The Tutorial for

Photoshop Rendering Interiors

By

Zean Mair-Macfarlane
Author's Note

A book inspired by popular request. Designers and

students have always asked me, “What software do
you use to render and how do you do it?” The
following ebook addresses this question through a
step by step guide to photoshop an interior
visualisation. From light to shadows, to cropping and
layering. The ebook aims to inspire all in the design
industry.

Zean Mair-Macfarlane
2017
The Author

Zean Mair-Macfarlane completed his Part 1 and Part 2

architecture degrees at the University of Lincoln
(United Kingdom). Macfarlane was able to gain a
distinction in his Part 2 along with a RIBA Student
Silver Medals Nomination. As well as teaching
architecture Macfarlane has also worked at renowned
practices such as Foster+Partners and David Collins
Studio.
 Collage

Photoshop Rendering in my opinion is basically digital

collaging. Unlike 3D softwares the key to Photoshop
rendering is layering! Those of you who have read my
previous ebook on drawing and rendering will have an
advantage at this point! As adding your own style is
key!
 What the…

Believe it or not this is how the render began. One

texture found on google. But be careful on the photos
you use on google. Risk breaking copyright law at your
own risk.
 Texture

Why this texture? Well I loved the brush marks on the

concrete and the colour was nicely muted. But I also
recommend people to take their own photos and build
up their own texture library.
 Adding another layer

I’m beginning to gather an early sense of

perspective at this stage. I often draw out my
composition by hand before beginning a render. In this
case I was lucky, the final vision was in my head.
 Tools

You may want to use the rectangle Marquee tool. This

will help you to trim down the square into the right
shape. That little toolbox will pop up throughout the
ebook. It’s just to help you understand what tools I’m
using at the time.
 Details

That little grey addition was meant to represent a

shadow gap skirting board. How I did it was really
quite simple. Scroll down to find out.
 Simple

It’s just a black box. You can use the marquee tool,
then fill it in with the bucket fool (I mean tool). Once
you’ve dragged it into place, bring down the opacity to
get your desired look.
 Walls

So you have a floor and the back wall. Now you have
the side wall. This is where the glass will go. Scroll
down to find out how to make the second wall.
 Polygonal Lasso Tool

This time we will use the polygonal lasso tool. This is

great to create shapes that aren’t squares or circles.
Once again fill the shape with your bucket tool. And
bring down the opacity to your desired amount.
 Props

We are slowly getting there right? Adding props,

furniture and atmosphere to a render really helps to
share your vision. How the hell did you get the rug
there though?
 Google

Google saves the day again. But there is a trick to

getting this right. Firstly don’t choose an ugly rug.
Secondly we need to get the perspective right.
 Skew

To skew an object you need to click:

“edit / transform / skew”

You’ll also want to use the magic wand tool to crop the
image. You can also use the magnetic lasso tool or
manually crop with the polygonal.
 Furniture

So unlike 3D softwares you are probably starting to

get that the key to this process is some patient
cropping and getting the angles right. The furniture
doesn’t come from 3D warehouse but…
 Yes

Google. Once again, the tricky bit is the selection and

the cropping. Cropping can take a while. It might be
worth youtubing cropping techniques for Photoshop if
you want to be a master.
 The crop

Be patient, the smoother the crop the nicer the end

result. You see those jagged edges of my lazy yellow
line there. You don’t want that.
 Shadows

Where did that shadow come from! Relax I’ll show you
how I did it below.
 How

Floating surrealist chair? No…That is in fact how I

created the shadow. I copied the chair. Flipped it.
Skewed it and then filled it black. And the final part
was pushing down the opacity.

Bonus tip: If you click on filter then blur, then click on

Gaussian blur you can make the shadow a little bit
softer.
 Taa Daa

A clock! Once again plucked from an image sourcing

website beginning with “G”
 Clock Shadow

Whenever creating a photoshop render remember

most things in general have a shadow. Especially if
there is intense light coming in through the window.
 Circle

This is called the elliptical marquee tool. And just

like the chair shadow I turned down the opacity and
gave the shadow a slight blur.
 Windows

In this case I’ve kept the window incredibly simple. I

thought it added to the graphic like style. Feel free to
go crazy though. You could import some windows with
more reflection, texture etc.
 How

The same lasso tool helped me to draw the window.

I’m a lover of art so that helped me to get the
perspective right. Or at least right enough.
 Scenery

The scenery is once again a photo. I’ve deleted the

bottom part to create an illusion of a path. This can be
achieved through the lasso tool.
 What to search

When looking for images be creative. Landscapes

don’t always have to be from google they can be from
your own photography, paintings or drawings.
 That effect

How does the landscape look like that? It’s simply

faded by bringing down the opacity.
 More concrete

Just to create a more realistic look I made the path

outside also in concrete. This was again achieved by
using the lasso tool to cut it to shape. Image below.
 Inverse

A quick tip on how to turn a square texture into a

shape like above. Cut the shape with the lasso tool.
Then right click, click select inverse and delete the
surrounding area!
 Window Edge

Just adds some depth to the window.

 Fill bucket tool

That handy tool saves the day again. Once the first
one was done, I did the same thing to the second one.
And then

...
 Boom

There’s a cat. Once again plucked from an image

sourcing site.
 But

It also has a shadow, read below to see how to do it.

 Flip it

Very similar to the chair, you flip the image, skew it

then bring down the opacity.
 Light

Can you see that? There is a little trickle of light

coming into the room. Things such as light and texture
help to create an ambience to a drawing.
 More details

Above the windows I also added some blinds just to

add another personal touch.
 But back to the light

It’s really simple to do actually. Create an area where

you want the light to be. Then fill it with white on a new
layer. The final stage is bringing the opacity down.
 Blind pull

The little things that you don’t notice sometimes

matter.
 How

It was done with the rectangular marquee tool filled

with white.
 Then added another for good measure

If you hold down “control and t” you can play with an

objects scale. The second blind pull is slightly smaller.
 Guess

Guess the other detail that’s been added to the

drawing?
 Power socket

Very tiny detail just to add to the context of the room.

Why you may ask? Because rooms have power
sockets!
 Finished

So that’s how you create a collage render for an

internal space. The techniques are pretty similar for
external renders too. But be sure to check out my
other ebooks for more tips and advice on architecture
and rendering.
Free Advice

Interested in receiving more guidance? For a limited

time only Zean Mair-Macfarlane is offering free advice
to students through the following social platforms.

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Copyright © 2017 Zean Mair-Macfarlane

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Version 2017.10.10

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