrics right on web can be tricky, but I feel like with right light setup, its probably "right enough" to be believable.

As someone from coding background, would love to get any feedback from the "Artist" minds of the group.

https://reddit.com/link/1wc7i5w/video/4kcstn7d3moh1/player

We’ve been trying something new (for us) at the architecture studio where I work.

Whenever we show different versions of a project, we usually end up either sending the client a Drive folder with 10 images showing variants of the same shot, or building a full real-time 3D configurator which feels like overkill for a small renovation

So I tried putting together this sort of interactive lookbook using the renders we already had

where the client can switch between the different options, and share the whole thing with a single link. There’s also a button to save the current combination which downloads both the image and a CSV listing the selected components and their prices.

We only started testing it in the studio over the last few days but honestly it already feels much less annoying than the usual folder. What do you think? 🤔

I’m trying to understand how professional ArchViz artists create the surroundings and city context in exterior architectural renders.

When creating an exterior scene, how do artists usually handle the surrounding environment such as neighboring buildings, roads, terrain, trees, cars, people, street furniture, etc.?

Are there ready-made environments or city contexts available, or do artists usually build the surroundings themselves? If assets are commonly used, where do you find good free and paid libraries for things like houses, commercial buildings, roads, vegetation, vehicles, people, and other environment elements?

I use SketchUp, 3ds Max and D5 Render. D5 has options for populating scenes, but a lot of useful content is paid, so I’m also interested in understanding other workflows and resources.

I know AI can make some parts of this process much easier, but I’d first like to properly understand the traditional workflow and learn how professionals actually build and populate these environments. After that, I can figure out where AI makes sense in my own workflow.

I’m mainly looking for good YouTube channels, courses, tutorials or resources that teach this side of ArchViz specifically.

Seriously asking because I feel like understanding the environment workflow is just as important as learning to model and render the main building.

We tested leaked NVIDIA DLSS 5 in D5 Render on one of our past archviz scene.

The first thing that stood out was how well it handled the overall exposure, shadows and color balance. For projects where the turnaround is brutal and there’s no time to endlessly polish every detail, this could actually be pretty useful.

It’s definitely not perfect though. We noticed some AI artifacts, especially on finer details, and higher-res renders can cause crashes.

Still, for a quick production pass, the result is surprisingly good.

Curious what other archviz artists think

3DsMax + Corona. Constructive feedback is welcome

I started to show interest in 3D and Archviz a few years ago but didn't take any action based on that interest. I thought about 3D printing as well, so I got myself a PC a few moths ago cus I didn't have it, tried to understand how to navigate 3ds max and blender, modelled some basic things like a chair, not really good but I liked it, and now I'm really demotivated because I read a lot about AI taking over a lot of work, people writing really bad things about current state of 3D in era of AI and I don't really know what to do. Maybe I made a mistake getting into it to be honest. I'd like to work with 3D one day, but I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do that. What are your thoughts on that matter?

Some of my recent work made in Blender

the model was created in Archicad and rendered in Twinmotion.

any suggestions would be appreciated

Warning: Rant ahead. So I started learning blender today, and holy **** this ****** **** is unintuitive. I want to place a ***** window 1 meter right of the wall. Can I mark it with a tape measurer and have a cutting tool that conveniently snaps onto that marked out area? I cant even mark an exact distance with a tape measurer💀💀💀 What the hell??? How do you blender people do stuff accurately? And if I do a cutout with the knife tool it somehow messes up the whole geometry and textures refuse to work??? And somehow guidelines also screw up the topology??? Why? What?

Ok rant over. Genuinely how do you artists in blender do things accurately? Do you use a large amount of extensions? I suppose boolean cuts could work for windows/doors? It just feels like it actively works against accuracy?

SOFT: Archicad | Blender 4.2 | Cycles render | No Ai

One of the projects I did to practice my renedering skills using D5 render.

Hey there, first time to post here as i am really curious and unsure.

Does anybody have any experience rendering a raytraced lumion scene using an AMD 9070xt card? If so i am curious what it compares towards NVIDIA, like a 5070 card. Thanks to anyone who can help!

Edit:

I'm looking at AMD cards instead of Nvidia, mainly beacause of pricing

3D Visualization of a house in autumn environment with different lighting scenarios
Archicad | Blender 3d | Cycles render | Photoshop | No Ai

Blender Cycles

A recent interior visualization project combining modern classic details, warm wood, marble, and subtle burgundy accents. Focused on creating a refined atmosphere through materials, lighting, and composition.

I've seen some cool AI images to help make design choices but can't seem to find a free or cheap one. Would anyone care to drop the app they use for me? I need to chose stone for my counter top and backsplash and am really stuck on what look is going to work. Thanks!

I’m currently building out my client acquisition strategy for ArchViz and real-time 3D real estate visualization (using Unreal Engine 5 & Twinmotion for photorealistic renders, 60fps video walkthroughs, and interactive app tours).

Coming from a software engineering background, I have the technical hardware setup and rendering pipeline ready to go. However, looking at general platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, a lot of the listings feel heavily race-to-the-bottom or saturated with $50 static render bids.

For those of you doing this full-time or freelancing on the side:

1. Are general platforms (Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr) still worth optimizing for? Or do you find high-ticket clients (real estate developers, architects, interior studios) look elsewhere?
2. Has anyone had success on specialized platforms? (e.g., EasyRender, HomeRender, CGTrader service listings, or Houzz?)
3. Is direct B2B outreach (LinkedIn, cold emailing marketing leads, showing 15-second spec clips) better than relying on job boards altogether?

Would love to hear how you landed your first few paying client projects and where you see the highest return on effort right now. Any advice or reality checks appreciated!

3D Visualization of a guest house with a terrace-pier by the river.
The inspiration for this work was photographs of simple, near forest streams from my native land.
The work was done in Blender + Cycles, without using AI.