Decals

[PeterJ]

Is anyone using decals for existing buildings?

I started on a site today that we are doing some simple works to sort out some parking and improve external areas. Its part 1 of a larger instruction to refurb two apartment blocks and maybe do some air-rights development above one or both of them. At this stage I have not been instructed on the latter stages so we didn't instruct the survey company to take elevations, just building heights.

While I was toying with the survey I worked up the two blocks as generic families just so that if I do site sections I have a backdrop and then I remembered decals. Five minutes later I had skewed and twisted an angled elevational photo in Photoshop so that it was squarish, cropped and the right dimensions and had it stuck on the building and stretched to size.

I did a test render and it works remarkably well. I need to get some more pics to get the rest of the elevations but it was a very quick way of getting some real character into the rendering. I'll post a couple of test shots next week for you to see.

Pete

ps maybe this should have been in tips and tricks....

[Wesley]

Yes, I have used this on a couple of jobs. Model the neighbouring buildinggs as simple recatngles, apply decal, finished. Great way to get character into your renderings. Needs to be for fairly rectilinear buildings though. I tried it once for a neighbouring house and it didn't work at all well.
Wes