When we look back at some of the CGIs we put out in our early days, it’s astonishing how far we have come. There have been two main factors that have allowed us to take this journey, Technical developments in hardware/software and a drive to re position ourselves as true market leaders. The drive, the reasons behind the drive and how we’ve undertaken that journey are another blog entirely.

A countless line of young google adwords experts have been brought to their knees trying to second guess how people find us. In a way it’s pleasing but not really helpful.

I know my wife wouldn’t know that our business is an Architectural Visualisation studio or one of the many other descriptions you can attach to it. I’ve tried explaining to her, but the way her eyes glaze over you’d think I was talking about football again. My wife is happy believing we do something with computers in the same way Hollywood studios make space ships explode into the moon. Fairy dust magic CGI. She’s not wrong (she’s never wrong) but I’d hardly call her right either (that’s just between you and me).

In Hollywood, CGI (Computer Generated Image) is synonymous with Visual Effects and “CGI” is an accepted industry term. In the world of Architecture, Product visuals and animation however, it’s a whole different ball game. There isn’t an industry norm and the waters get further muddied when you start taking different regions into account.

This in turn can make it difficult for people doing a google search to find us. 3D Visuals / Visualisation, CGI, Computer Generated Images, Architectural illustrations, CG Visuals, Virtual photography, 3D Property Illustrations, and all misspellings of!

In the UK there are over 200 companies doing what we do, all ranging in size from small one-man-bands to larger 30 plus artists’ studios all producing still and animated content for architecture, interiors or product. If you do a google search for CGI, most of these companies will not appear in the search results.

Depending on your browser history (This is a judgement free area) you may even get a list of results on Common Gateway Interface. Something to do with programming I gather but don’t really care.

In its purest form, for the last 20 years plus what we do has been known as “Architectural Visualisation” or ‘Visualization’ for our friends across the pond. Really only people in the industry would think, say or type this. Your average muggle is unlikely to know it by these terms. To be honest whenever a lay person asks what we do, I tell them we are a Creative Agency that specialise in Computer Generated Images for property and product. I then go on to tell them, ‘you know those images you see on hoardings before the foundations have even been laid, well we produce those’. This people get.

Outside of the UK many people refer to what we do as ‘Renderings’. So obviously we advertise under this term which in turn leads to phone calls from people wanting a render finish on their pebbledash home. For the record, renderings are the final outputted images we as a studio produce be it still or moving and is the process through which the computers earn their keep after our artists have worked their magic.

When it comes to motion content we also have some of the similar identity issues. Clients often use any of the following terms – Animation, Virtual Tour, Flythrough, Walkthrough. In-house we refer to them as animations, however animation in 3D is more to do with animating or moving objects or characters as opposed to a camera moving through a generally static scene. Of course we do include quite a bit of ambient movement in those scenes to increase viewer engagement, however there is still a valid argument that it’s not quite animation.

With the rise of CGI and 3D content touching most areas in our life, I live in hope that our identity crisis will soon be over and people will get what we do straight off the bat. Until then, feel free to refer to us as those magicians who make spaceships explode into the moon.

Word from the stylist

Our resident Stylist, Laura La Gambina, talks us through the creation of yet another fabulous CGI render.

No Rules

Happy Days

I am proud of a morning.

I come into work knowing that I’m part of something exciting, something that works and something that people want to be a part of. We’re passionate about our clients and the high quality service we provide them. We deliver some of the best CGI in the UK to European brands. However, that was not always the case! (more…)

We’re excited to announce our first internal Photography Contest here at Image Foundry Studios!

Our talented team of creatives across the globe will be taking part, and we’re lucky to have some impressive judges on board to decide the winners!

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Ah Summer. The barbecue’s been dusted off, the garden is in full bloom, and your other half starts flicking through the Ikea catalogue, looking to bring that summer colour into your kitchen and bathroom.

But while they were wiping away their drool over that obscenely stylish light fitting, it probably escaped their notice that instead of using an interior photographer, a large majority of Ikea’s kitchen and bathroom images are actually CGI.

About four years ago, we began working with more and more kitchen and bathroom manufacturers who were shying away from the traditional interior photoshoot approach. Now we’re at a point where CGI is becoming the industry norm.

Why? Glad you asked. (more…)

Imagine creating your perfect vision in a 3D world. No painting walls. No back-breaking manoeuvres with heavy furniture. Sound like bliss? It is for our clients!

