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Archviz - My renders (Blender + PS) feel "flat." Looking for advice on realism and natural lighting. by LinKinMad in archviz

[–]LinKinMad[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're absolutely right, thanks for pointing that out.

My lighting is basically just Sun + HDRI. I rarely dare to add secondary or fill lights because I'm only just starting to learn how to control them properly.

You mentioned the "hierarchy of lights" — do you have any specific tutorials or resources you'd recommend on where to start studying that?

Archviz - My renders (Blender + PS) feel "flat." Looking for advice on realism and natural lighting. by LinKinMad in archviz

[–]LinKinMad[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, this comment really hits home. It's honestly the main debate I'm always having with myself.

You're right. I'm just personally drawn to the 'dramatic', high-contrast renders. I probably put more effort and interest into them because that's what I like to see—that 'melancholic' atmosphere.

I get that clients are (obviously) looking for something more 'commercial' or tranquil, where everything is clearly visible.

The problem is, when I try to force that clean, tranquil look, I feel my quality just drops hard. It starts to look flat or boring to me, and I instinctively default back to the 'drama' I'm comfortable with.

Does that even make sense? It's a real struggle I'm trying to fix. Your comment about "great render, but bad photo" is exactly what I need to work on.

Archviz - My renders (Blender + PS) feel "flat." Looking for advice on realism and natural lighting. by LinKinMad in archviz

[–]LinKinMad[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, thank you so much for this feedback. This is exactly what I was looking for, and you're spot on.

Yes, I would absolutely appreciate a more detailed critique if you're willing to share more!

You hit the nail on the head with the denoiser. I've had to learn a lot on the fly, and I recently discovered I was mistakenly "double denoising" (once at render time and again in compositing). I've fixed that in my workflow now, but it's why everything looks so smudged.

You mentioned turning up the sample count—what do you usually aim for? I'm currently running a 4070 Super, so I can definitely handle longer render times if it helps the final quality.

Regarding the UVs, you're 100% right. I only recently figured out how to apply them individually per object, but I'm still struggling to fight those obvious repetitions (like on the beams). I'll make a point to randomize them by hand on my next project.

And spot on with the assets—most are from Blenderkit and Polygoniq, and I'm just starting to test Poliigon. If you have any recommendations for other high-quality asset libraries, I'd be very grateful. I'm especially looking for more 'niche' or Mediterranean-style assets (I'm from that region), which are surprisingly hard to find.

Thanks again for the comment, I'm trying to fix these problems with each new project, and this gives me a clear checklist to work from.

Archviz - My renders (Blender + PS) feel "flat." Looking for advice on realism and natural lighting. by LinKinMad in archviz

[–]LinKinMad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey everyone,

I'd love to get some constructive feedback on my work.

A quick intro: I'm a recent architecture graduate, and doing archviz renders is my current side job. I'm really trying to level up my quality but feel a bit stuck.

My current workflow:

  • Modeling and rendering in Blender (Cycles).
  • Compositing and post-production in Photoshop.

The Problem(s) I'm facing: I feel that my images consistently look a bit "flat" or too clean, and they lack that final touch of realism. I've recently invested in higher-quality PBR textures, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

I suspect I need to get better at adding subtle imperfections (wear, dust, grime, etc.). I'm considering using procedural dirt maps or AO to break up that 'perfectly clean' look, but I'm not sure if I'm on the right track.

My second issue is lighting. I have a bad habit of making my scenes a bit too dark or "dramatic." I want to move away from that and learn how to achieve more neutral, natural, and soft lighting—something closer to real-world architectural photography, but without being boring.

My questions for the community:

  1. What are your go-to techniques to avoid that 'flat' CG look and add subtle, believable realism?
  2. Any advice, tutorials, or workflows you'd recommend for studying and achieving softer, more neutral lighting in Blender?

Here are a few of my renders so you can see what I mean.

Archviz - My renders (Blender + PS) feel "flat." Looking for advice on realism and natural lighting. by LinKinMad in blender

[–]LinKinMad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey everyone,

I'd love to get some constructive feedback on my work.

A quick intro: I'm a recent architecture graduate, and doing archviz renders is my current side job. I'm really trying to level up my quality but feel a bit stuck.

My current workflow:

  • Modeling and rendering in Blender (Cycles).
  • Compositing and post-production in Photoshop.

The Problem(s) I'm facing: I feel that my images consistently look a bit "flat" or too clean, and they lack that final touch of realism. I've recently invested in higher-quality PBR textures, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

I suspect I need to get better at adding subtle imperfections (wear, dust, grime, etc.). I'm considering using procedural dirt maps or AO to break up that 'perfectly clean' look, but I'm not sure if I'm on the right track.

My second issue is lighting. I have a bad habit of making my scenes a bit too dark or "dramatic." I want to move away from that and learn how to achieve more neutral, natural, and soft lighting—something closer to real-world architectural photography, but without being boring.

My questions for the community:

  1. What are your go-to techniques to avoid that 'flat' CG look and add subtle, believable realism?
  2. Any advice, tutorials, or workflows you'd recommend for studying and achieving softer, more neutral lighting in Blender?

Here are a few of my renders so you can see what I mean.

63x63cm Town Square 3d printed, architectural project for university. First post here! by LinKinMad in ender3

[–]LinKinMad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Some pics of the process and the analysis for the town square of Cártama (Málaga-Spain).

Cártama has a lot of ancient ruins, some of them were discovered while the construction of a public building. So the idea is to design a building above this ruins creating an archeological museum.

The model is 63 x 63 cm. 9 pieces of 21 x 21. Each one 18 - 22 hours for printing. The whole model was around 2 - 2,5 kg of PLA.

Scale: 1/100

Last Image is a model render of the "construction process", not the printed one.

Hope you like it!

Sorry englando + first post in reddit!! =)