3d Archives - Page 2 of 8

13/09/2019 — No Comments

Finished Friday // Dobb Lane Architectural CGI Illustration

We've had the pleasure of working cracking local development with a local architect and developer to visualise the 2 new properties.

3 images have been commissioned, and will go along side their marketing material to build interest, enquiries, and hopefully sell the houses before construction has finished!

You can check out the full project on the Behance page -

Dobb Lane // Architectural CGI Illustration

And if you'd like to know more about the project, are thinking about a CGI commission, or just want to friendly northern advice, then just drop us a line.

Contact details handily on the Contacts Page.

Published by Dean in Architecture

Tags: 3d, architectural visualisation, Architecture, cgi, Exterior, illustration, marketing, visualisation

10/09/2019 — No Comments

VR Hits The Arcades, and it’s an obvious hit!

Recently I blogged out the Alton Towers Galactica ride, which is a mix of a real roller coaster and virtual reality. I thought the initial concept was great, you could fly through virtual worlds, and experience the G forces from the roller coaster. However it seemed to me that the ride makers were really missing a trick by only having 1 virtual world, and ZERO interactivity.

I know how expensive creating virtual worlds can be, but I also know that with a digital format, such as virtual reality, the cost to make physical changes to hardware or equipment is zero.

Recently whilst on a break, I noticed Virtual Rabbids The Big Ride in an arcade. It’s essentially an arcade game, where you sit on a motion simulator, wear a HTC Vive, and experience virtual worlds, from pirate adventures to Christmas sleigh rides!

OK this game doesn’t give the same thrills as the Galactica ride or the blackout bingo app, and you can’t expect that from an arcade machine. However it does deliver an accessible, engaging, immersive experience without the need for a massive roller coaster.

It’s an obvious hit too. Out of all the arcade machines, Rabbids The Big Ride was by far the most popular, even though it was 400% more expensive than the other arcade games. OK perhaps the price and popularity are down to the uniqueness of the game, but it does go to show the appetite and willingness to give VR a go.

I personally see VR being a big hit in arcades, and might even spark a return to the arcades of decades gone by. I am still very much skeptical about VR. Will we ever overcome the social acceptance of the technology? It’s hard to convince people to wear a VR headset, and also hard to see how virtual reality can be anything other than a solo experience. But with a virtual reality arcade, I can see how a group of friends could use it in a very similar way to a normal arcade game, and that really does give me hope for the future of VR entertainment.

VR Virtual Reality

So is VR saved?

Who knows!

But I am glad that virtual reality is slowly becoming more and more mainstream, and being adopted in ways that actually give value though enhanced experiences.

Do I still think there's a massive social hurdle to overcome? Of course! But little steps like are paving the way.

Would you try a VR arcade game? Could you lose yourself in a virtual environment? Is VR the future of entertainment?

Drop me your thoughts!

Dean

Published by Dean in Uncategorized, Virtual Reality

Tags: 3d, animation, cgi, headset, Interactive, virtual reality, vr

14/08/2019 — No Comments

What would I do if….

Great question right? A good excuse to take a step back and look at things from a different perspective.

So over the next few weeks / months, I'll be doing just that in the form of a mini series to read at your leisure!

But what's the point?

Well, when it comes to creating marketing and promotional material for your business and products, the options can seem endless, or maybe there may be options that you haven't considered.

So, I want to use 15+ years of knowledge of the CGI, 3D, digital marketing industry including local SEO company, combined with an understanding of businesses needs, requirements and problems, to explain what I might do in your position.

The first piece will be "What would I do if I were a property developer?".

In this, I will look at the different options, from basic CGI artwork, to fully interactive applications, and maybe a few other options that perhaps you're not even aware of. I'll look at the pros and cons of different mediums, what to expect, cost guides and so on.

Essentially I hope this mini series will give you a good understanding of your options and maybe even help you to approach CGI studios so you get the most out of any future projects.

Don't miss out!

