TOP Websites for architectural figures
We’ve all been there you have the basis of a beautiful render or section drawing but to really bring it to life and make it pop it needs to be populated! Here are our top websites for figures, people, vegetation and everything else you could possibly need in your imagery.
Pimp My Drawing
Slowly becoming more and more popular this fantastic website offers figures in both dwg. and ai. filetypes. They’ve continued to expand their library with vegetation and vehicles all of which give that very on trend render style featured heavily at the Bartlett.
Their website can be found at: www.pimpmydrawing.com
Mr.Cutout.Com
For those of you that prefer a more photorealistic render ‘Mr Cutout’ should be your go to website. Now be warned there is a limit to the overall file size you can download which is 5mb per day so choose your figures wisely! This may seem off putting but the variety within their library is unrivalled and the fact they are all categorised clearly means you can find the right figure at the right angle quickly.
Their website can be found at: www.mrcutout.com
Skalgubbar
Another one for the photorealistic crowd Skalgubbar is full of the weird and wonderful figures you never thought you’d need. From a woman dragging a Christmas tree to someone sitting on an airport trolley on their phone there really is a mixture of everything on this website. The best part is there’s no limit on the number of downloads and they’re also free! So you can download until your hearts content. And who knows that figure of a man balancing some bamboo on his foot may be what brings your render to life.
Their website can be found at: www.skalgubbar.se
Toffu
Toffu offers some fantasic block colour figures and vegetation. A style that is becoming ever more popular in modern architectural drawing this we've no doubt this website will only continue to grow in popularity. Now unfortunately you do have to pay for quality and as such may not fit the student budget, albeit prices are reasonable tending to be within $6 - $10 for up to 12 different figures. Toffu's library is extensive and the style is beautiful so it may be more expensive than most but certainly one to consider as it will save you time!
Their website can be found at: www.toffu.co
Artcutout
Anyone looking to provide a classical representation with their drawings need look no further than Artcutout. Their website offers an extensive range of people animals and plants that have been taken from artwork dating centuries ago. This website really is different to any other I have seen, it offers such a unique way to populate your drawings. Another benefit it that these cutouts are also free to use.
Their website can be found at: http://artcutout.studioalternativi.co.il/
Escalalatina
This page offers a range of more culturally diverse cutouts to those situated in Latin America. As their website suggests "After a great difficulty in finding local people for their graphic representations, and tired of having to use - foreign workers - in their renders, a group of young Latin architects, inspired by SKALGUBBAR (by Teodor JE) we created Escalalatina, a growing collection of Latin American cuts." For those projects situated within Latin America this website is the one for you!
Their website can be found at: www.escalalatina.com
Photoshop
Last but not least, one of the programmes we spend a large chunk of our time using but most likely under utilised! It wasn’t until later in my studies that I truly understood the full capabilities of photoshop. Particularly for vegetation, the command Render > Tree could be a game changer. Photoshop offers a range of 20+ different styles and types of tree of which you can further alter the colour and shadow direction with one click. Highly recommended and a huge time saver.