The same building gets rendered several times over its life, and each time the image has a different reader. Early on, the developer and architect use simple massing views to test height, setbacks and how the building meets the street. At rezoning and development permit, planners and council need eye-height views that show the building accurately in its context. At presale, marketing needs hero images that make a buyer picture their life there. Later, the builder uses the same images on hoarding, and leasing or resale teams use them after completion.
The mistake is ordering launch-quality images while the design is still moving. Detail costs time, and time spent detailing a balcony that changes next month is wasted. Match the level to the stage: an accurate massing model to decide the design, then materials and landscaping once the drawings settle. Our order levels follow that logic, and the model carries forward from one level to the next rather than being rebuilt.
Every change to the drawings after lighting and landscaping are set means rework on each affected view, and the schedule slips toward the launch date.
Start with an accurate model and grey views to settle massing, then add detail once the architect confirms the set. The scope says which drawing revision the views are based on.
More →A brick that reads orange on screen and brown on site erodes trust with buyers and with the architect.
Send the finish schedule plus photos of the physical samples in daylight. We show material options side by side in review, so the choice is made on the image, not in an email.
More →The architect, the marketing lead and the developer each reply to a different email, and their comments conflict.
Everyone marks up the same image in StudioLink. Comments are pinned to the spot they refer to, and each version is kept, so you can see who asked for what.
More →The design changed, but the brochure, the website and a broker's email still show the previous version.
The approved version is the one in your library. Older versions stay on the record but are marked as replaced, so nobody downloads the wrong file.
More →Unscoped extras arrive late, and nobody agreed what they add to the schedule.
The scope lists views and review rounds. Extras are quoted before we start them, never after.
More →CAD, Revit or SketchUp files are best. PDF plans, elevations and sections work too. Add the site plan, the finish schedule, the landscape plan and, for interiors, the designer's package if you have them.
Missing roof plans, unclear railing details or an unfinished landscape plan are listed up front, with the assumption we'll make for each one until you confirm it.
We build the true 3D model and send grey views from the proposed camera positions. This is where you choose angles, not after lighting is done.
Finishes, glazing, time of day and landscaping go on. The first coloured round comes back for markup.
People, cars, furniture and planting are added to suit the story, then a final review.
You approve once. Web and print sizes are delivered, and the approved files sit in your StudioLink library.
To confirm the building is right: proportions, glazing, railing, rooflines.
The current drawing set and quick answers on details the drawings leave open.
The architect reviews the grey and coloured rounds on the same record and pins comments on the exact element.
Planting shown at a believable size, not at maturity on opening day.
The landscape plan and a plant list.
Their markups sit next to the architect's, so trees don't get added in one round and removed in the next.
Finishes and lighting that match their specification.
The finish schedule and fixture selections.
Material options appear side by side in review, and the chosen one is recorded.
Images that sell the life, sized for every channel.
The buyer profile and the channels the images will run on.
Marketing sees the design has been approved before they style it, so the hero image never runs ahead of the drawings.
An approved rendering scene is an asset, not a one-off picture. The same model makes the rezoning views, the film, the seasonal and styling variations, the web tour and the sales-centre screens. When the architect changes a window, it changes once and flows to each use. Ask for this at the start, because a scene built only for one still image is often missing the parts a film or tour needs.
Yes. Send the schedule or photos, and we'll show the material options in review.
Your scope says how many. Extra rounds are quoted before we start them, never after.
It depends on how many views you need, how complete the drawings are and how many review rounds you use. The biggest delay is usually waiting on design answers. You see the dates in your scope before we start.
A 3D model from Revit, SketchUp or CAD is ideal, but PDF plans, elevations and sections are enough to build from. Add a finish schedule and a landscape plan if you have them. We list anything missing before we start.
Yes. Early massing views are useful for design decisions and feasibility. Keep the detail level low until the design is settled, so you don't pay twice for changes.
The building is modelled from your drawings, so its geometry is accurate to the drawing set we were given. Camera positions and lens choices are recorded, and for council work we use eye-height views that don't exaggerate space.
Yes. Both mark up the same image in StudioLink, and each comment is kept with the version it refers to.
Yes. The scene stays on the project, so a later phase, a new season or a design change starts from the approved model rather than from scratch.
The number of views, the level of detail, how final the design is, the number of revision rounds and the deadline. Our guide to rendering cost explains each one.
