“Life is all about perception. Positive versus negative. Whichever you choose will affect and more than likely reflect your outcomes.” mel ii sw F ARCH WIZ iS) PAThe e-book “THE ART OF ART VIZ” focuses on the four basic subjects which should be known by every artist. It explains the composition rules, the power of the lighting and color, and how the characters change the perception of the image. You will find the knowledge in a nutshell on the factors that affecting the perception of illustration. These universal concepts can be used in any visualization and will help you to create an amazing experience for your viewer. Enjoy your reading!Authors Architecture engineers by profession. During their studies, they gained knowledge and experience in renowned architectural offices in the United States and Australia. Participants of numerous trainings in the field of architecture and design throughout Europe. During their education, they enjoyed visualizing their ideas the most and always thought that the graphic side of the project is the most important thing in its presentation. After graduation, they decided to become a CGI artists. They worked with the best offices in Australia, where they lived for several years. After returning to Poland, they founded the company - Black Balance, which creates architectural visualizations for marketing purposes. Their team worked on international projects located in Australia, Dubai, France and Great Britain, among others. Privately, travel, sport and art lovers. WEBSITE https://blackbalance.studio COURSE WEBSITE https://archvizartist.com INSTAGRAM https:/www.instagram.com/blackbalance_studio/Why we like some images more than others? “Life is all about perception. Positive versus negative. Whichever you choose will affect and ‘more than likely reflect your outcomes.” Sonya Teclai We live in a very fast moving world where there is a lot of information. People don't have time to look at everything and even less to analyze this. When was the last time an image made you stop for more than a few seconds? Do you remember any image which you wanted to look at twice? There are illustrations everywhere - itis really hard nowadays to draw anyone's attention. you want to sell something - a real estate, product, idea, the goal is to attract a viewer to explore an image, engage the audience and hold the attention once somebody will take a closer look. ‘Once | had a fruitful discussion with my friend, who is not an artistic kind of person. He asked me how itis that sometimes he simply likes an image, another time he is not even interested in, Every day he looks at tons of illustrations on social media and only a few of them draw his attention During our conversation, | pointed out some issues which affect our perception of viewing images. | thought this will be valuable for you as well so | collected here the main points. ‘The human brain likes things that are familiar. As human beings, we love balance because it is right in front of us - in nature. We don't have to think about the rules, we feel that something is right or not. But the thing is that these rules can help you to understand why some pictures are better than others. ‘And it applies not only to the painting itself but also to art as photography or architectural visualizations. You might not even think about it, but using these rules is what makes you like an image. That's why itis so important to have this point in mind during the process of creating and choosing an image. In the first part, I'm going to discuss two main rules that influence our perception of viewing images: - Composition ~ Lighting COMPOSITION ‘The composition is one of the most important rules in creating a perfect image for any purpose. ‘Some of the tricks can be used to draw a viewer's attention for particular things (what you think is important in your project, what do you want to show your target audience). Well, if itis so important, let me explain how it works. ‘Composition describes placement of visual elements in an image. It is all about putting together objects in a way which emphasizes the parts you want to by making them stand out. ‘Our studio always starts from the basics in order to interest your potential clients and then to keep the attention as long as possible. If these are right, you have more chances that somebody will see your building, product or an idea instead of others!FOCUS POINT (EMPHASIS) At the beginning, the idea should come first when we want to determine the focus point. Asking yourself some questions will help with finding the solution. What will be the message coming from an image? Which elements of the design should be a center of interest? Or what you really want to show to the audience? Itis all about dominance and influence, the balance between the essential aspects of the project and these less important ones. Here are the techniques used by the artists to emphasize the most important bits of an image: 1. Using strong saturated color. ee RUA es In this image, the idea was to show the collection of products - the tables. Because the background is. toned, the saturated tops of the tables - stand out. The viewer's attention is automatically directed to the tables.2. High contrast where the important things are. ‘The main goal in this visualization was to emphasize the