What size do you need your architectural renderings to be?

What is a high-rez architectural rendering?

By now you have hear the term high-rez or high-resolution. With regards to architectural renderings it is one of the most misinterpreted terms when used by anyone other than the most experienced graphic designers and 3D artists. Resolution refers to the density of pixels that make up an image. A pixel is the tiny spot of colour used to build an overall image. One picture will consist of millions of pixels to create what appears to be a photograph - hence the term "megapixels" that has been coined by the digital camera manufacturers. The more pixels you have the bigger the image can be before the actual pixels themselves become visible to the naked eye.

If you don't have enough pixels in your architectural rendering then the viewer's eye will actually see the tiny squares that make up the whole image. This is particularly noticeable on angled roof lines, landscaping and people. The image will lose all of it's sharpness and will be blurry, or "pixelated". An example is below:

This is image is at normal screen resolution and looks fine. The number of pixels match the output of your computer's monitor.	This image is at one quarter of the correct resolution and is "pixelated". There are not enough pixels to show the image correctly to the naked eye.

Screen resolution, which is what you are viewing now, is actually quite low, in fact it is a fraction of print resolution so your architectural renderings need only be small.

Print Resolution for architectural renderings

This is the most misunderstood term in the industry, and that includes advertising agencies. To start with, I will go into your basic inkjet printer's resolution, which everyone can relate to.

Lets assume you have a printer capable of printing at 720 DPI (Dots per inch) and you want to make an image that is 6 inches by 4 inches in size. Most people jump to the conclusion that they need and architectural rendering that is 4320x2880 pixels so they can patch every dot on the printer with a pixel. Most of my clients insist on this and wont accept some simple facts about printing with ink.

FACT: it takes multiple dots in varying patterns to create one pixel of colour!

This means that the resolution you really need to get optimum results on your printer is about one third of the maximum DPI that you are printing at. The image you would want is really 1440x960, which will process faster, be easier for your printer to interpret and save you a lot of disc space. It will also save your software or printer having to resize the image before the ink hits the paper, which could have led to undesirable results.

The same principal often applies to newspapers, magazines and brochures. They all create a pattern of dots to get a final image. Our architectural renderings look great at just 200 DPI and you can hardly tell the difference between that and 300 DPI. Posters look great at 120 DPI and billboards can get to resolutions like 20 DPI or lower.

Why explain this? Because people often ask us for images that will fill an A3 sized piece of paper at 600 DPI. This means the image will take longer to render, will be difficult to transfer and will slow down the graphic designer. The resolution you actually need is often far less than what you may assume.

The best way to determine the image size is refer to the printer or tell us what you are printing to and the finished size you need. Usually the most you will ever need is 300 DPI, which regardless of the ability of the printer exceeds what the human eye can actually perceive.

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Updated November 2005