The Watermark Collection

The Watermark Collection engaged with White Crow Studios earlier this year after seeking computer generated imagery for their upcoming new product launch. The luxury brassware manufacturers are pioneers in the industry producing unique, industrially inspired handmade faucets and fixtures for discerning interior designers all over the world.

The brief was to produce CGI product shots but also to create a consistent series of lifestyle shots that show the product fitted in inspirational, on-brand, interior environments. The environments needed to not only be photorealistic but to also engage with the audience.

The room set design would undoubtedly have been unfeasible to re-create with photography. Not only was manufacturing only just getting underway, it simply would have been cost prohibitive to re-create a marble bathroom in an empty warehouse or studio location only to be photographed for a day before dismantling.

Chief Executive Officer for The Watermark Collection Benjamin Peak explains the briefing process: “For me the type of response generated in the viewer should be “WOW that is an insane bathroom, there’s no way that I’d do it in my own space but as an image I love it. After viewing the initial room set design concepts from White Crow Studios I quickly realised the artistic flare and imagination this studio had capture with our products. The mass red travertine was a risky step without diverting to another material but it really compliments the vintage brass finishes.”

Of course, risky or not if the red travertine bathroom had not received a positive reaction the decision could have been easily reversed, that is the appeal and advantage of creating the environment in a 3D space. Unlike traditional photographic methods, CGI provides the client with the flexibility to change their mind without going to the expense and time of a re-shoot.

The challenge as visualisation artists was to re-create and emphasise the unique brushing technique developed by the craftsmen of The Watermark Collection, giving the product the sophisticated boutique finish it is known for.

After reviewing the actual samples of the brass we first photographed them in order to re-create the colour texture to be applied onto the 3D model. Artificial lighting in our 3D Studio Max software and Corona renderer can affect the colours of products within the imagery therefore it is most important to be able to match to the original colour samples as accurately as possible.

The results of the imagery speak for themselves. The titanium mono block taps in vintage brass add industrial chic, the minimalist lines and maximalist marble meet together in this luxurious red marble bathroom, all finished off with an infinity titanium bath set.