Why Your 3D Renders Look Fake – 5 Tips

Designer Darren Thomas explains why your 3D renders look fake and offers 5 tips to improve realism. Perfection is your enemy, and technology will only get you so far, as real life is messy and imperfect.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

If you’re a creator of 3D imagery, you know that many aspects of a scene need to come together to create a truly photoreal image.

It becomes a little harder if you’ve commissioned 3D work, and you feel it’s just not hitting the mark.What is it that isn’t working? Trying to pinpoint the problems can be frustrating and time-consuming. This list is aimed at both the creator and consumer of 3D imagery. Use it as a guide as you evaluate your work, and in doing so you’ll avoid some common mistakes.

Here are the titles of the 5 tips Darrren offers:

1. Let’s talk about sharp edges
2. Pay attention to shadows
3. Adding a pinch of chaos
4. Focus on the focal length
5. Adding a layer of photoreal goodness

Read the full article to go in depth and better understand how to create more photorealistic images.

Read More

About Darren Thomas
As a trained designer I am analytical in my approach, creative in exploration, and pragmatic in my execution. I’m a partner at The Image Faculty in Copenhagen.

Here a few other tutorials that might interest you:

• Physically Based Rendering / PBR Explained for 3D Artists
• Sapphire Luna – Create a Photorealistic Moon Rendering
• Maxon Cinema 4D and Arnold Render Tutorials for Shaders
• Procedural Shading with Maya & V-Ray