I created this illustration to tease out a few details with this project that I wasn’t too sure about. For one, I had this idea of the meadow and trees flowing in and around the architecture so I wanted to setup an “easy” view angle where I could quickly test out how this would work. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go all meadow, or if there would be trees throughout, how dense the trees would be, etc. Therefore, this images allowed me to visualize things a little better and hopefully inform other illustrations that will follow. You may also notice that the architecture has already changed from t ..read more

I have been working hard to wrap up the illustrations for the Porter Square project with only a few more illustrations remaining. Life has been getting busier and busier outside of this website. My visualization office and family are demanding more of my time than ever. With that said, the images I have been creating on this site lately have been a lot of fun to work on and have allowed me to study specific ideas and details that I don’t normally get to do at the office. Case in point, the images I am posting today are two very different graphic styles, but both are telling a very different st ..read more

Architizer has just announced The One Rendering Challenge that asks participants to create one rendering that powerfully communicates an architectural form or space and the experience of those that would inhabit it. I will join an amazing group of jurors who include industry leaders such as Keely Colcleugh (Kilograph), Ronen Bekerman (Ronenbekerman.com), Britta Wikholm (Visulent AB), Matthew Bannister (DBOX), Peter Guthrie (The Boundary), Mengyi Fan (SHoP Architects), and Juan Rico (Methanoia) as we parse through all of the work to find that perfect image. All of the competiti ..read more

Alright, I finally was able to finish up my design of Porter Square Station and therefore create a rendering revealing the new design. I kept the same view angle as the “Under Construction” renderings to finish off the series. This also meant I was able to reuse a lot of the Photoshop textures saving me a bunch of time. I used quite a few more V-Ray lights than I normally do because the complexity of the structure and metal mesh makes it very difficult to properly mask and add lights in Photoshop. Other than that, the image didn’t move too much in Photoshop in terms of color grading. Most ..read more

I know, it has been a while. However, I have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and I traveled to Vienna, Austria for the infamous D2 Conference. The Porter Square Project is taking longer than normal to design, partly because the site is so complex, and partly because I am trying to give the design a little more resolution than I normally do. In other words, things are still in flux, but the big moves and structural elements are in place. Therefore, I thought I would have some fun and develop some construction images. A series of three images were created showing different phases of ..read more

Porter Square Station is a place I pass through nearly every day and is the site I have decided to take on as my next design/illustration project. Since the station is nearby my office, it is how I get to and from my home, and how I get in and out of the city for client meetings. Having spent so much time at this station, I am constantly thinking how I would redesign it. There are a lot of unique parameters that will act as a framework for creating the new spaces and forms. From the triangular shaped site to the layering of transportation methods on top of one another, there is a complexity t ..read more

I am a big fan of podcasts, maybe too much. I listen to them all day everyday while I work. Some of my all time favorites include 99% Invisible, Freakanomics Radio, Revisionist History, The Tim Ferris Show, This American Life, Comedy Bang Bang, Judge John Hodgman, Bill Burr’s M.M.P, and the list goes on. Relatively recently, the arch viz community has started to produce some really great podcasts. While the list isn’t huge, the content is quality and growing. Below are some of the best Architectural Visualization Podcasts that I have been listening to lately: D2 Talks Fabi ..read more

After many months, I have finally finished Portfolio Volume 05. I can honestly say that I have put more time into this book than I have on anything else I have ever worked on. So many new illustrations were generated beyond what was shown on this blog and a lot of thought was poured into each layout, graphic, and flow of the book. It has been a lot of late nights and weekends, but all of this hard work has not only lead to a book that I am proud of but also has lead me to a much better understanding of how to create images and graphically present them in my own personal way. You can get mo ..read more

If it seems like I have been posting less and less lately, it is because all of my time has been going into my next portfolio. This book has been in the making for the past 3 years. However, I have taken the last several months to invest all of my free time into developing tons of new content, finalizing the graphics, and writing. I finally feel I am in the homestretch with just a few more things to button up. The last steps will be getting some test prints and have a few friends give me their last minute critiques. I am usually pretty good about managing my time and setting internal dead ..read more

One of the images not initially generated for the Philly Bridge Project was the south side of the pedestrian bridge. Here, the bridge turns into a park-like setting with lots of trees, vegetation, and a grand stair connecting down to the street level. This was an important view because of the bridges connection to the convention center and the activities that are formed around this relationship. I therefore started looking at potential views that would tell the story of this place. I struggled deciding on a single view because of all of the information this illustration needed to convey. Below ..read more