A podcast on architectural visualization seems somewhat counterintuitive. Visualization is all about, well, the visual, and podcasts appeal to another sense entirely. But funnily enough, if you want to know more about architectural visualization as a field, podcasts can be a great place to start.
You won’t find skills tutorials as such – for obvious reasons, these are best left to videos – but there’s a wealth of interviews with people who know the industry inside and out. You can get a good sense of what it’s really like to be a 3D artist, and pick up a few tips too.
So what are the best podcasts for architectural visualization (or archviz, as it’s often called today)? It’s funny you should ask . . .
The Best Podcasts for Architectural Visualization
In the list below, we’ve rounded up six of our favorite visualization podcasts. They’re described alphabetically rather than in order of preference, and they’re all available on multiple platforms (iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, etc).
1. 2G Academy Podcast
This podcast is almost too new to include on the list as it only began in January 2021, but it’s got off to such a flying start we thought we’d throw it in there (and of course 2G Academy, which offers training in 3D rendering and more, has been around since 2014). Content is released more or less weekly, and topics have so far included building a personal brand and where to look for inspiration. Content is presented by Indonesian archviz superstar Reinaldo Handaya.
2. Architecture, Design and Photography
As the name suggests, this podcast covers more than just archviz. It’s hosted by American architectural photographer Trent Bell, who sits down with a new guest every few weeks (and sometimes more frequently).
Though his guests all work in ‘visualization’ in one way or another, their backgrounds and experience are varied; recent interviewees have included muralist Ryan Adams and advertising designer Drew Hodges, whose agency Spot Design has created posters for iconic Broadway shows. Bell has been making the podcast since 2019 and there are more than 40 episodes available.
3. CG Garage
CG Garage is made by Chaos Group, one of the world’s leading visualization and computer graphics firms, which was founded in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia but now has offices in LA, Seoul and Tokyo. It’s the most established archviz podcast out there, having begun in 2014, and it currently offers well over 300 episodes.
New CG Garage content is available on a weekly basis. The hour-long episodes are hosted by Chris Nichols, who has managed to bag interviews with numerous Oscar winners as well as leading architects and designers. Twenty thousand regular listeners can’t be wrong, so tune in to find out what all the fuss is about.
4. CG Talks
CG Talks is mostly aimed at those just beginning their careers in 3D art, but it’s an easy-going sort of podcast that will probably appeal to more established professionals, too. Around 30 episodes (of roughly an hour each) have been made available since January 2020, with recent topics including shading, photorealism, and optimizing scenes. CG Talks is hosted by four visualization designers (Dj, Marco, Tom and Andrew), and you can expect two or three new episodes each month.
5. The Collective Podcast
Another big name on the design podcast scene, The Collective Podcast offers biweekly interviews with experts as well as insights into the professional life of host Ash Thorp, Director of ALT Creative. Thorp has presented the show since January 2018 and all of his episodes are readily available online, but if you’re trying to get hold of older content (before episode 170) you might have to do a bit of digging.
Collaborating on the podcast is Andrew Hawryluk, who has worked on movies Black Panther and Spiderman: Homecoming and the Call of Duty games. With some episodes topping three hours, The Collective Podcast offers a lot of bang for your ‘buck’ (yes, of course it’s free).
6. The morningdepresso’s Podcast
Though this visualization podcast ceased production as the world temporally shut down in April 2020, it’s worth revisiting the content released by the amusingly named morningdepresso (aka Stefan Lopusny) over the previous year. Expect takes on ‘progressing as an artist, failing and learning from it, in order to be better’, rather than specific skills development. There are 16 episodes available and we hope Lopusny will be back soon.
7. There’s Something about Archviz
Unlike the legions of podcasts that tanked during the pandemic, There’s Something about Archviz was actually born during the period of lockdown. Each episode lasts around an hour and features Federico Biancullo of The Big Picture plus a guest from the industry. Recently, Lucia Frascerra has helped listeners navigate the archviz job market, while Fabio D’Agnano offered helpful advice on education for aspiring 3D artists.
Content is targeted at those just starting out, and new episodes tend to arrive twice a month. We’re hoping this one will go from strength to strength.
8. Wrong F-ing Question
The gloriously titled Wrong F-ing Question has been running since 2019, with fairly irregular but high quality episodes. Hosts Hrvoje Čop and Mike Golden think there is such a thing as a stupid question, but only when it’s the wrong one; it is these that the duo address in their podcast.
For example, they have taken on questions such as, ‘Why do clients ruin my images?’ and ‘Will AI take my job?’, reasoning that they don’t and it won’t, because the questions themselves aren’t properly conceived. As you might expect, the delivery (but never the content) is on the dry side.
Honorable mentions
Archviz podcasts seem to start up and close down all the time. These ‘honorable mentions’ are no longer active, but their back episodes still deserve a look.
Archviz and Chill – only three episodes of this podcast, from leading UK archviz firm Arqui9, were ever produced but their guests were second to none. Worth a revisit.
D2 Talks – this interview-based podcast hasn’t been updated since early 2019, but there’s a generous archive to work through.
The SpectRoom – creator Ronen Beckerman described this podcast as a ‘weekly experiment’, and he hosted some interesting discussions until it folded in 2017.
Summary
While videos are undoubtedly a better way to learn the techniques of architectural visualization, podcasts can provide an excellent insight into the field. If you’re considering a career in 3D art or you’re just starting out, we recommend dipping into one or more of the series above to discover more. And one day, it could be you who’s called in as the star interviewee!
