Opinion
At a Webinar last week, Snaptrude, the company, introduced its rendering command. AI Render is part of Snaptrude, and not an add-on or external program.
It works like this:
1. Provide it with a detailed model from Revit or Rhino, or else a massing model from Snaptrude.
2. Enter text that describes the kind of rendering you want.
3. Wait for the rendering to be generated.
4. Renders can be saved to disk or as views in the model.
(The image at left shows three kinds of output from AI Render. All images are from screen grabs I made during the Webinar.)
Typical output from AI Render, which adds elements to the 3D model, such as cladding, windows, and landscaping
There is a slider between Creative to Accurate, with creative going "a bit wild.” Other settings include time and weather. No new geometry is added to renderings, this is purely a visual effect.
Intermediate stage of generating a rendering of a massing model
The big idea is that when you render mass models (which typically don't have windows or doors or other details), AI Render fills in the details. AI Render accesses image generation code from Stable Diffusion and Flux.
Controlling the Rendering
You control the result of the rendering by entering text. In AI circles, this text is known as a “prompt.” The prompt describes to AI Render the kind of rendering you want. You can start with a simple prompt as a single line of text, such as "anime," and then see the result. Following this, you can add more text (prompts) to refine the rendering, such as style of windows. The program also has suggested prompts.
A typical massing model: stacked rectangles with no details, to show the mass of the proposed building
A massing model consists of plain 3D rectangles stacked on top or beside one another. (Massing models can be created in Snaptrude from CSV files generated by spreadsheets.) The colors on the massing model can be used to specify the cladding, windows, and so on. Here is an example of a prompt that turn a massing model into a rendering, with high creativity:
Rendering made with high creativity
Streetscapes and Interiors
Real world backgrounds can be used. Models created in Snaptrude, for instance, can be placed in Google Maps, such as this massing model:
A massing model placed in Google Maps...
AI Render renders the massing model, as well as the nearby elements from Google Maps. It also works with details within the model, such as streetlights and playgrounds, as they are just more 3D entities. This is useful for initial presentations.
...and then rendered with AI Render
AI Render works with interior designs as well. Snaptrude is working on making sure the external renders match the internal renderings. Snaptrude can be linked to Revit and Rhino models. Here is an interior rendering imported from Revit; Snaptrude is bi-directional with it.
An interior rendering, with furnishings generated by AI graphics
Beta For Now
AI Render is in beta, and you apply to test it for a week. The company is adding the ability of AI Render to handle linework, so that lineweights and colors provide instruction. This takes me back to the 1980s, when colors in CAD drawings instructed pen plotters which pen (with specific width or color) to use.
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