Software · 10 guides
Blender for arch viz guides
Blender in 2026 is a real arch viz tool. Cycles X sampling, geometry nodes for foliage scatter, AgX color management, and the migration playbook for studios coming from 3ds Max.
Workflow · 15 min
Blender and Cycles for arch viz: a forest pavilion, start to finish
Cycles X, geometry nodes for foliage, and the render settings that closed the gap with Corona on this small brutalist project.
Lighting · 12 min
HDRI lighting for arch viz: choosing, capturing, and cheating a dome
The dome light is the fastest way to a believable render and the fastest way to a fake one. A practitioner guide to selecting and shooting HDRIs that actually match your scene.
Workflow · 11 min
AgX versus Filmic in Blender: which color transform for arch viz
AgX handles highlights and saturation differently to Filmic, and the difference matters most where arch viz lives. A side by side kitchen study in Cycles X.
Workflow · 13 min
Realistic vegetation for arch viz: scatter, variation, and knowing when to stop
Scatter tools solved the geometry problem years ago. Believable planting is still hard because it is a design problem, not a plugin problem.
Interiors · 10 min
Drapery and fabric shaders that read as textile, not plastic
Sheen weight, translucency, and the mesh density that stops your linen curtains from folding like sheet metal. A working method for warm interior renders.
AI · 12 min
AI denoisers in archviz: OptiX, Intel Open Image Denoise, and where each one earns its keep
A working comparison of the two AI denoisers running inside every major render engine, with the artefacts you should actually be looking for on a client frame.
Workflow · 12 min
Blender vs 3ds Max for archviz: a working artist's honest comparison in 2026
Blender has closed most of the gap. 3ds Max still holds specific advantages that matter to studios. The real question is which one belongs in your pipeline.
Lighting · 9 min
Getting fog right in exterior renders (without killing your image)
Fog is the fastest way to make an exterior feel like a real place. It's also the fastest way to make it look muddy. Here's how I actually use it on paid work.
Workflow · 8 min
Modelling landscape topography that doesn't look like a wedding cake
Most rendered sites look like the building is sitting on a stack of layer cakes. Here's how I actually handle hillside grades so the image reads as real terrain.
Lighting · 9 min
Winter scene renders: snow, ice, and the traps I fell into
Snow is not white. Ice is not clear. Breath is not steam. Here's what I learned from a season of shooting winter references and applying it to renders.