We've all marveled at those breathtaking bird’s-eye view shots that turn architectural designs from mere drawings into living, breathing cityscapes.
That is what 3D aerial rendering makes possible.
This guide will provide you with everything you need to know about the different types of aerial view renders, what they're most commonly used for, the tools and services you can use to generate them, and how much you should budget for an aerial rendering project.
Let's dive right in.
Aerial rendering is a computer-generated visualization technique for showcasing architectural designs of unbuilt properties from a bird's eye view.
Such images not only provide a realistic representation of the architectural project but also give more context about the surrounding landscape, neighborhood, and the property's environmental impact.
It's an efficient method of giving stakeholders valuable insights into the project as a whole compared to regular elevation visualizations.
Aerial view renders are commonly used in commercial and residential projects, as well as in urban and master planning 3D visualizations.
3D aerial rendering has been widely adopted across the whole AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) industry thanks to its many benefits such as:
That's why 3D aerial visualizations are used not only in architecture but in many other areas too. These include urban planning, real estate marketing, landscape design, topographic surveying, and environmental impact assessment.
There are three main types of 3D aerial renders you should consider depending on your project needs.
This type of aerial visualization provides a realistic representation of the property together with its surroundings including computer-generated topography, vegetation, lighting, and entourage.
This rendering type is particularly useful in assessing how the unbuilt project will fit into the existing surroundings.
And to make your aerial visualization even more realistic, you can enhance the render by incorporating actual drone footage or satellite imagery from services like Google Earth.
Mostly used by urban planners, conceptual aerial renders are focused on showing the depth and perspective of the project which helps visualize spatial relationships between various objects.
They're a more affordable alternative to photorealistic 3D renders.
If you're looking for the most immersive type of aerial renderings, this is the type you should choose.
Interactive aerial renderings let viewers move through your design in a video game-like environment, engage with it, change angles, and inspect all details closely.
You can render aerial scenes using two approaches:
a) Using traditional rendering software
b) Using AI rendering software
The first approach requires extensive 3D modeling, lighting, and texturing skills. Also, as the rendering process is very resource-intensive, you need a computer with expensive hardware (mostly GPU) to run it. It results in greater precision and render quality though.
On the other hand, using AI-powered renderers doesn't involve any learning curve as all the modeling, texturing, and lighting is handled by the AI rendering engine. The process runs in the cloud, so you can run it on any device, no matter the hardware.
Below are some of our recommended architectural aerial rendering tools.
Best AI renderer: MyArchitectAI
Best quality to effort ratio: Enscape
Best for big, complex projects: V-Ray
Ease of use: Very easy
Hardware requirements: None (runs in the cloud)
Cost: $29/month
Free plan available: Yes
When it comes to creating photorealistic bird's eye view visualizations quickly, MyArchitectAI is the go-to AI software.
While traditional 3D rendering tools are time-consuming and expensive, MyArchitectAI enables you to generate stunning aerial visuals quickly (in under 10 seconds) and affordably.
It's also dead simple to use.
All you need to do is upload the image of your CAD design (or even a hand-drawn sketch) in the web app, describe the scene in words, and click the "generate" button.
MyArchitectAI's cloud rendering engine will handle all the 3D modeling and lighting for you and create a photorealistic aerial render in seconds.
Ease of use: Easy
Hardware requirements: High
Cost: Starts at $85/month.
Free plan available: No
Enscape lets you create beautiful aerial renderings relatively quickly even if you don't have a lot of 3D modeling experience.
Users praise it for its ease of use and impressive quality-to-effort ratio. While you'll still need to spend a lot more time on modeling and lighting compared to using AI-powered tools, your 3D aerial renders will be more precise.
Enscape also lets you create walkthroughs and integrates with all major VR platforms such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality. You can even send standalone 3D files to your clients so they can review your designs without having to install anything.
However, Enscape's steep pricing and high hardware requirements may be discouraging to many users.
Ease of use: Hard
Hardware requirements: High
Cost: Starts at $74,90/month.
Free plan available: No
The most popular architectural renderer in the world, V-Ray is the right choice if you need to create high-end aerial views for large projects.
With an abundance of advanced settings and customization tools, this software lets you render stunning aerial scenes that are as close as you can come to the real thing before it's built.
Subscribing to V-Ray also gets you access to Chaos Cosmos which contains more than 6,000 models, materials, and HDRI skies to make your render come to life.
It has plugins for most major CAD architectural software such as SketchUp and Revit.
But V-Ray has its cons too.
Steep learning curve, high system requirements, and very long processing time are the main reasons why many users decide against using this renderer and pick a more lightweight option.
If your architectural or real estate firm doesn't have a consistent need for aerial renderings, it's usually better to outsource the project to a specialist 3D visualization company rather than learn to do it yourself.
These firms will render your designs with the highest level of detail and accuracy, saving you a lot of time and effort.
Here are some of the best ones.
Since 2014, The Boundary has been providing state-of-the-art visualization services to architects, developers, and luxury brands from around the globe.
The firm employs over 100 CGI artists and creative technologists across three continents who can create 3D aerial renders, animations and cinemagraphs, virtual tours, marketing videos, and more.
Some of their portfolio highlights include projects such as The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, The Whiteley in London, and Mercedes-Benz Place Miami (Mercedes-Benz’s first residential project in North America).
Founded by Andras Balogh, K2 Visual is one of the top architectural rendering firms in Europe.
K2's work stands out thanks to its unique atmospheres and powerful compositions that make their aerial renders captivate viewers.
Some of their past and present clients include Womo Architects, Zaha Hadid Architects, and UN Studio.
This Chinese rendering firm, founded in 2021, specializes in visualizing large commercial projects.
While young, they've already completed over 80 projects for big-name clients such as Perkins&Will, B+H Architects, and Artbuild.
Their team, composed of CGI artists, designers, and even short drama producers, provides industrial visualization, virtual reality, and digital twin services for clients from all over the world.
They've done plenty of aerial rendering projects with impressive results. Some of them include Sentosa Sensoryscape, Shenzhen Maritime Museum, and Licang Civic Square.
Aerial view renderings are among the most demanding types of architectural visualizations, and their cost reflects this complexity.
On average, the entry price point is $500 for small projects such as residential houses and can go up to $10,000 and up for complex, large-scale renders.
The main factors impacting the cost are:
Below are a few examples of aerial scene renders based on the designs of some of the finest architectural studios out there.
When your concept is ready, you can render it for free by signing up to MyArchitectAI.
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