Who doesn’t love looking through furniture catalogues? We certainly do! Within the past few years people have started to notice that many of the images we love to look at in furniture catalogues are actually CGI 3D renders – and not photographs. To some of us, mainly those who work within the CGI world, this may seem obvious, the cost and timeframe to physically photograph each different product, in each of their fabrics, in multiple room-sets is not realistic nor feasible. Unless you have all the time in the world and an endless pot of money! But for many of the general public who do not work within the furniture world it is not so obvious, unless you’re in the industry you may not realise how much time and effort goes into producing these catalogues, CGI or not, each image’s journey can be a long process. Many furniture and fabric manufacturers have delved into the world of CGI within recent years for many reasons, CGI is less time consuming, more cost effective and overall adds value to your individual assets. If you have CGI assets you are able to use them time and time again, if you have individual, transparent PNG versions of your images you have the editorial freedom to edit your imagery to match trends, seasons and client briefs. As well as this, having CGI assets with fabrics means that you essentially have an endless roll of ‘digital fabric’, which you can use again and again, which can be sent over to clients and you can have access to them forever. This means that you have more creative scope with future projects – with photoshoots you end up leaving with a couple of shots but that’s it, if you want to revisit or restyle the fabrics or furniture, you need to do the whole process again.
Many people don’t realise that catalogue images are CGI because the technology is so good that they look like photographs! If you’re flicking through a catalogue for some inspiration you’re not likely to nitpick the finer details of an image and if you have great CGI (like we produce here at Orbital) then you wouldn’t notice the difference.With furniture giant, IKEA, using CGI for over 75% of their catalogue imagery it comes as no surprise that many other brands and companies are following in their footsteps. Especially with recent events surrounding Covid-19, many photography studios and factories are not open. This may seem like a spanner in the works for many fabric and furniture manufacturers, but here at Orbital we are able to work with you to overcome these problems. As we specialise in fabrics and furniture we are heavily familiar with the trade, our process means that we are able to provide you with your 3D assets which can be used time and time again. We are able to photograph and render fabrics for you, giving you more flexibility, and at a much lower cost. Many magazines have said that although they often prefer photoshoots to CGI imagery, they have often published CGI imagery without them noticing that it wasn’t a photograph. With the recent advancements in CGI this comes as no surprise to many of us as it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between real and fake. Get in touch today if you are looking to take the leap into the world of CGI!