What Is CGI Product Modelling And How Does It Work?
Product modelling is useful for a number of ecommerce business functions, one of which is in the production of CGI for marketing. CGI modelling is the process of creating detailed, digital 3D representations of products using specialised software. These digital images can then be used in all manner of different ways in marketing.
CGI product models are required to generate highly photorealistic images and animations. 3D product models can also be used in creative marketing, with playful concepts and impactful images that help your brand stand out.
The Process Behind Photorealistic 3D Product Rendering
Our 3D artists develop photorealistic models of your products. This is done by studying a physical product to capture details such as shape, material, colour, and texture. These digital models form the core assets for all subsequent CGI marketing content.
There is an alternative if a pre-existing CAD file exists. CAD files may have been used in manufacturing or product design, and can be used for CGI modelling. Quality varies, and edits may have to be made to CADs, but this is often a shortcut in the product modelling process.
Product CGI Visualisation And Rendering
Once the modelling is completed, you will have a 3D digital version of your product. This can be used in multiple ways, most common of which is in lifestyle CGI renders. Your product can be placed in a CGI environment that is fully customisable, allowing you to achieve the aspirational styles that appeal to your customers.
It's important to create realism in rendered lifestyle images. We do this by paying close attention to the lighting we use in the virtual environment. The styling and propping are also key to achieving a good image composition and the desired ‘look’. Often, styling works best when it is aspirational but not out of touch with your target customer demographic.
Products Suited To CGI Product Modelling
Professional CGI artists will be able to turn any product into 3D models. However, there are certain sectors that are perfectly suited to the CGI process.
CGI Rendering For Bathroom Brands
Bathroom products are well suited to being modelled in CGI. Their reflective surfaces can make photography difficult to execute, and smooth textures suit CGI production well. Running water can be animated for engaging video renders for online use. High quality 3D models work exceptionally well in brochures and across web content for the bathroom sector.
CGI Rendering For Kitchen Brands
Many of the reasons for CGI being a good option for bathrooms also apply to kitchens - reflective surfaces and smooth textures can be perfectly recreated in CGI. For lifestyle kitchen images, it can be useful to have people in the frames. This has become more commonplace in CGI due to recent advances in the technology, particularly integration with generative AI. 3D renders for kitchen products may include appliances, work surfaces, cupboards, sinks and taps - they work well together for a lifestyle scene.
CGI Rendering For Flooring Brands
3D visualisations for flooring brands can provide multiple marketing options. Flooring brands may be able to make more effective use of visualisers and virtual reality with 3D product rendering. CGI also allows large rooms to be created such as hospitality settings, commercial spaces, and creative environments - all of which can be more difficult to achieve in photography due to the demands on space and complex set builds.
CGI Rendering For Furniture Brands
CGI is a good fit for a vast range of furniture products. CGI is effective at demonstrating functional selling points with animations. For example, the assembly process for flatpack furniture can be explained, sofa beds can be shown transforming, or chairs and tables can be shown folding away. Due to the rapid advancements in CGI software in recent years, high-quality CGI renders for soft furnishings and textures appear accurate and true to life. This has enabled us to produce photorealistic CGI renders for the furniture sector.
CGI Rendering For Products
CGI opens the door to creative concepts that engage, inform and entertain your customers. Product models can be integrated into 360-degree views, augmented reality (AR) tools, and product configurators, giving customers the option to interact with online product listings.
Product CGI renders can also be used to show exploding views which display product features in great detail. The virtual camera can move in any direction, rotating, zooming, and panning around your product.
Benefits Of CGI Renders Over Photography
When comparing CGI vs photography there are multiple factors to consider to why one style is better suited to your brand over the other. Here's a few benefits of using CGI renders to market your product.
Creative Freedom With CGI Product Visualisations
Unlike traditional photography, CGI modelling enables brands to produce images without any real-world restrictions. Marketers can experiment with imaginative settings, spectacular visuals, and scenarios that would be extremely expensive or entirely impossible in real life.
Longevity of Product CGI Renders
One of the biggest advantages of CGI over photography is that your product model and the environment that has been created is futureproof. Everything can be saved on file to revisit, repurpose, and edit at a later date. This makes CGI an upfront investment that has the potential to save you money in the long run.
Not only is this useful for updates to your product, but lifestyle renders can be edited instead of needing to be started from scratch.
3D Animation For Products
Once your product modelling is complete, it is possible to animate your renders and produce 3D motion graphics. This provides you with much more content for a similar set up cost. Video content is increasingly important for social media engagement. Renders of different styles, angles, and compositions can quickly build up a bank of content for your brand. The joy of CGI is that you can choose to commission professional animations after your stills project has been completed.
Does My Product Need To Be Modelled For CGI?
If you want the full image to be created in CGI then you do require your product to be modelled. However, there are hybrid production techniques that combine photography with CGI to provide similar effects without needing to turn your product into a 3D model. This is known as compositing, and although it can be more cost-effective, it restricts creative freedom. For accurate and realistic composite images, the lighting and camera angles in photography need to match the digital environment.
Product CGI Services
Professional 3D visualisation services for products, and interior brands.
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