Service · Product Manufacture CGI
If it’s a product,
we can image it.
From a calibration insert that fits inside a tap to an industrial air conditioning unit. One-off precision objects or full commercial ranges. Catalogue-clean studio stills or fully lit brochure scenes. We build it, we light it, we output to brief.
What it is
The brief is always the same:
make it look exactly right.
The product is never the same.
Product manufacture CGI works differently from room-based imaging. There is no environment to style, no room to dress. The product is the subject — and the quality of the CGI lives entirely in how accurately the object is modelled, how well its materials are read, and how precisely it is lit.
That requires a different kind of technical discipline. Surface accuracy. Material behaviour. Geometric precision. A watch dial that looks wrong by two pixels looks wrong in a retail campaign. A castor with the wrong gloss level tells the buyer nothing about the finish they are going to receive.
We have worked across the full range of manufactured products for 24 years — from precision instruments too complex to photograph cleanly, to large industrial products too expensive to set up for photography repeatedly. The same brief in both cases: produce imagery that serves the marketing need and cannot be told apart from a professionally lit studio photograph.
The output format is always led by the brief. Catalogue-clean white backgrounds for e-commerce and spec sheets. Brochure lifestyle with setting and context for campaigns. Technical illustration for manuals and data sheets. We scope and quote on receipt of spec.
Output formats
What you brief. What we produce.
We organise product CGI around output format, not product type — because the format determines everything about how the image needs to be built, lit, and delivered. Four output types cover the full range of product marketing needs.
01
Catalogue and e-commerce stills
Product isolated on a neutral background — white, near-white, or deep dark. No setting, no context. Clean lighting that shows the product accurately and consistently across a range. The output brief for spec sheets, online retail, trade catalogues, and data sheets. Works at any product scale.
White background
360° rotations
Range consistency
Cut-out-ready
Finish variants
02
Brochure and campaign scenes
Product placed in an environment chosen to frame it. Surface, lighting, atmosphere — composed to communicate quality, sector, and use context. The output for print brochures, campaign hero images, editorial placements, and premium retail. Setting is built to spec alongside the product.
Contextual setting
Art-directed lighting
Brand-matched mood
Print-ready
Hero formats
03
Technical illustrations and exploded views
Exploded assembly diagrams, cross-section cutaways, part-labelled technical illustrations. The output for installation manuals, parts catalogues, engineering documentation, and trade technical literature. Precision modelling required — the kind of accuracy that only CGI can achieve consistently and repeatably.
Exploded assembly
Cross-section cutaway
Part labelling
Technical accuracy
Manual-ready
04
Finish and configuration variants
The same product rendered across multiple finishes, colourways, or configurations — consistently lit, identically framed, from the same model. Produces the complete visual set for a range without separate shoots. One model, unlimited variants. Used for range catalogues, retail selectors, and distributor materials.
Finish range
Colour variants
Configuration states
Consistent framing
Range completeness
Finding your brief
Not sure how to scope it yet?
Most product CGI briefs arrive one of four ways. These are the four brief shapes we see most often — and the kind of work each one leads to.
One-off · Plain output
Catalogue and e-commerce stills
You have one product to image — or a small set. You need clean, accurate stills for a website, spec sheet, or retailer submission. Possibly one finish. Possibly a small set of angles. Scope is tight and output is defined.
— A new castor variant for a furniture manufacturer’s trade catalogue
— A replacement image set for a product with discontinued photography
— A precision instrument for a technical brochure with no existing visuals
One-off · Lifestyle output
Single product, placed in context.
One product, but the output is a campaign image or brochure scene — the product needs an environment, a surface, a mood. The setting is as important as the product itself. More build scope; the environment is part of the brief.
— A watch placed on a surface for a launch campaign hero shot
— A specialist instrument photographed for an editorial feature
— A domestic product styled for a premium brand relaunch
Range · Plain output
Multiple products or finishes, clean stills.
A range of products — or one product across multiple finish options — all needing consistent clean imagery. This is where CGI’s economics become significant: one model, consistent lighting, unlimited variant renders. The output standard is identical across every SKU.
— A full castor range across five finishes for a B2B catalogue
— Twelve handle variants for a door hardware manufacturer’s product sheet
— A complete AC unit range in four colourways for an OEM retailer
Range · Lifestyle output
Multiple products with setting and context.
A range of products each needing lifestyle or campaign imagery. The most complex scope — multiple builds or smart environment reuse across a range. This is the most common brief from brands with annual catalogue cycles and a recurring need for new campaign imagery.
