Day Vs Night Render – What 3D Render Environment to use?
- Educational
- May 13, 2021
When creating. Night vs Day 3D Renders, the potential to make changes to all aspects of the design is limitless. Beyond the design of the building itself, this extends to selecting textures and colors, adding objects such as people, cars, and furniture as well as changing the outer environment and landscaping that is within and around the project.
One of, if not the most drastic way to affect the finish of a 3d render is through manipulation of the light sources. By changing the amount, direction, size, and power of light sources, the time of day that a render ‘feels like’ can completely change…., as well as the quality of the overall render!
Combine this with adjusting the background, allows you to easily manipulate to render to represent any time of day or weather conditions.
Within this article, we will review some of the most common environment settings used to create 3d renders for architectural visualization and property marketing. We will discuss what goes into the lighting and background to create a certain time of day and conditions, how these can best interact with other objects and surfaces within the render, and some of the best ways to use each setting.
Night and Day 3D Renders and why they are a fantastic way to visualize and market your projects.
Day Renders
The most commonly used time setting, a day time render visualizes a project through the brightest part of the day. Traditionally these will best set to visualize a clear-skied, sunny day between the hours of 11 am and 2 pm. Daytime renders depend on the Sun as the sole source of light so positioning is vital.
This setting works particularly well with large reflective surfaces and large bodies of water. Swimming pools, ponds, and the ocean do well to reflect the light, sky, and surroundings within a render. The same effect can be found with projects that have a lot of windows or window walls…, particularly in larger buildings.
Day Renders are perfect for:
- White and bright coastal homes.
- Homes on the water.
- Outdoor areas with a body of water.
- Residential homes with minimal exterior lighting.
- Multiple home developments.
- Coastal highrises.
Night Renders
A Night-Time Render is used to visualize a project at a time after the sun has fully set. Although there is a light source to simulate that of the moon and/or street lighting, a majority of the lighting depends on the internal and external lighting of the project.
This means its important to think about the internal and external light fittings of a home and whether it is right for a Night-Time render.
As we know, when it is darker outside and lights are on inside and around a home, you can see within the building. This small detail allows for a ‘sneak peak’ into the home, adding some real character to the render. Additionally, as there is the use of multiple smaller light sources, this light can have a great effect on smaller and/or close-by reflective surfaces like vehicles, windows, or small bodies of water.
Night and Day 3D Renders are perfect for;
- Homes with high use of internal/external lighting.
- High-End homes.
- Dark and/or Contemporary Homes.
- High Car Traffic Areas.
Night and Day 3D Renders, What’s In between?
A sunny day and a clear night are the two ends of the spectrum when it comes to selecting the time and conditions to visualize a project. Between the two, there are countless different options used to manipulate the environment of a 3d render. Two settings that are commonly used are ‘Dusk’ and ‘Rainy’.
Dusk Render
A dusk time render will visualize a project at a time while the sun is setting. With a Dusk Render, both the setting sun and the internal/external lights are the primary lighting sources. This, however, depends on the stage of the sunset the render is visualized at.
Probably the most appealing characteristic of a dusk render is the picturesque sky you set in the background. Additionally, as the sunlight source has less strength than a daytime render. The contrast allows for internal and external light to have a greater effect without losing the detail you traditionally would in a nighttime render. This is perfect if you want the attractive effect of a nighttime render, while showing some of the finer details or a space being used by model people.
Dusk Renders are perfect for:
- Suburban Homes.
- Commercial / Mixed space in use.
- Homes with medium lighting.
- Multiple Homes Developments.
Rainy Dusk / Rainy Night Render
A Rainy Dusk or Rainy Night render will visualize a project at any time with conditions that mimic currently or previously stormy weather. As the sun is either blocked out or not out at all, Rainy renders are mostly dependent on the external and internal light sources within the project or environment. For that reason, we refer these to Rainy Night Renders that mimic the nighttime and a Rainy Dusk that mimics all other times.
The best feature of a Rainy Dusk Renders or Rainy Night Render is the rain! Adding puddles of water around the environment allows for a lot of reflective surfaces. If you combine this with a high amount of lighting, you get an incredibly realistic effect. This is perfect for inner-city projects in densely populated areas that have a lot of lighting from the surrounding buildings, street lights, signs, car lights, and street lights. The use of a long exposure effect is commonly used to give a Rainy Dusk/Night Render a really nice finish.
Nigh Time Renders are perfect for:
- Dark Buildings
- CBD High Rise Buildings.
- Innercity / Populated areas
- High Car Traffic Areas.
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