Todays topic on What I learned in Architecture School: #2 God is REALLY in the Details.
Before I begin, I just want to remind everyone that this post doesn't only apply to the world of architecture ― it is relevant to almost anything. Also, I don't claim to be the master of all-knowing, agree/disagree all you want.
"GOD IS IN THE DETAILS" - A saying most architects and architecture students should know, notably used by German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969).
The above idiom is just a fancy way of saying how important it is to pay attention to the little things; not forgetting to mention how everything should be done properly and thoroughly. I never really understood the importance of details, and that understanding didn't come to me until later in my diploma; and it was more of a slow self realization rather than a light bulb over my head....
I am SO going to hell for this...
When was the last time you were NOT impressed by a city made out of toothpicks, or sculptures on a fishing hook, or plastic food that looked absolutely edible, or god-like visualizations of
Peter Guthrie? I do believe we, humans, are detail loving creatures though we might not always be consciously aware of it. With that said, I believe anything with a significant amount of details well paid-attention-to has the ability to draw in extra attention.
Elaborating on the idea of drawing attention; Buildings are very large objects, and it is very easy for an architect or a student to disregard the 'little things', especially during the early phases of any design. For those who actually paid attention to
ces petits détails, they tend to get more praises
en general (only a personal opinion).
Using my own recent work as an example.
A digital rendering of a toilet design I proposed.
Disclaimer: I don't think my work is the best example, but I think it makes more sense if I use my own property of intelligence rather than stealing some random image online to talk about.
Anyway...
I LOVE to see good digital visualizations/renderings, maybe that is why
Peter Guthrie's website constantly makes me jizz in my pants. I doubt I have the time and patience to self learn to that god-like extent, but I would love to be able to render like him.... one day.
Something you should know, just because it is DIGITAL doesn't make it any easier to achieve. I honestly despise the immediate conclusion that ALL computer generated/created things are unworthy of praise. Getting everything to the smallest detail and mimicking real life is just as hard as doing a hand painting with the same intentions.
I had to re-render over and over again just to get the details right, a toilet scene like this took me a duration of 8 hours at least ― paying much attention to things like the size, texture and colour of the tiles, light intensity, and etc. Not forgetting the amount of time I have to create the toilet fixtures that can't be found online ― the basin, faucet at the bathtub, and the porcelain pots are downloaded; I am not taking credits.
Things that I had to worry about includes the texture of the tiles, making sure that it looks like small pieces of porcelain combined together to cover an entire wall. This makes the little grooves between the tiles critical to the image, it will never be the same without it. As much as its hardly visible, little things like these does improve the realism of a render (again, another personal opinion).
The rims around the handle where it meets the glass, or the brackets that holds two glass panels together ― All are part of the ensemble that creates a realistic (and detailed) render in which God will find a home.
and of course, there are some misses that I should mention...
THE LIGHT BOX! I might have not spent enough time on the details of the light box, which is now haunting me every single time I look at the images of my own work. The fact that the box is PERFECTLY square with perfect edges really steer the realism of the image into a different direction.
Not my property of intelligence.
The fact that actual light boxes should have slightly filleted edges. Light boxes usually have bulbs inside them which shouldn't produce a disgusting uniform glow to it, in other words there should be a noticeable difference in light intensity within a single surface of a light box. Missing small things like these has big consequences, I learned my lesson :(
To summarize everything up, I just want to remind you guys (whatever major you may be doing, in the creative industry or otherwise) that the small details DO deserve a huge amount of TLC which can really benefit you if you do. These 'small things' may seem extremely insignificant (also very time/work consuming), but very important none the less.
So what makes an A+ different from an A? My prescription... Extra attention to details, God is somewhere in there.
