10 Reasons Why Your Render Sucks

posted by redbyte from CGTALK

I've been a member of these forums for several years now and I
regularly check out the 3d stills gallery for inspiration. I recently
realised that a lot of artwork is suffering from some very basic
mistakes that are stopping it from being excellent. So I decided to
address these mistakes in article titled:

10 Reasons Why Your Render Sucks

I'm sure I'm only scraping the surface here, so I thought I'd ask the
community, what are the key problems you see time and time again in 3d
art?

Here we go...

1. There’s no point It doesn’t tell a story, it’s not
advertising anything and it’s certainly not pretty. What exactly is the
viewer getting from this? Nothing makes me close the window faster than
a piece of art with no clear objective.

2. You use pre-made content Stock models are great for studios
who want to save time and money by purchasing a pre-made model. But it
has absolutely no place in your portfolio. Personally I find no pride
in showing someone a render that I haven’t created entirely by myself,
but that’s just me. If you don’t know how to model it, why not learn?

3. You’re copying something far more successful I love Wall-E as
much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean I try to mimic what a
professional studio has slaved over for years on end. Why? Because
unless it’s an uncanny comparison (which it won’t be) viewers will only
spot it’s flaws.

4. You didn’t plan it on paper first It’s easy to tell when an
artist failed to put their idea on paper first: it’s a confusing mess.
They started with an idea, skipped the planning stage and jumped
straight to their 3d program. Most artists cannot model/texture/render
in 3d at the same speed as their imagination. The best thing you can do
is put it on paper as soon as the idea strikes you, that way you have a
reference in 2 weeks time when you’re sitting at your computer and
asking, “what was I making again?”.

5. It’s cliche If I see another cave troll or big breasted
warrior I’m going to puke. Be original and create something that
everyone hasn’t already seen a thousand times.

6. It’s a test render Hey cool, you just got your head around
the new array modifier! Don’t post it on the net. Test renders are
exactly that. Tests. They are a learning experience that should remain
on your hard drive.

7. It’s poorly lit Let me say this once and for all: Dark is not
moody. If you want to create a moody atmosphere there are plenty of
ways of doing it, but making your scene dimly lit is not one of them.
Pick up a copy of Jeremy Birn’s Digital Lighting and Rendering to learn
how to light your scene like a pro.

8. You don’t realise it sucks No one likes receiving bad
feedback on their artwork, especially after you’ve spent weeks creating
it, but to tell the hundreds of posters that they “just don’t
understand it” is like throwing salt on the wound. If you want to
progress as an artist you need to be able to take critiques on-board
and learn from your mistakes.

9. It’s boring architecture Archiviz is great skill to have
under your belt. There’s a lot of work available and it pays quite
well, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring and emotionless. Read
my post on 10 Architectural renders that break the mold or watch Alex Roman’s amazing short The Third and the Seventh and you’ll pick up dozens of ways to make still architecture interesting.

10. It’s overly post-processed There’s nothing wrong with fixing
the colour levels or altering the contrast in Photoshop, but when you
start adding filters and chromatic aberration to hide your own
incompetencies there’s a problem.

More Reasons on that thread there...

thanks for sharing... shapul sha pucho...

WOW........ang dami kong natutunan.......and thanks for sharing sir kurdaps...........

Yhna wrote:thanks for sharing... shapul sha pucho...

sapul nga sheen, dapat pag-igihan pa natin sa susunod... , thanks sir kurdaps for sharing these thoughts, more power...

galing! nice share. thanks a lot

great article sir, thanks for this inspiration.

he he he...nagbasa naman ako ng jeremy birn na libro...bayad sa akin ng pinsan kong client..pero, dehins pa din ok sa olrayt yung render ko, it still sucks...nyehehehe....

ulitin ko ulit basahin, for the nth time...

thanks for sharing sir kurdaps...

great post

thanks for sharing sir kurdaps now i know why my render sucks!!!

All true my render also sucks big time...no nothing just eye candy and client choice bruhaha...im money centered

maybe its time to change...but im still learning lolz...

Good read sir Kurdaps

well said master kurdaps. thanks for the input

Salamat sa pagshare sir kurdaps.

Tama.

galing nito bro. thanks for sharing! this is very real. some old habits are really hard to break. I'm gonna save this!

nays!
tinamaan ako a ^^...pero ok to daming mapupulot na aral

thanks for sharing kurdaps!...

I'm gonna have to say: very nice indeed... Thanks master daps...

thanks for sharing sir..oks na oks to....

be guided by these points mentioned in this article plus thousands of test renders and hundreds of hours of practice...every output will come out a piece of art!

Thanks for sharing kuya sherwin!


--enigs

very well said, master kurdaps!

galing ng sharing po,nakakabuhay lalo tuloy gaganahan ang iba.salamat po...

Very inspiring article and giving us a boost to make better & greater.

nakaka relate...tsk

If you all just read the forums thoroughly you won't need to be surprised like its the first time you're hearing, "Hey, your render sucks bigtime!"

My only take in what the author said about test renders - I do not think test renders are bad or one should hide them, instead I would advise everyone to take the courage and show them around. Ask what others think of them and you will be surprised to find out that some critics do make sense to show you what you might have missed or have refused to see.

To make better renders, accept the fact that sooner or later somebody better than you will come - do not take this as an offense, the life of a cg artist is like a competition, there will be losers there will be winners. If you find yourself at the bottom of the spectrum - don't hate the winners, befriend them. Who knows he or she might take you into their clout and teach you a thing or to.

Its ok to render images that suck - for the meantime. Accept the criticisms. Humans learn by experience. Savor the flavor of the hurt. You don't like them ever happening, right? So aspire for the best and do better the next time.

If you receive comments whether its good or bad, be thankful - you're getting the attention for free right? Mas masaklap kapag alang pumansin sa yo. Pasalamat ka pinagtuunan ka ng pansin. Hindi ba. If the critic doesn't care for you - they'd rather spend their time somewhere else. Don't defend your obra like it's your one mighty ego. If you do that and assume a defensive stance, probabilities are you won't get any more comments. Specially if its me.

Sayonara.