— An instrumentation brand’s annual product range, each with a specialist environment
— A domestic appliance range placed in context for a retail campaign
— A safety equipment range requiring both technical stills and lifestyle scenes
If your brief doesn’t fit neatly here, that is normal. Product CGI briefs are often hybrid or unusual — a one-off that becomes a range, a plain brief that evolves into a lifestyle shoot, a product that sits between sectors. Send us what you have and we will tell you how to scope it within two working days.
How it works
Spec in. Asset out.
No surprises.
Product CGI is a four-stage process from spec receipt to final delivery. The same process for a single castor and a full instrumentation range — scope changes, process stays the same.
01
02
03
04
Brief and specification
CAD files, technical drawings, physical dimensions, material specs, finish references. We review what you have, identify what is missing, and confirm in a single call what is needed to proceed. Fixed quote within two working days of receiving the spec.
Model build
The product is built in 3D to the specification received. Geometry is accurate to CAD or drawing. Materials are matched to physical samples or finish references. For range projects, each variant is built as a separate material state on the same model — not a separate build.
Draft renders and approval
First draft renders produced for approval before final output. Lighting, angle, finish accuracy, and background treatment confirmed at draft stage. Amendments included as standard — we do not charge for corrections to specification errors at this point.
Final output and delivery
Final renders produced to agreed specification — resolution, format, colour profile, file naming, and delivery method all confirmed at brief stage. 3D scene files delivered with final assets. The asset is yours to reuse, extend, or brief against in future.
01
Build the room and the products.
Room environment constructed to spec — dimensions, surfaces, lighting. Every product modelled accurately from CAD files or technical drawings. Each product is a separate 3D asset within the room, independently editable. Materials matched to physical samples. Once built, this is yours permanently.
02
Render every variant from the same scene.
Change a wardrobe finish, swap a bed frame, recolour the headboard, restyle the bedding. Every render comes from the same scene — consistent perspective, lighting, and quality. No reshooting. No additional set. Each colourway is a camera instruction, not a new studio day.
03
Reuse the asset library across every campaign.
The room built for last season’s catalogue is still there this season — for new ranges, new colourways, new retail environments, new campaign themes. The asset does not depreciate. Each reuse reduces the cost per image from everything that came before it.
03
Reuse the asset library across every campaign.
The room built for last season’s catalogue is still there this season — for new ranges, new colourways, new retail environments, new campaign themes. The asset does not depreciate. Each reuse reduces the cost per image from everything that came before it.
What you provide
You don’t need perfect specs to get started.
Most product briefs arrive with incomplete specification. We work with what is available and identify any gaps in the first call. Here is the range of what we can work from — and what is ideal versus workable.
ideal
Stills and animation can be briefed together or sequentially — same 3D asset either way
workable
Multiple animation outputs from one scene — a door open, a tour, and a social cut all in one pass
starting point
Deliverables to spec: MP4, MOV, GIF, frame sequences, or platform-optimised exports
output brief
Timing and easing matched to brand guidelines or provided reference
selected product work
A few examples of images from our product archives.
Who it’s for
Any manufacturer with a product that needs imaging.
The brief arrives from different directions. Product type varies. The requirement is consistent: accurate imagery that works for the output format and cannot be told from photography.
client type 01
Manufacturers without photography infrastructure
Companies producing specialist or low-volume products where setting up photography is disproportionate to the output needed. One image of a precision instrument should not require a studio day. CGI makes that brief economic.
client type 02
Brands with complex finish or configuration ranges
Manufacturers of products with many finish variants, colourways, or configuration states — where photographing every combination is impractical. CGI produces every variant from one model at a fraction of the photography cost.
client type 03
Products where photography is technically difficult
Very small products where focus and consistency are impossible at scale. Very large products where studio setup is prohibitively expensive. Products with reflective or metallic finishes that photography handles poorly. Products that don’t yet physically exist.
client type 04
Agency teams managing industrial or technical accounts
Marketing leads who need product imagery produced to campaign brief without managing photography logistics. We work as production partner — brief and spec in, final assets out.
Common questions
Things product manufacturing teams ask first.
Six questions that come up in nearly every first conversation. If yours isn’t here, ask.
Start a product project
Whatever the product is,
send us the spec.
CAD file, technical drawing, reference photography, or a written brief. Fixed quote within two working days. NDA available before anything is shared.