​Tom Burkewitz of WSBY won the Overall Award in the 2021 Render of the Year competition with his submission, "Church in Nomine Patris." Arch Out Loud asked him a few questions to better understand the inspiration behind his image and how he created it.

Arch Out Loud (AO): What inspired your rendering?

Tom Burkewitz (TB): In case of the mood I was inspired by Andrew Wyeth paintings. In the case of architecture it  was pure improvisation based on clear sight on spirituality and pure shape feeling. ​

AO: What do you think helped your project stand out in the Render of the Year competition?

TB: I’ve tried to show the simple and clear vision based on simplicity and contrast which  helped to open up the monolith of faith. Especially during these hard times in human history. ​

AO: What were some of the most challenging aspects in creating this image?

TB: Pure improvisation, intuition and artistic flow.​

​AO: What programs did you use in making your submission and how long have you been working with this software?

TB: For modeling I used Sketchup and Vray For Sketchup for rendering the image. Adobe  Photoshop I used for post production and matte painting. 

​I have used Sketchup for at least twelve years and love it for its simple, fast and intuitive process. Sketchup as simple as the pencil in your hand.

An additional render submitted by Burkewitz for the 2021 Render of the Year Competition:
​"La Mur Du Nord" was an Overall Directors Choice and and Exterior Honorable Mention.​

​AO: Aside from monetary prizes, what do people gain from participating in competitions?

TB: Appreciation, attention and spreading an artist's vision. Finding new collaborative  connections to realize new artistic projects. 

AO: Do you have any advice for others trying to advance their visualization techniques or for people participating in rendering competitions?

TB: What I would advise at first is to form your own vision, to train it, to raise it. The software is nothing without your unique vision. It will help a lot for sure. ​

​AO: What role do you think visualization plays in the advancement of the design industry and how might rendering push the limits of how we represent new ideas?

TB: Good illustration plays a huge role in representing an idea of the author to the entire world and helps a lot of ideas to be realized. It helps society to read the message.

Tom Burkewitz is the founder of the small architectural illustration practice called WSBY (We’ll Soon Be  Young). Their mission is to bring to life, an atmosphere of wonder and cinematic feeling into architectural proposals while while taking the distance out of stamps and clichés of architectural imagery mass production. Visit their site ​https://www.wsby.eu/.