What to call a high quality image

jeff hammond

i think the question isn't really about the definition of rendering or wether or not that name should be change. for one, i highly doubt the name will be change and i don't think it needs to change.

the problem is, people will see a rendering but not know what it's called or what to search for when they want to find out which software or techniques are used to create 3D renderings. (and the same problem is likely to occur no matter what the name would be)

so imagine you're new to the game, just saw a nice rendering and would like to learn how to make something like it yourself.. what are you going to type into the browser's search field?

in my case, i would use variations of 'real' which along with google suggestions leads me very quickly to podium, kerkythea, artlantis, and vray.. from there, i'd come across the word rendering and investigate further..

screen 1.jpg

honoluludesktop

Traditionally, a Architectural render was a presentation quality image that portrayed your project. Before computers, the Architect would put down his drafting tools, pick up watercolors, colored pencils, or use not for production techniques to "render" a design. In this context, a modeled, ray-traced, bumped mapped, textured, and "photoshopped" image is a rendering.

To my knowledge, the terms are still used that way in schools of Architecture.

Al Hart

@unknownuser said:

so imagine you're new to the game, just saw a nice rendering and would like to learn how to make something like it yourself.. what are you going to type into the browser's search field?

You hit the nail on the head. I have been calling the process "rendering" for so long that I have no idea what some who does not use that term might call the process. I will add the word "Realistic" to my search optimization. It turns out that Google sees Photorealistic and a very different term then Photo-Realistic when it comes to searching for just Realistic. (Realistic does not find Photorealistic, but does find Photo-realistic)

Phil Rader AIA

Illustration
Visualization
3d Drawing

Al Hart

@unknownuser said:

Illustration
Visualization

These two were good. Google used them to suggest:

SketchUp illustrator

as well.

tomsdesk

image export enhancer

TIG

To a layman 'rendering' can be something you do to song OR plaster/cement on a wall OR what you do to fat/dead-animals OR something you do to terrorist prisoners OR an image...

If it's a 'high quality image' why not call it just that ? There's no ambiguity...

pbacot

@tig said:

To a layman 'rendering' can be something you do to song OR plaster/cement on a wall OR what you do to fat/dead-animals OR something you do to terrorist prisoners OR an image...

If it's a 'high quality image' why not call it just that ? There's no ambiguity...

Because that doesn't say what it is. Depends on what you want. An outline term for a proposal of architectural services would be "architectural renderings" regardless of other uses of the word. No one would know what you are offering with "high quality images". If you want to be specific you can also say "photo-realistic perspective views" although MOST such offerings do not qualify as "high quality images". I totally disagree. If I offered high quality images to a developer that'd sound like hype and i could give them anything and say "looks like high quality to me!"

TIG

But 'photo-realistic images' might mean something more to them than to you ? Why not try 'computer generated images' - then show examples of varying levels of complexity... and the can choose from 'simple' through to 'deluxe' - the cost varies with the effort and quality...

Alan Fraser

Photorealistic render. The fact that it's qualified as photorealistic precludes it meaning boiling a whale down for oil...or any of the other possibilities.
I wouldn't use illustration. Being an illustrator by profession, it usually has the connotation of being hand drawn, but it gets a little weird...a book can be 'illustrated' with illustrations or photos.

Mike Lucey

REAL IMAGE!
REAL VIEW!
REAL PHOTO!
PHOTO IMAGE!
PHOTO VIEW!
REALISTIC VIEW!
REALISTIC VIEWS?
COMPUTER GENERATED REALISTIC VIEWS?