When you work in the landscape industry, you’re making your clients’ green dreams come true. The problem is, not everyone can look at a 2D drawing and visualize what it’ll look like after it has been installed. So, including a 3D rendering of your landscape design in your proposal/presentation can be the difference between closing the deal or not. That’s why landscapers are turning to 3D landscape design software to turn their flat 2D designs into beautifully rendered, near real-life depictions of what those dreams look like.
This does not mean you won’t need traditional 2D drawings; your crews/contractors will still need a detailed plan with dimensions they can reference while installing. Instead, anything you can include in your presentation to the client to enhance their visualization of the finished product will add an extra layer of professionalism and get them excited to see the space after it’s been transformed.
The concept of presenting your designs in 3D may not be new, but it has transitioned from being a competitive advantage to an essential element in getting more clients. That being said, moving into the 3D-modelling side of the industry does pose its own unique set of challenges.
The Learning Curve of 3D Landscape Design Software
Learning any new skill set can be challenging without the proper support. This statement holds true for learning 3D landscape design software. When adding 3D landscape design software to your toolkit, you need to keep an objective in mind. It’s about upscaling your presentations and being the first to win the project.
By viewing demos before you purchase, you can see how the process is done from start to finish. You can even request and schedule a 1:1 walkthrough of the software. The best way to look at this is as an investment. After purchasing the 3D rendering software, the investment is then your time learning the processes that can help you turn those 2D drawings into works of art.
It’s all about setting yourself up for long-term success, and landscapers who use 3D landscape design software say that when they present a 3D rendering, it pretty much always closes the deal on the sale.
“Of all the 3D jobs I have done for clients, 99% of them have sold,” said Patrick DuChene, owner of DuChene Design Solutions. “It communicates very well between DynaScape’s Design and Sketch 3D software. There is an incredible library for Sketch 3D. The plants are not conceptual, they’re real.”
The bonus of 3D rendering is that it can reduce the number of revisions you need to make because it shows your customers exactly what they are getting. Being able to truly see what goes into a design, how the shadows will play at dawn, even how the water looks in a pool can make the difference between a revision or an accepted proposal.
Most 3D Software is Not Exclusive to the Landscape Industry
The current market is saturated with 3D software options, but you’ll want to choose one that fulfills your landscape design needs. For a long time, the green industry struggled with a lack of 3D design software with access to landscape-specific components.
For example: if your client wanted to see a different style of paver on a pathway or patio, you would have to create the new paver using the tools available in your generalized 3D design software. Doing this could take hours! The more time it takes to get those revisions back to the client, the more time they have to consider choosing another landscaping company for the job.
Luckily, landscape-specific applications and comprehensive component libraries are available to add to your existing 3D software, making it significantly easier to render or make changes to your design. With these libraries, you can choose from over 1,000 components, including real plants, ponds, pools, rose arbors, cabanas, pergolas, and more.
There are also real-looking plants and fixtures that are as close to the real thing as possible. Instead of faint interpretations of what the plant or flower may look like, the database has thousands of actual plants. There is a reason we say that with 3D rendering software, you are bringing your designs to life.
Having access to landscape-specific 3D components significantly reduces your time spent creating your design and provides your client with a stunning visual representation of the finished space.
Consider the Cleanup Time
Anyone who has spent time converting a 2D drawing to a 3D rendering has, at one time or another, found that the 3D representation of the 2D drawing did not turn out the way they had envisioned. For example, the plant details are lost, 3D textures look blurred, and structures like patios appear as poorly drawn wireframes.
Using the right 3D landscape design software will save you time on the cleanup process. DynaScape’s Design software moves landscape designers through the entire process, going from 2D design to Color and Sketch3D to bring those drawings to life, all within one software solution.
By having systems integrated and built by the same company, the shorter the cleanup time and the quicker your turnaround time for proposals will be. This is especially true if you took the time to set up your process and learn the software from the beginning. The rendering in 3D will soon become a natural part of the sales and design process.
With the right software to support your 3D proposals, you can start winning more clients, building a portfolio of models to showcase your work, and charging a premium design fee for your 3D services.
It’s About Building the Experience
What landscapers are now doing is building an experience for their prospective clients. 3D renderings are the best way to do that, as they can put the client right into the design. By using 3D plug-ins, landscape designers can render 3D models as true to real-life as possible.
Creating that experience with video fly-overs of their design can show clients what it’s like to walk out to their new deck, how a guest will enter their backyard for the first time, or even what the yard looks like from their newly built fire pit and entertaining area. Adding shadows for views at different times of the day, turning day into night, and having the lights come on around a pool or patio gives the client the authentic experience that will make clients think of themselves in the space.
Landscape designers are even going a step further and adding sound to create a more complete experience. Media is becoming a growing part of landscapes. Outdoor music and video set-ups will allow landscapers to show how their space will look, sound, and feel for as close to real-life interpretation as possible.
By focusing on the experience, you sell the experience rather than a design. In addition, it brings a feeling out of your customers.
To learn more about how DynaScape’s Sketch3D, the comprehensive 3D component library, can take your proposals/presentations to the next level, get in touch with one of our account executives today. Download our latest guide, The Landscape Design Experience Guide, and see how landscapers use DynaScape’s 3D landscape design software to bring their designs to life.