How to Choose an Architectural Visualisation Studio: 10 Questions for Developers
You're about to hand a studio your drawings, your budget and a slice of your launch date. Pick well and the images carry the scheme for years. Pick badly and you'll be paying twice.
We work with the renders archviz studios make every week. We see what separates a set that sells from a set that sits in a planning pack. Here are the 10 questions we'd ask before signing with any architectural visualisation studio.
1. Who is the work for: planners, funders or buyers?
A verified view for a planning application and a hero image for a sales launch are different jobs. The first has to be accurate to the millimetre. The second has to make someone want to live, work or stay there.
Good studios ask about the audience before they quote. If yours doesn't, tell them. It changes the camera angles, the light, the styling and how many people they put in the frame.
2. Can we see work at our scale?
A studio that shines on single villas may struggle with a 400-unit mixed-use scheme, and the reverse is true too. Ask for three projects close to yours in size and type: commercial, office, hospitality or large residential.
Then ask what the brief was. A portfolio shows you the best frame. The brief shows you whether they can repeat it.
3. What do you need from us, and when?
Most studios build a 3D model from your architect's CAD, elevations and material schedule. Missing information is the biggest cause of delay. Get the input list in writing before you sign, with dates.
4. How long will it take?
Timelines vary a lot with scope. UK studio iCreate quotes single stills in about a week and a full CGI package in 8 to 12 weeks (iCreate price list). Animation takes longer: Rendimension puts a 60-second film at 4 to 8 weeks from a finished model, plus 2 to 4 weeks if the model has to be built first (Rendimension).
Work back from your launch date. If the maths doesn't close, you need a different scope or a different plan.
5. What does it cost, and what's included?
For a small UK development, stills typically run £1,000 to £5,000 (iCreate). Architectural animation is usually priced by the second, at roughly $50 to $200 per second of finished footage (Maverick Frame).
Ask what's in the number. Revision rounds, day and dusk versions, interior styling, cropped formats for social and signage all tend to be priced separately.
6. How many revision rounds, and what counts as one?
This is where budgets drift. Agree how many rounds are included, what a "round" means, and the cost of changes after sign-off. Design changes during construction are normal. Surprise invoices shouldn't be.
7. How do you handle design changes?
Your scheme will change. A façade gets value-engineered, a balcony moves, a unit mix shifts. Ask how the studio updates a model and what it costs to re-render a view after a change. The best studios keep the model live and charge for the delta.
8. How will the people look?
Most people skip this question. Buyers notice it first. Animated figures are hard to get right. Rendimension says static figures "read as artificial the moment the camera moves", which makes animated people a meaningful cost line (Rendimension).
Ask to see moving footage with people in it, and look closely. If the people look pasted in, your buyers will see it too.
9. Who owns the files?
You'll want to use the images on your website, hoardings, investor decks, brochures and social feeds for years. Get the licence in writing. Ask whether you get the 3D model and source files, or just the finished images.
This matters later. The renders your studio makes are the raw material for everything that follows in your launch.
10. What happens after the renders?
Renders are made to get a scheme approved and seen. A sales and marketing team needs more than that: film for the launch, cutdowns for every feed, lifestyle content for later phases. Ask the studio what they offer after the stills, or who they work with.
That's where we come in. We take the renders your archviz studio has already made and direct them into Launch Films: photoreal film with people in it who read as real. Your visualisation studio draws the building. We put life inside it.
A full side-by-side is on our archviz studios vs ListLift page.
A quick checklist
- Portfolio at your scale and sector
- Written input list with dates
- Timeline that works back from your launch
- Itemised quote, including revisions and formats
- A clear process for design changes
- Moving footage with people in it
- A licence that covers every channel you'll use
- A plan for the renders once they're signed off
Frequently asked questions
What does an architectural visualisation studio do?
It turns architectural drawings into images of a building before it exists: stills, flythroughs, walkthroughs and VR tours. Most build a 3D model from CAD files, then render views from it.
How much does architectural visualisation cost?
In the UK, stills for a small development typically cost £1,000 to £5,000 (iCreate). Animation is usually priced per second, at around $50 to $200 per second of finished footage (Maverick Frame).
Can I turn my existing renders into video?
Yes. We direct renders and CGI into film with people in it, so you don't need a new animation to launch. First cut in 5 to 10 working days. See Launch Films.
Already have renders? Send us one. We'll show you what buyers will see.
