Conclusion

To conclude, I have thoroughly enjoyed this unit of work. It has pushed me to create beautiful pieces of art in different circumstances to normal units. Before we were always asked to create pieces of work that were relevant to the set of tutorials taught to us, or to learn to create work in a group. However, this term I have been pushed to learn a great deal more about my specialist area, including where it will be used in certain industries and what I will actually be creating. I'm also glad that I focused my dissertation on architectural modelling too because the research just went hand in hand and totally helped with the general stress that I normally get from university projects.

I'm glad that I had the opportunity to work with Architectural worker John O'Keffe because not only has he given me valid opinions of my work and taught me about what to expect in the industry but he has also taken me under his wing and given me an opportunity to feel what it is like to work for "a client", even though I was essentially volunteering.  The outcome of the work that I created from this experience is also something that I can really say that I am proud of and that I created overall in a very short space of time (roughly 2-3 hours for the whole thing).

Because I created most of that stage piece early on in the first half of term, I felt that I really should create something that was slightly more challenging but also from a perspective outside of a building to show that I am capable of creating a variety of different three-dimensional environmental designs. I chose the Saviour of Blood Chapel and I felt that it met this criteria that I set myself. I also had to make sure that I was running on track with my schedule so that I could fit in another piece. I generally managed to keep on top of my schedule throughout the project but a couple of things slipped past me.

Overall I am quite happy with my outcomes from this unit and I can't wait to see what I am capable of bringing to a team next term.

Final Pieces

So as I have said before, I have created two final projects for my portfolio. The first being the Architectural artistic impression, whilst the second being a complicated model of the Russian Chapel, "Saviour of Blood".

Other innovative ideas in cg purposes

According to a website called Deezen, some people have already begun a race to build the first ever 3d printed livable house. Architecture teams based in London and Amsterdam are now rushing to structurally produce and assemble the first printed structure, using 3d technology in a way that could change the housing development as we know it. Gilles Retin of Softkill Design says that:

“"When we started our research, we were dealing in science fiction. Everyone on the architecture scene was saying, 'It’s only going to be possible in 50 or 60 years.' But when we were sitting at the table in front of one of these 3D-printing companies, these guys were like, 'Yeah, no problem – let's start up the research, let's push it.' So it's not actually that far off any more."- Gilles Retin of Softkill Design

A man called Benjamin Dillenburger is actually in the process of creating a whole 3d printed house. So far he has only created a single room but it's still an amazing example of how architectural modelling can be used. Perhaps one day everyone will live in three-dimensionally printed house and everything will be creatively processed.

However of course, not only is there technology to create things in real life from virtual things but there is of course another method in which you can scan entire subjects (not just people) into your 3D program. Various Scanning studios such as “The Astronauts” have been using their rig developments to scan objects ranging from cars to all kinds of assets. The purpose of scanning objects like this has so far been used to create detailed digital compositions within films and advertising, where they keep trying to make things look as physically real as possible. Somebody anonymous asked this question on Quora: “Will 3D Scanning be a good tool for creating video games? Could it cut down time for developing 3D video games”. Dave Cahill answered saying that he doubts companies using it over normal modelling techniques due to an increased amount of polygons. He also said that there would be no real advantage of scanning a real world location because cleaning up the overall data would probably become far more handful than to simply create something creatively or loosely based on images of a real place. However on the Astronaut’s website, they boast how they have managed to scan an entire real-life church and recreate it perfectly in 3D. It’s a method known as “Photogrammetry”. You basically have to take pictures of a complete subject area, then feed the data back into the computer. Although if you miss a certain section of any part, you end up with an absolute mess of glitches everywhere forcing you to redo the entire thing.

How is Architectural work changing?

Up to date CAD software is constantly changing in a way to improve the quality of designs, along with improving communication between documentations and a database for manufacturing. CAD is used in many areas of architecture including automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, industrial building and prosthetics, among other uses. Its also a big part within product lifestyle management. Autodesk Revit is another example that allows the user to manipulate or assemble an entire building inside the program. Revit is divided into three major categories within family groups. These include system families (the walls of the building), loadable families (components and assets) and the inplace families which are built in within a project. Revit is also considered an advanced version of AutoCAD.It is far superior to AutoCad with the abilities to achieve so much stronger designs.

BIM modelling from an architectural point of view is currently and mainly used for plumbing and electricity maintenance (MEP). Current versions AutoCad software give an accurate building representation. This can be used to control or observe areas such as water and gas usage without actually spending time trying to check the information by hand. For example, for a building that has some sort of leak, rather than exploring  the real life environment, they can turn to the model to track down where the dodgy valve is located. Sensor measurement and control signs can also be incorporated within BIM software to support analysis of the system maintenance.

