When you’re about to present a project you’ve been working on for years, you can’t risk getting caught with a poor visualization. But how do you spot a bad job before it’s too late? Well, according to one of the sharpest Visual Artists we know, there’s one element worthy of some extra attention.
When it comes to high-end visualizations, your audience is not getting less picky. Today’s expectations of 3D imagery are sky-high as to technical skill, creativity, and emotional leverage. And out of all elements at play, people (you might recognize this from the real world) are one of the most challenging ones to deal with.
“The wow is in the story. And using people in visualizations is the most effective way to bring your story to life.”
Frej Angelii
To blame is the nature of our human brain, which obviously didn’t spend millions of years on learning how to spot a fraud for nothing. In other words: people are tough. And to replicate the looks and behaviors of people requires deep knowledge in a wide spectra of complex subjects: from human anatomy to movement patterns, cultural codes and local trends.
The truth is: Poorly executed, people can eliminate all sense of credibility in seconds, leaving but a slightly itchy feeling of awkwardness behind. So why don’t we put all our creativity into visualizing breathtaking buildings instead?
The expert trick that reveals a poor render
The short answer, is that crafted with the right time, skill, and care, people can bring an almost magical spark of authenticity to the imagery, helping the audience connect with your vision in a deeply personal way.
To help detangle this tricky subject and save you from a potential disaster, we turned to Frej Agelii, who, besides being one of the world’s most experienced Visual Artists in this field, is our dear friend and colleague at the TMRW headquarters in Gothenburg.
The wow is in the story; the story is in the people
To Frej, the secret behind a winning visualization is not merely the quality of the composition, shadows, light or other technical aspects (even if those are super important as well, he points out). The wow is in the story. And using people in visualizations is the most effective way to bring your story to life.
And the first question you should ask yourself is: what kind of people are the perfect ones to hero your story? Which characters are best equipped to attract the attention, and emotional engagement in the perspective of your audience?
“From the main characters that first catch your eye to the extras providing an engaging sense of everyday life in the background. Each person has a unique part to play and helps determine the emotional value of the story.”
Frej Angelii
According to Frej, the creative process has a lot of similarities to making a film. And just like in Hollywood: A big deal in crafting an intriguing image is to choose the perfect actors for the scene — from the main characters that first catch your eye to the extras providing an engaging sense of everyday life in the background.
Each person has a unique part to play and helps determine the emotional value of the story.
Frej: The vital question is not what kind of people fit into the environment, but how they help the story unfold. What happens if we place an old lady on a bench peacefully feeding the ducks while watching the city come to life in the background? Or a busker playing guitar in the middle of a crowded square? There’s a lot of testing going on before we find our actors.
With other words: If the casting feels slightly off, you should sort it out before you buy a suit for the Oscars. Besides, as you’ll soon discover, creating a winning scene takes a lot more than picking the perfect set of folks.
The secret behind the authentic vibe
When you’re in the humble business of showing people a potential future of their own — the most critical eye is to be expected. And if your audience can’t relate visually and emotionally to the world presented: worst case, you’re done. Considering the extent to which cultural codes differ, research is key in creating a natural ambiance.
“In city scenes, a typical flaw is people heading towards the same point, which in reality would cause a collision.”
Frej Angelii
Frej: To capture that authentic vibe, you need a deep understanding of the place, stretching from specific climate and weather conditions to local activities and way of life. And details like how children play and what kind of games they’re into. In this phase, there are no shortcuts. And it’s one of the most common flaws that help you separate a top-class job from a budget one.
It’s clear these things aren’t done in a day. And as you probably figured out, there’s even more to it. The following error is slightly more challenging to spot.
Watch where they’re going
And this time you’re not getting your answers by studying the characters’ looks or actions. What you need to focus on is what will happen next.
Frej: In city scenes, a typical flaw is people heading towards the same point, which in reality would cause a collision. A bicycle going in an unnatural direction will disrupt the flow of the scene, just like someone walking too fast or too slow, considering their location. And the thing about flow is: If one single detail’s off, it can make the whole scene feel unnatural, even if you don’t see it.
“Characters allow you to control how your audience’s eyes travel through the image, ensuring they’re not slipping out. It’s a powerful technique when you master it.”
Frej Angelii
And speaking of directions, people actually have another crucial role to play, namely as guides of the viewer’s eye.
Frej: Your goal is to make the viewers stay as long as possible and engage in the story. And eyes always follow the people. So characters allow you to control how your audience travels through the image, ensuring they’re not slipping out. It’s a powerful technique when you master it.
“Have you ever seen a visualization with people hanging in the air? That’s what happens when you don’t get your shadows right.”
Frej Agelii
The magic in the final touches
So characters are selected to hero your story, carefully orchestrated to play the right strings of emotion, authentically behaving and moving towards the desired areas of the image. Does this mean we’re done? Not quite. You don’t want to forget the details. And just like in the real world, it happens to be lots of them.
Frej: Have you ever seen a visualization with people hanging in the air? That’s what happens when you don’t get your shadows right. Then you have the reflections and lighting corrections to deal with. When it comes to final touches — every detail have to be spot on to make the scene convincing. If not, the previous work is pretty much for nothing.
To sum it up:
Hopefully you’re now fully charged with insights on how to separate a master-class visualization from a not-so-brilliant one, keeping a sharp eye on the people. Considering what it takes to visualize people in an authentic way, no wonder there are only a few Visual Artists in the world ready to operate on this level.
If you enjoyed this sneak peek behind the architectural visualization scene, there’s plenty more to indulge in. Start by checking out the links below.
