Color Architectural Renderings in Twilight

Architectural Renderings that portray twilight lighting are both fun to do, and challenging….The stock in trade of most architectural renderings are the strong shades and shadows that are created by sunlight from above….At twilight, the sun-if it’s present at all-is near or below the horizon, which limits its effect on architectural forms…..And what takes its place are the other light sources, such as backlighting, interior lighting, lampposts, signage-all kinds of secondary forms of light that begin to give form to the subject building….As an illustrator, this can actually be somewhat liberating because you’re no longer confined to the very predictable effects of sunlight on the building….You can think and act more like a photographer, placing the light where you want it, to accentuate certain elements or features of the architecture and surroundings….For example with a daylight rendering of a building, you may want to draw attention to the entrance, and the best way to do that would be to use the darkest values and the greatest contrast in that area-so it pops and becomes a focus….In a twilight or night view the main building might be fairly dark and monotone, but you will reserve the brightest and maybe the most colorful hues for your treatment of the entry, so the eye goes there first….Another example of how daylight and twilight renderings differ would be this….When drawing a daylight rendering, the illustrator often chooses to light one side of the building with sunlight, leaving the other side as the dark side….Once you’ve made that decision as the artist, it’s difficult to say too much of anything about the dark side or any special feature it may have….Great for playing up the sunlit side, not so good for the darker side….When creating a twilight view of a building, you can always take the liberty of casting light from other sources anywhere you may want them, in order to create focus on specific details you choose…..Enjoy these twilight renderings I have drawn or painted recently for my architectural clients !