The future potential of 3d designing overall then is obviously improved visuals and productivity due to use of newer rendering information, increased coordination of construction documentation, embedding and linking of vital information relevant to the building (including materials, location of things). Another newly developed game changer is a new app available on all current smart phones which lets you create a rough 3d visualisation just by pointing the mobile camera at 2d blueprints on a table. The app is being developed by a company called Arch20.com. Having a further look into mobile apps that are available for architects, there is  quite a selection and it seems that they are quite useful too. Archdaily.com has shared what they believe are the top 10 mobile apps for architcture, including AutoCAD 360, Autodesk Formit (Which is basically a toned down version of Revit) and the websites personal favourite, “Paper”, which consiss of five tools and a blank canvas, coupled with as many virtual sketchbooks as you want. Paper won apple’s Designing app of the year back in 2012 and apparently nothing’s beaten it yet three years later. All Autodesk mobile apps are currently free, therefore this implies that they are not quite worthwhile for professional use compared to their big brother PC counterparts (obviously phones aren’t nearly as powerful as computers are).  

Is money an issue in my industry?

The massive companies in this business are making an absolute steal in revenues. Autodesk made a profit of $2.5 billion dollars in 2014 from the sales of their various software to development companies and freelancers alike. The problem with most industry standard programs is that they are proprietary software, i.e. you have to pay a fortune to use them with an official licence (e.g. 3ds max). There are ways of course to get a free version, whether you are a student or have obtained it from other mysterious methods, but to actually publish a piece of work, you are require to own a copy. Otherwise you are inflicting copyright infringement. Some other licenced Autodesk products include AD inventor, maya, revit and softimage.

When looking for various job opportunities in Architectural designing, a website called “Careers in Construction” instantly came out with 240 available jobs. A vast majority of the recruiting companies include Hays, Bespoke and Yourstoree, with an average starting salary of around £20k. A simple job on this wage from Hays includes being an Architectural technician, at which requires an advanced knowledge and proficiency in AutoCAD. You should had have also had some sort of experience, whether it be an internship, out of education for a year in a relevant job to residential apartments. And of course you must be highly capable in a technical respective. Eventually you can then build up enough experience towards a £40K-£50K job in team management. The requirements to be a “Principal architect” at the same company requires extensive, proven experience at a senior level- designing firm alongside delivering large scale projects in the commercial and industrial sectors. Other management requirements are obviously being organised along with understanding Revit.

Now for 3d environment artists, I’m looking at the job site “Indeed”. The absolute bare minimum wage in 3d modelling is roughly between £20-£30k. A company called “Frame” us looking for a willing junior Architectural visualizer. The company offers an opportunity to mainly use 3ds max to complete 3ds modelling tasks and I have to demonstrate my abilities in a promising portfolio full of photorealistic visual images with a major focus on lighting, Materials and textures. Major Video game company Rockstar Games on the other hand is currently looking for a “senior environmental artist” position. To meet their requirements you have to of achieved at least 5 years of post educational experience in 3d design production, alongside a proven track record in triple A titles. Here is the full list of what they require:

Transcript interview

I interviewed a self employed architectural freelancer, Mr. John O’Keefe after he kindly replied to my emails and gave me that work experience.

Can you think of any differences in Architectural work over recent years?

“Residential work has changed dramatically. The clients are more interested in style and the actual architecture work isn’t quite as costly as it used to be. For example a client may wish to only change a small feature such as particular doors or other minor details which may not need as much work put in as a full on extension. In fact, overall people are actually looking for much more flamboyant designs. This makes a change from just regular boring work to make it more interesting for everyone.”

Are there any new techniques?

“Of course there is the yearly update of Autocad and other Autodesk products, but personally I don’t think it's really changed that much. The new features seem a little bit gimmicky, but maybe that's because I just haven’t tried the new software out.”

Are 3D modelling artists still required for architectural work?

“Definitely. Companies and clients alike are becoming more likely to hand out larger budgets because people are actually afraid of whether or not the artist can complete the work to an exceptional standard and quality. But saying that, 3D artist are not always required for planning because it’s faster to quickly sketch it out in 2D on paper or in AutoCAD. However anything contentious that will eventually become a public enquiry requires a 3D design for sure.”

Research on autodesk programs

It was pretty handy that I based my dissertation around my kind of portfolio interest of work because I can happily use the same research for both pieces technically.

Autodesk's range of Architecture, engineering and construction software solutions include of course autocad Architecture (Released 1998), MEP (BIM software which was first concepted as an idea in 1970) and Civil 3D (which was first prototyped in 1982). Another company that competes with Autodesk to the present day is called Bentley Systems and they have created a similar program known as Microstation, which plays a similar role in the creation of digital environments. Other three-dimensional modelling programs include: Art of illustration, blender, zbrush, pythonOCC, open Cascade and various other CAD inspired software and addons.