Furnishing a Home Virtually: How Blender 3d Can Replace Photoshop
Remember when people were advocating to require edited images to have a "Photoshopped" watermark? This was back when billboards and magazines began featuring heavily edited images of female models showcase unrealistic body standards. It raised an interesting issue: how will we differentiate a real photograph from one that has been manipulated?
Fast forward to today, and we've long forgotten those cries for change. Why? Because it no longer takes an expert to edit a photograph to embellish reality. We have a plethora of apps we can download to our phones to make pretty much any edit you can think of. So when I was asked to create a 3d staging of a home for real estate marketing purposes I thought, can I accomplish would I would typically do in Photoshop in a VFX software like Blender?
The Challenge
A house that does not necessarily fit with its neighborhood in Coral Gables, has been left unfinished by the owner and was looking for someone to pick up the project and take the property into it’s potential. In order to show potential buyers the potential of the home, I was commissioned to create a graphic package that included some digitally furnished spaces.
In order to turn the photo of the space into something that could blend with 3d elements, the foreground elements in the shot become a 2d cutout, placed close to a virtual camera in 3d space.
The Solution
The idea here was not to re-create the entire space in 3d based on the photo, a process commonly known as projection modeling. Rather, think of this like setting up Photoshop layers in 3d space. There's a background plate, a foreground cutout, and the focal pieces of the scene placed in between.
It look odd, but what matters is it all works out from the camera's perspective. Since the photos already have built-in shadows, lights are set up in the same fashion for the furniture. It's important to turn off the lights to affect the photo surfaces, if your software of choice makes that possible.
One of the biggest advantages of using Blender over Photoshop is that you can import 3D models of furniture and decor directly into your scene. This means you can create a realistic, fully-furnished space without having to manually place each item. Not only is this more efficient, but it also allows for more accurate representation of the space, making it easier for potential buyers or clients to envision themselves in the space.
Final Thoughts
If you're new to Blender, don't be intimidated - there are many tutorials and resources available online to help you get started. The Blender community is also incredibly supportive, so you can always reach out to other users for help and advice.
In conclusion, Blender is a powerful and versatile tool that can take your home staging to the next level. Not only can it create photorealistic images, but it also allows for easy manipulation of the virtual space, import of 3D models, and even walkthrough animations. Ditch Photoshop and give Blender a try for your next home staging project - you won't be disappointed!"
