Architectural illustrator

Last updated

An architectural illustrator is an artist who creates imagery for the design professional that accurately portray the details of an architectural project. These images are used to communicate design ideas to clients, owners, committees, customers, and the general public.

Contents

About

Architectural illustrators are hired to put complex concepts or objects into graphical form. The artist uses artwork to turn small details into visual renderings. This field is based on the plan, design, and construction of numerous structures. Illustrations created are typically two-dimensional and may include images or animations. Technical draftsmanship and precise use of visual perspective are often prominent features in architectural illustration, although within these restrictions some artists such as William Walcot were known for a more fluid impressionistic style.

They help put plans into a more digestible format for individuals without architectural expertise and generally work as an intermediary between an architect and their client. [1] These architectural illustrations and models are often used during client presentations, fundraising events, sales pitches, and meetings regarding permits. [1]

History

The act of using pictures in this way, conveying the form of a structure visually rather than just instructions or descriptions written down, was practiced as early as the 12th century. [2] In the 12th century most of the examples of architectural illustrations were of varying structures talked about in the Bible and were for the purpose of conveying what they were talking about when describing said structures. [2]

More recently Architectural Illustrator Associations have been founded in order to help publicize and support the hiring of architectural illustrators to help communicate potential ideas. Such associations have been founded as early as 1975. [3]

Software

Computer based software such as SketchUp and other products produced by a variety of publishers can be used by architectural illustrators in creating architectural renderings. [1] Using these different software architectural illustrators can create a 3D environment for clients to digitally explore.

See also

Architectural Illustrator Associations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technical drawing</span> Creation of standards and the technical drawings

Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and discipline of composing drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storyboard</span> Use of graphics to plan a film or story

A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of crude illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic, or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illustration</span> Depiction made by an artist

An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video games and films. An illustration is typically created by an illustrator. Digital illustrations are often used to make websites and apps more user-friendly, such as the use of emojis to accompany digital type. Illustration also means providing an example; either in writing or in picture form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illustrator</span> Artist enhancing writing with images

An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicated concepts or objects that are difficult to describe textually, which is the reason illustrations are often found in children's books.

Graphics are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, in typesetting and the graphic arts, and in educational and recreational software. Images that are generated by a computer are called computer graphics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visualization (graphics)</span> Set of techniques for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message

Visualization, also known as Graphics Visualization, is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the dawn of humanity. from history include cave paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek geometry, and Leonardo da Vinci's revolutionary methods of technical drawing for engineering purposes that actively involve scientific requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphic arts</span> Art genre

The daffodils family kakamegaA category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface, today normally paper or a screen on various electronic devices. The term usually refers to the arts that rely more on line, color or tone, especially drawing and the various forms of engraving; it is sometimes understood to refer specifically to drawing and the various printmaking processes, such as line engraving, aquatint, drypoint, etching, mezzotint, monotype, lithography, and screen printing. Graphic art mostly includes calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery. It also encompasses drawn plans and layouts for interior and architectural designs.

Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in film, video games, animation, comic books, television shows, or other media before it is put into the final product. The term was used by the Walt Disney Animation Studios as early as the 1930s. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the development of media products, and is not the same as storyboard, though they are often confused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technical writing</span> Type of written communication

Technical writing is a specialized form of communication used by many of today's industrial and scientific organizations to clearly and accurately convey complex information to a user. An organization's customers, employees, assembly workers, engineers, and scientists are some of the most common users who reference this form of content to complete a task or research a subject. Most technical writing relies on simplified grammar, supported by easy-to-understand visual communication to clearly and accurately explain complex information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architectural rendering</span>

Architectural rendering, architectural illustration, or architectural visualization is the art of creating three-dimensional images or animations showing the attributes of a proposed architectural design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphic art software</span> Subclass of application software

Graphic art software is a subclass of application software used for graphic design, multimedia development, stylized image development, technical illustration, general image editing, or simply to access graphic files. Art software uses either raster or vector graphic reading and editing methods to create, edit, and view art.

Graphic design careers include creative director, art director, art production manager, brand identity developer, illustrator and layout artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technical illustration</span> Process of visually communicating technical concepts or subjects

Technical illustration is illustration meant to visually communicate information of a technical nature. Technical illustrations can be components of technical drawings or diagrams. Technical illustrations in general aim "to generate expressive images that effectively convey certain information via the visual channel to the human observer".

A storyboard artist creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions.

User experience design, upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research", defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a company, its services, and its products. User experience design is a user centered design approach because it considers the user's experience when using a product or platform. Research, data analysis, and test results drive design decisions in UX design rather than aesthetic preferences and opinions, for which is known as UX Design Research. Unlike user interface design, which focuses solely on the design of a computer interface, UX design encompasses all aspects of a user's perceived experience with a product or website, such as its usability, usefulness, desirability, brand perception, and overall performance. UX design is also an element of the customer experience (CX), and encompasses all design aspects and design stages that are around a customer's experience.

Architectural animation is a short architectural movie created on a computer. A computer-generated building is created along with landscaping and sometimes moving people and vehicles. Unlike an architectural rendering, which is a single image from a single point of view, an architectural animation is generally a series of hundreds or even thousands of still images played simultaneously in order to produce a video. When these images are assembled and played back, they produce a movie effect much like a real movie camera except all images are artificially created by computer. It is possible to add a computer-created environment around the building to enhance reality and to better convey its relationship to the surrounding area; this can all be done before the project is built giving designers and stakeholders a realistic view of the completed project. Architectural renderings are often used along with architectural animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer graphics</span> Graphics created using computers

Computer graphics deals with generating images and art with the aid of computers. Computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, digital art, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great deal of specialized hardware and software has been developed, with the displays of most devices being driven by computer graphics hardware. It is a vast and recently developed area of computer science. The phrase was coined in 1960 by computer graphics researchers Verne Hudson and William Fetter of Boeing. It is often abbreviated as CG, or typically in the context of film as computer generated imagery (CGI). The non-artistic aspects of computer graphics are the subject of computer science research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architectural drawing</span> Technical drawing of a building (or building project)

An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building that falls within the definition of architecture. Architectural drawings are used by architects and others for a number of purposes: to develop a design idea into a coherent proposal, to communicate ideas and concepts, to convince clients of the merits of a design, to assist a building contractor to construct it based on design intent, as a record of the design and planned development, or to make a record of a building that already exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D floor plan</span>

A 3D floor plan, or 3D floorplan, is a virtual model of a building floor plan, depicted from a birds eye view, utilized within the building industry to better convey architectural plans. Usually built to scale, a 3D floor plan must include walls and a floor and typically includes exterior wall fenestrations, windows, and doorways. It does not include a ceiling so as not to obstruct the view. Other common attributes may be added, but are not required, such as cabinets, flooring, bathroom fixtures, paint color, wall tile, and other interior finishes. Furniture may be added to assist in communicating proper home staging and interior design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D modeling</span> Form of computer-aided engineering

In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of a surface of an object in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, and polygons in a simulated 3D space.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Facts about an Architectural Illustrator". ArticleTree. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 Reader, The MIT Press (2023-06-12). "The Medieval Origins of Architectural Drawing". The MIT Press Reader. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  3. "Society of Architectural Illustration - Illustration History". www.illustrationhistory.org. Retrieved 2024-12-02.