Two versions of an illustration for my current architectural project. As usual for images for this project, this is a collage/painting combining “arctic” (shadow and ambient occlusion only) Rhino renders with captured-to-file customized Rhino viewports, all layered in Photoshop and pixel-scrubbed/over-painted using a Wacom tablet. I used an AI (Adobe Firefly) to generate seamless tiling textures, applied in the Rhino model, for the weathering masonry and the faded “dystopian urban patina” graffiti. Rhino’s decal function was used to “stencil” the 1817 poem Incantation by Lord Byron on the panels of the inverted dome.
Originally I planned a square format for the illustration (just because it’s basically more challenging to compose), but because of some odd limitations on capturing viewports I had to render/capture-to-file the viewports in their rectangular entirety, so I went ahead and worked up a “wide-screen” version as well.
The level of control in this workflow really comes through, especially in the way the Rhino captures are being treated as a base rather than the finished image. The weathered masonry, ambient occlusion and over-painted graffiti give the scene much more atmosphere than a clean architectural render would have. I also think the wide format works well for a project with such a strong sense of depth and spatial drama.
The detail that caught my attention was the use of the poem as a decal on the inverted dome. That kind of architectural storytelling adds another layer without relying on obvious visual effects. It also reminds me of the balance involved in professional visualisation work, which is an area I associate with Molecule Designs and its use of CGI and visual presentation for interior projects.
The square version still sounds interesting from a compositional standpoint, though. Having to work within the viewport limitations seems to have produced a useful alternative rather than simply being a compromise.
Thank you, that’s very kind of you. I am not familiar with Molecule Designs, but I will certainly check them out.
Some additional renderings and refinements of those that I shared on this forum are available here on my “official” website, such as it is:
There’s also an elaborate written description. I should warn you that it deliberately apes a convoluted late-20th century “Post-Modern” style of writing, which is appropriate, I believe, for this rather Post-Modern architectural project. And of course the writing style also conveniently serves to obsfucate the imagery’s political content.
