About David Hier: Render Studio

David Hier: Render Studio was set up to promote my services as a visualisation artist, mostly producing 3D architectural renders and visualisations. I'm also available to work on product visualisation projects, as well as graphic design jobs that requires some kind of 3D modelling or rendering.

How Did It All Start?

My name is David Hier and I am a freelance designer and visualisation artists based in Cheshire (UK).

I first became interested in 3D modelling and rendering whilst working on a personal building project - a modern villa design for a family home in Portugal. Having designed the house in question I wanted to ensure that the builders got every detail right; the only problem being that I was living in the UK and unable to visit the building site regularly. The solution was to create visualisations of the building and final fix details.

With my background in graphic design I naturally turned to the tools I was familiar with: using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create very basic non-photo-real visualisation. The process of creating these drawings was extremely labour intensive and I knew that there must be a better way to achieve the results I wanted.

Fortunately I stumbled upon Google's 3D modelling programme Sketchup. Easy to pick up and joy to use, the programme was just what I was looking for. As my modelling skills improved I reached a point where I wanted to achieve more realistic results and set about my first attempts at photo-real rendering, using rendering software like Podium and Kerkythea to create renders of my architectural models.

I was soon bitten by the visualisation bug and since I got a lot of satisfaction from rendering my 3D models, it was only a matter of time before I started to introduce rendered 3D elements into my graphic design work. Creatively this still wasn't completely satisfying and since I've had a life-long passion for architecture, what I really wanted to do was work more and more on architectural visualisation.

Note: You can see details of my Portuguese project via my Arts Ablaze design site: www.artsablazedesign.co.uk

A Passion For Architecture & Design

Driven by my interest in architecture and design I continued to push myself to learn more about architectural design, modelling and architectural visualisation. I also continued to improve my Sketchup modelling skills and used every opportunity I could to incorporate 3D elements into my design work.

At this juncture I learnt about a new render engine that had entered the market and began rendering my Sketchup models using the public beta of the up and coming Thea Render. As with Sketchup the software is a lot of fun to use and it wasn't long before I started to see a vast improvement in the renders I produced.

Eventually I reached a point where I was producing quality renders that would be of commercial interest to clients wanting renders of architectural projects or designers in need of visualisations for their latest product prototypes. It was obvious that I needed an online presence to promote my new services and I decided to create an offshoot from my main freelance design company and strike out as a freelance visualisation artist. The end result is my David Hier: Render Studio website.

Looking Towards The Future

Mastering the art of creating convincing photo-real renders is an ongoing process and I will continue to develop my skills and aim to deliver clients with high quality renders and models. More specifically I will be looking at ways that my work-flow will benefit from using new software and I am eager to learn how to create animations and architectural walkthroughs. I will publish my progress via the Blog and Portfolio sections of this website.

I'm also keen to use this website to give back to the incredibly supportive and inspiring modelling and visualisation communities. Consequently I will use this site to share models, materials and textures, as well as tutorials explaining some of the methods used to create my renders.

Services & Portfolio

Further information about my rendering services is available on my home page. To view examples of my work, please visit my Portfolio page and take a look at the models featured in my Free Models library.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss how my services may be of benefit to your design projects, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

You can also follow me via Twitter or my Facebook page.

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