outside garden and its connection with the bathroom. By using the high lighting contrast between interior and exterior, the garden is exposed, and the viewer's eyes are automatically directed to this area. 3. A camera focused on the part that the artist wants to show. ‘These examples show how different the viewer's perception can be, depending on the focal point the artist chooses. In the first image, the attention is drawn to the bunch of flowers. Second one, ‘emphasize the inner part of the kitchen.4. Creating a movement. By adding the movement to the curtains, the viewer's eyes are directed to the house which is the object of this visualization, 5. Placing figures and faces. Figures and faces arouse the interest immediately and draw the viewer's attention in their direction, This part will be explained more detailed in the second part of the article.STRUCTURE - ARRANGEMENT EXAMPLES ‘There is a lot of types of composition, however, | am explaining the main ones below. 1. Symmetry This is a perfect example of balance - one half (top/bottom, leftright, diagonal split) of an image is identical (or nearly identical) to the other. Symmetry makes the buildings looking powerful - that’s why you can find a lot of photography of churches or governmental buildings using these rules. 2. Golden Ratio ‘The Golden Ratio is a mathematical ratio which allows an artist to perfectly balance a composition. You can find a lot of examples of this rule in nature (shell, plants, human body, etc).3. The rule of thirds was | Imagine that you are breaking the images down into nine equal pieces ( three horizontally and three vertically) ‘The theory behind this is to place the points of interest in the intersections or along the lines.LIGHTING Lighting is the most powerful tool to capture emotions. Lighting can change the mood, atmosphere, and depth of any illustration. That's why choosing the lighting during the process of creating an image is so crucial. There is no scene without the light, there is just a black render. By changing the lighting we change our perception of things. Different lighting, different effect - let me explain what are the main differences for natural light depending on the time of day. 1. Golden Hour The period shortly after sunrise and before sunset. Lighting during this time of day adds warm color, texture, and depth to the scene. It creates dramatic and artistic images with gentle mood and subtle atmosphere. It works really well in both interior and exterior images, 2. Blue Hour Also known as dusk or twilight, the period before sunrise and after sunset. During the blue hour, contrast is low and the light casts a cool palette tone, Images occur to be more subdued. This period of time works great with urban and city scenery where soft natural light contrasts with artifical lights ‘coming from street lights and buildings. Excellent idea is to use the blue hour lighting in the interiors where cold natural light is balanced by warm light from the room, 103. Mid-morning or afternoon Itis the best time for creating general images because the sky casts a slightly more yellow subtle light and eliminates harsh shadows. This type of lighting doesn't give a moody atmosphere but can work really well, -ex. if you want to show the space that will be used mainly during the day hours as a balcony, a park or a building of the school. 4, Midday Between 11 am and 1 pm, itis possibly the worst time for images because of harsh light from the sun. In the images created during these hours, the sunlight that is high above the horizontal line is strong and the shadows are harsh Photographs wake up before everybody and go back late for a reason. The most beneficial moment from the photographic point of view is when the sun is close to the horizon. In the midday, you should look for photos composed with few simple elements. It is not impossible to find a unique image during this time but itis not a simple task to come up with the outstanding illustration. When it comes to architectural visualization and you have an opportunity to choose whatever lighting you want, selecting the midday time seems unsupported. 115. Night During this time, you can create a unique nighttime image of the city with the colorful lights around or an impressive shot of the interior with exposed indoor lights. It makes the image really special, creates a dramatic, mysterious, and glamour look. 6. Dark ight Conceals information from viewers, making an image appear mysterious, refined and moody. It works well for instance with high-end interiors with adaitional use of fill lights. 127. Bright Light Adds lightness and cheerful mood. If your goal is to create a happy, optimistic, and airy atmosphere, the bright lighting will fit perfect. 8. Low Contrast Ifyou are looking for a more gentle, intimate and subtle atmosphere, low contrast image can be a good choice. Low contrast images don't draw attention as the high contrast ones, but well - used can create a subtle, muted, and relaxed mood. 439. High Contrast The high contrast images attract attention, look punchy and vibrant. Strong contrast makes an image look dramatic and outstanding. It works well, for instance in interior with bright, warm light during the evening. ‘To sum up, a composition and lighting play a key role in creating an image. By changing the arrangement of the visual elements and chiaroscuro, we can influence how the viewer understand the illustration. Depends on the goal we want to achieve, we can show the same space in many ways. A Crucial issue will be decision - what the final output has to be. 14COLORS Why colors are important? 