Mar 20, 2013 6:30 AM

Gallery: Hyper-Realistic CGI Is Killing Photographers, Thrilling Product Designers

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Half of this image is a photo, and half is a CGI rendering.
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“The entire Microsoft Surface marketing campaign was done in KeyShot, and if you go out and buy any Microsoft product, the picture on the box is made with KeyShot,” says Henrik Wann Jensen.

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KeyShot can convincingly render stone, plastic, steel, and even a fabric sweatsuit.
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Marble is actually a tricky material to render because of the way light penetrates the surface. KeyShot employs a technique called "subsurface scattering" to replicate the effect.

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High-end products require high end images for sales purposes.
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Why not shoot photos of small objects like smartphones? Avoiding fingerprints, dust, and troublesome reflection all make it easier to choose rendering.

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Some people even use these advanced tools to replicate old school products.
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KeyShot can render multiple materials on one object — plastic housings, bead blasted guards, and a steel blade in this case.

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KeyShot has a huge user base among designers at car companies who enjoy the ability to create high quality renders, quickly.
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Many use KeyShot to render mundane products, but some apply it's powerful rendering engine to sci-fi projects.

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