So this blog post is a little heads up for something that will be landing over the next weeks / months.

To make sure you don't miss out, subscribe to the newsletter here -

Click to subscribe!

And we'll add you to our monthly newsletter so you get the info straight to your inbox!

Dean

Published by Dean in What would I do if...?

30/07/2019 — No Comments

Is no where safe? CGI food in adverts?

I had a thought whilst watching the adverts (well someone has to watch them right?!).

We know CGI is used in all kinds of advertising, from cars to iPhones. But what about food?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDfCLi3JZcQ

It was this latest advert from McDonald's (chocolate milkshake is my guilty pleasure), where right at the end, you see floating chicken wrap. And my mind being as weird and wonderful, thought "...is that CGI?".

Food CGI McDonalds Marketing Advertising

Now let's think about this. It really isn't that strange to actually think that a chicken wrap could be 3D. OK it is a little strange. Perhaps I should use the word "feasible" instead.

But we're actually quite use to seeing CGI in food commercials. Maybe the use of CGI has been less literal, more playful....

However it does beg the question, is CGI being used to visualise actual food in advertising?

I know it's possible to re-create food to a very high, believable level (see above).

But is it actually more commonplace in advertising than what we're aware of? And what are your feelings on that? Is it OK? Is it any different to a fully staged photo-shoot, where food are covered in all sorts to make them look desirable?

Anyway, I'm curious to know, and will dig a little deeper, but if you have any examples, send them my way.

Or maybe you just suspect the use of CGI in a food commercial, again, drop me a message, I'd love to know!

Dean

Published by Dean in Advertising

Tags: 3d, animation, cgi, food, marketing, video

23/07/2019 — No Comments

Digital Room Sets // Off-The-Shelf just won’t do!

I often get asked

"Do you have any room sets we could use?"

And the simple and honest answer is

"No"

There is ONE reason why. It's too much of a compromise, with little advantage.

Interior CGI Bedroom Luna Visualisation

Let me explain. Our digital room sets are built to visualise a product. A room set to visualise kitchen tiles will be built, lit, propped and designed to purposely visualise tiles.

To now use that set to visualise a dining table would be possible, but not ideal. We'd spend too much time re-jigging and re-arranging an old set. It's actually much better to start with a blank canvas, and can be more efficient too.

CGI Architectural Visualisation Visualisations Architecture Housing Development Animation Interior Internal KBB Bathroom

That's not to say that we can't re-use parts of the past digital room sets, such as windows, chairs or light fixtures. However the architecture of the room is best to be built from scratch.

Re-using and re-purposing digital assets can be used along side new and custom fixtures too. That way you have something unique, bespoke and tailored to you and your product.

Interior 3D CGI Visualisation Illustration Klio Office

So, if you're looking to use interior digital room sets to visualise a product, perhaps think about building one that suits your needs perfectly. Don't be fooled that using an off-the-shelf set will save you time and money, it likely wont.

Don't compromise!

Dean

Published by Dean in Interior, Uncategorized

Tags: 3d, Architecture, cgi, design, illustration, interior, kitchen, rendering, visualisation

18/07/2019 — No Comments

Finished Friday // Fredericsburg CGI Interior Visualisation

How do you explain how an interior space will look following a fantastic refurbishment?

With amazing images, right?

We were commissioned to create 3 interior visualisations to preview the gym, kitchen and lounge areas of this re-development.

A detail spec, drawings and brief was supplied, and we did the rest to produce these images.

Check out the full project over at

Published by Dean in Interior

Tags: 3d, Architecture, cgi, illustration, interior, kitchen, visualisation

16/07/2019 — No Comments

Virtual Reality // The Misunderstood Medium

Fantastic Tech

New tech is fantastic. It changes on a daily basis, and brings us new and exciting things.

But virtual reality can almost seem like it stumbles and trips way too often. Let's not forget that VR isn't anything new, Oculus Rift was funded on Kickstarter over 7 years ago!

