So to the purpose of this post. Well I was having a think about my job and how, with severe time restraints, we can get an image done to a high standard and on time. When I think back to when I first started working in 3d, I tried my best to make everything to the best of my ability. Things like clean meshes, nice textures all round, etc... Now I'm not saying just make shoddy models with horrible meshes, but sometimes you have to ask the question "do I really need to model this perfectly?" The thing is you can spend so long on parts of the image that just don't matter that you run out of time on the things that do.
If it's at the front of the shot or one of the main parts you are focusing on, then spend the time there, not on something that is almost out of shot. This goes the same with textures, if your not going to see the back of an object and its not going to be caught in a reflection etc... Then maybe just do the important parts and use the base colour for the back or sides.
Another thing I used to do (and I suppose still do to some extent) is try and get everything done in the render. What I mean by that is most of the time you can create a much better image using real photos of things such as plants/flowers, fabrics and such. Place something in the 3d scene as a place holder and also for things such as shadows (and possibly reflections) but hide from the camera (in object properties). Then place a real image over the top in Photoshop or something similar. Not only does it save you so much time and energy but it really does add the level of detail that helps sell the image. Just make sure you build up a large library of images and if you can, with varying lighting conditions to help you match the image your working in.
My next post will be on render elements and why if your not using them, then you really should!