A problem we hear time and time again, “I have so many products and deciding which to shoot is almost impossible”.

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Many consider Virtual Reality to be brand new trend among marketers and various industries across the globe now, however, this isn’t the first time.

In our experience, some people shy away from the things they may not completely understand, so we feel responsible for offering a short and simple explanation as to what Virtual Reality really is. If you are interested or just curious, give us a call – we would love to hear from you.

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Welcome back! Louie here again, today I want to share with you a new tutorial on how to set up a simple hotspot system. This makes it really easy to view your scene from different angles by just the tap of a button, hopping from one to the next. This makes it especially easy for users who may not be that confident with the technology yet.  

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We have worked with Strata Homes for a while now, we like to think of them as one of the family here at Image Foundry Studios. We have worked alongside Strata Homes in parallel whilst expanding and growing, having a front row seat to the development of Strata Homes.

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This really is taking CGI to the next level and allowing users from a fixed point to view and explore an area.Take a look at an interior example currently on our Image Foundry Studios Facebook page.

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Image Foundry decided to soak up some real European culture at the start of the year – we work with a number of European companies and what better way to connect than to get on the ground. Although we shan’t kid you; we are proud to say this trip was less business and more pleasure for the team. Instead of blowing a load of cash on a Christmas Party, the UK Team spent the weekend in Germany’s capital.

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Brexit Shmexit. You might recall I recently talked about our Frankfurt excursion? Well I’m pleased to say we’re starting to see the dividends with work being commissioned from clients in Belgium, Austria and Germany. Great product will always find a market regardless of politics.

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With quite a number of years under our belt in the industry now, we have worked with interior designers, house builders, retail establishment owners and some of the UK’s top house builders to create interior spaces for marketing purposes.

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Every visualisation has a story and purpose behind it, whether it’s a still or animation. Lighting plays a crucial role in the mood of a CGI, we discussed this previously on the blog which you can read here. A particular style of lighting can drastically alter the mood from a warm summer’s day to a British fresh morning, but before we can do that, we wanted to go back to basics.

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Advances in technology seem to know no bounds; year on year, we seem to progress further. Who would have believed a decade ago that 3D Cinema would essentially be a mainstream consumer technology? Followed swiftly by the advancement of 3D televisions; allowing customers to experience 3D viewing in the comfort of their own homes, needing only a pair of 3D glasses?

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The words are simple enough – “CGI” is defined as Computer-Generated-Imagery, but what do they mean together? Some of the time without even realising, you’ll have come across CGI; in films, television series, video games, architectural projects, product marketing campaigns and other print and electronic media.

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Usually a large team of 3D Artists collaborate to create and craft their contributions to a movie, whether it’s an entirely CGI film like Toy Story, or a filmed movie with lots of visual effects such as Transformers. Developing that kind of talent calls for consistent work over weeks, months, years, and decades. With that profile, you’ll be able to work worldwide as leading 3D Artist

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You’ve almost certainly seen an ad by now where you get to view a scene from all 360 degrees. Ever wondered how they were made? That ability to capture the feel of what it’s like to be somewhere else through that immersive approach is at the core of Virtual Reality Marketing (VR). And there’s a lot more to come.

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Whilst there’s evidence that demonstrates how people are more optimistic about themselves, as well as the stock market (!) on a bright sunny day. Unfortunately, the same is true for the gloomy dull days, for some, reduced sunlight can even result in Seasonal Affective Disorder which may stop the production of key hormones that affect our mood. It just goes to show how crucial lighting is to the human brain, psyche and functionality.

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Introducing our Bedroom lifestyle shots for Fern Doors. For use online and in their brand new brochure, to reduce cost but maintain high product quality,  we advised using the same room set, re-dressed, adjusting lighting and re-purposing for two different product variants. The focus of the shots here are the sliding doors.

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In the business of crafting either your dream development, a technical representation of your product or any lifestyle you want to sell. We particularly relish in creating images that have the ability to catch someone’s eye and leave them wanting more.

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We are currently looking for an experienced Architectural Visualisation Artist to work on a cross section of projects based out of our Delhi studio. As a large percentage of our work is involved in the production of photo-real imagery / animation, it is imperative that you have work in your portfolio to demonstrate this.

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It’s been a big year for Image Foundry Studios and we thought it was only right that we checked in finally! Moving to a new space in the centre of Manchester, opening the doors to brand new faces, working on building strong client relationships and perfecting out latest venture in VR; the Oculus Rift to be exact.

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