1. Colors stimulate emotions, affect mood. 2. Colors draw a viewer's attention, 3. Colors can guide the viewer's eyes where it's important. 4, Colors emphasize a uniqueness. 5. Colors can bring out the message. Warm Colors vs Cold Colors Warm colors remind us of things like the sun or fire. They are associated with heightened emotions, passion, joy, and playfulness. They ‘make spaces look cozy and more intimate. Cold colors remind us of things like water, sky or ‘grass. Cool colors recede what affects the perception of depth. They make spaces look calm, relaxed and refreshed The Color Wheel The color wheel is all about mixing colors. When you mix the primary colors such as red, yellow and blue, you will get the secondary colors - orange, green and violet. By mixing the secondary colors with the base ones, you wil get tertiary colors: red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet. WARM coLors cop coLors THE COLOR WHEEL 15Color Harmony - Color Shemes The relation between colors remarkably influences on our perception. Some of the colors work great together, they give a pleasant visual reaction, others quite the opposite. Below, | am going to show you some color schemes and the use of them. 1. Monochromatic - various shades, tones, and tints of one color. Lin ty 1. Analogus - any three colors which are side by side on the color wheel. Analogous 161. Triadic - any three colors that are evenly spaced around the wheel. Triadic 1. Complementary - two colors that are opposite each other on the wheel. 171. Split-Complementary - any color on the wheel plus the two colors adjacent to its complement. 1, Double-Complementary - two complementary pairs. 18Color Context ‘Some things that matter in terms of color context: 1. Depends on the context of the color, we perceive colors differently. 2. The edges between similar colors look softer, blurred. 3. Saturated complementary colors next to each other have hard edges. 4, Ambient and reflected light alters color perception. Look at the image below. The shapes in the middle have the same size, shape, and color. The only thing that changes is a background color. Are they looking differently, aren't they? 19CHARACTERS The role of people in the image: 1. People give life and scale to the spaces you are proposing, 2. They add energy and movement. 3. Characters give a message to the image. 4, They evoke emotions, deep feelings. 5. Humans identify themselves with characters in the image. 6. They can be used as visual weight, meaning that the viewer's eye is automatically attracted. FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERCEPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS: 1. ACTIVITY Ifyou want to show the sense of the space, i's people that best convey your viewer's heart. I's not so ‘much about explaining the design itself, i's more about community-focused improvements, the new opportunity the audience can discover in the project. That's why itis so important to show the viewer the interaction between the architecture and the users. In many cases, it is essential to show how space can be used and what kind of activity we want to show. 2. INTENSITY When we know what kind of activity represents our projects, we should focus on how crowded the place will be. If we want to show that it will be a really busy space or we want to concentrate more on the quality of the space. Its not always the best idea to put a lot of people in the scene, sometimes it is worth to show some situations of few people so the viewer is not confused about what's going on there. 3. TYPE OF PEOPLE First of all, think about your target audience - how they are, how old are they, which social group they belong, what type of interest they can have? People need to see representations of themselves. When we see other people - their faces, expressions, clothing, lifestyles - we can easily identify with them. Sometimes characters - their appearance, energy, and expressiveness - can say more about the place than space itself. 20ROLE OF PEOPLE IN COMPOSITION ‘The human faces or figures in the image attract the viewer's eyes automatically. By using characters in the image, you can guide your viewer, you are able to show what's important in the first place. Even the look direction of the character is important because we naturally look in the same way the character is looking at After reading this article, | think you have no doubt how the big role has colors and people in the pictures. They are like a road - signs, show the direction which the viewer's eyes should follow. They ‘emphasize the essence of the space, give the value and character. Alin all, again - marketing with high-end architectural visualization is such an amazing way not only to show the idea and the interpretation of the space but also is a tool to connect with the target audience, guide them through the story that evokes their dreams and emotions. By using a relevant composition, lighting, colors, and characters we can “paint” this story depends on our purposes. 21