Misunderstood

Like a stroppy high-school teenager, VR is misunderstood. It doesn't know what it wants to do in life, it's not sure where it belongs, and perhaps even a little confused about its upbringing!

Virtual Reality misunderstood

The issue

For me, virtual reality is often being shoe-horned into a situation that doesn't really fit, and it's really hurting it's reputation and potential. People think "VR, that's cool, how can we jump on this bang wagon" without really thinking about what they're trying to achieve.

VR is fantastic for occasions where the user needs to be isolated, such as training simulations. They can safely immerse the user in dangerous, expensive and complex situations.

However, I believe VR isn't great for social groups in many situations. That could be 1 person wearing a VR headset in a group of people, or several people each using a headset. There is a massive social issue for VR to overcome.

If you're the 1 in a group of many, and you're the only one in the virtual world, you are no longer connected to the group. You are alone. There's no two ways about it.

Again if you're in a group of VR users, you are alone.

Virtual Reality misunderstood

And this social and psychological issue is massive.

Trust.

Respect.

Relationships.

All of these things are tested every time you wear a headset in a social environment. How many times have you handed someone a VR headset, for them to wear it for 15 seconds, then hand it back? Or you wear a headset, and you become too isolated from the real world. These are the kinds of the big issues VR is facing.

The big VR fix

Well, is there a "fix"?

I think we need to really think about where virtual reality is used.

Maybe we just need to plough on, and try to make VR common place?

Or perhaps, as an entertainment platform, VR is already dead in the water, and we should look towards alternatives such as augmented reality?

This blog post isn't a dig at virtual reality, or those trying to use the medium for brilliant things, but I think content creators really need to take a step back, and figure out if virtual reality is right for their end goal and end users, before irreversible damage is done.

Dean

Published by Dean in Uncategorized, Virtual Reality

Tags: 3d, cgi, Interactive, virtual reality, vr

15/07/2019 — No Comments

Punch Infinity Survey // We have a winner!

Earlier today, on Instagram Live, I drew a winner from the folk who completed the Punch Infinity survey.

For those that don't know, the survey was a way to get people's thoughts and opinions on Punch Infinity, our interactive configurator. We will work through the data, and we hope we'll know what's working well, no so well, and perhaps some future direction too.

Anyway, the winner was Graham, so the £50 Amazon voucher will be heading his way very soon. To see the draw, head to https://www.instagram.com/punchdigitaluk/ and check out the Live / Stories section of the profile.

Punch Infinity Interactive Configurator Survey Draw

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Dean

Published by Dean in Interactive, Interactive Configurator

Tags: 3d, cgi, Interactive, interactive configurator, marketing

09/07/2019 — No Comments

Punch Infinity // The Future

Before you read this, you might be wondering "what is Punch Infinity?". If that's the case then check out the Punch Infinity - What is it? blog post.

The Future!

Punch Infinity is currently live. Clients are on board, and we're incredibly proud of what we've produced. But what are the next steps?

Survey

Over the past few months, we ran a survey to find out more about Punch Infinity (does it do what we want it to) and to find out its users (what they like, need and expect). The survey is over, and the results will be published soon.

We hope the results will help us shape any future developments.

Immediate plans?

In a nut shell, no. Maintenance, house keeping and responding to technical changes are our constant priority.

Two paths

One current leading idea is to split Punch Infinity into two products, a Lite version and a Pro version.

Roughly, the Lite version would be very similar to Punch Infinity as it is today, a streamlined, useful and refined configurator system.

The Pro version could have anything a client desires. Punch Infinity has always had the ability to "bolt on" any features, as it was built from the ground up, and maybe we take full advantage of that. Or perhaps we add more "pro" functions, such as 360 views, analytics or maybe even virtual reality. This part of the puzzle is a big unknown, and we'll know more from the survey, further user testing and discussions.

No time to stand still

Punch Infinity is going to evolve and change. It can't stand still, and neither can I! The speed at which tech changes is incredible, and we need to be just as fast, reactive and pro-active!