Creating Photo-Realistic Renderings
You’ve built your Proof of Concept Prototype and there’s an investor pitch coming up. But the prototype doesn’t look nearly as nice as the final product will. So how do you make marketing quality images and animations before your first product is off the production line? Use photo-realistic renderings. This method can save you massive amounts of time and money compared to photographing production units or even prototypes. These high quality images can be used for everything from investor pitches to advertisements.
How Does it Work?
You start by taking CAD data, generated from a program like Solidworks or Fusion 360, and then inserting it into a powerful digital rendering software. There you can use cameras, lights, materials, textures, and colors to make your product look life-like. Think of this software as a virtual photography studio. You can swap colors and materials quickly to test out different schemes for your product with user groups.
Types of Content
There are a variety of styles and types of renderings you can make and each one is useful for different reasons. Here are a few different types of renders you might consider.
The basic “product on white” renders are a great way to describe your product without distractions. These images are very versatile and can also be produced with transparent backgrounds in case you need to integrate it with another image or presentation.
If you want to add a little energy to your image, add a ground plane and a colored background. Just make sure to pick a complementary color so that it doesn’t distract from your product.
Exploded views are a great way to show off how your product assembles and let people visualize how it all goes together. This is a more technical type of rendering, and is typically better suited for investors rather than advertisements to consumers.
In some rendering softwares, you can create animations to help bring your product to life. These are harder to produce than still images, but can add real production value to your presentations, website, and advertisements.
Lifestyle renderings show your product in its natural environment and inform your audience about where and how the product should be used. It enables them to see your product as a part of the world, and not just some project you’ve been working on. This is helpful when you’re trying to convince someone of the legitimacy of your product.
Putting it All Together
When it comes to winning over your potential customers and investors, any combination of the techniques above can and should be included in your pitch deck, sell sheets, and website. Photo-realistic renderings cost a fraction of what a high-quality appearance model will cost you to produce. You should keep this in mind when you need to make a great impression without breaking the bank.
Moving Forward
Photo-realistic renderings are a great way to complement your prototypes during the production process. They can help others visualize your product much faster than you could by manufacturing the physical product. This checks off the second asset you need for fundraising. In our next article, we’ll talk about how to get budgetary manufacturing quotes and why you need them.