We’ve put together a short breakdown video for one of our earlier projects: an aerial CGI of a proposed new country house near Fernhurst, on the Surrey and West Sussex border. The site sits in open, wooded countryside with long views across the Weald. The aim was to make the proposed house look as though it had always been part of that view. The process behind it is still how we approach this kind of image today.
Starting with drone photography
The image began with a drone photograph of the existing site. For a rural project like this, real photography does a lot of the work. The rolling fields, mature woodland and distant hills are all genuine, and they’re far more convincing than anything you could build digitally at that scale.
It also keeps the image honest. Anyone who knows the area will recognise the setting, and the proposal can be judged in its actual context.
Matching the 3D model to the photograph
Next we matched a 3D camera to the drone plate. Lens, height, angle and position all have to line up so the model sits correctly in the landscape. Once the match was right, we built the proposed house, outbuildings, driveway and garden layout as a 3D model.
At this early “clay” stage, the model is plain grey. That makes it easy to check massing, levels and the relationship between buildings before any detail goes in.
Materials and landscaping
Then came materials: stonework, roof tiles, glazing, gravel and paving. On a country house, these choices decide whether the building feels at home in its surroundings, so we pay close attention to scale and texture.
Landscaping came next, and it went in gradually: formal hedging, clipped topiary, lawns, an avenue of trees and new planting that blends into the existing woodland edge. On large rural sites, the gardens often take up more of the frame than the house itself. Getting the planting right matters just as much as the architecture.
Lighting and grade
The final stage was matching the light. The drone plate was shot on a clear autumn day with low, warm sunlight. The rendered house, shadows and planting all had to agree with it. A final colour grade then brought the CGI and the photography together into one consistent image.
Why this approach works
Combining drone photography with CGI is particularly useful for:
- Planning: showing how a proposal sits within its wider landscape, especially in sensitive rural settings
- Marketing: giving buyers a realistic picture of a finished property and its grounds before work is complete
- Design review: letting architects and clients assess massing, landscaping and views from an angle that’s hard to show in drawings
You can see the finished images on the Fernhurst project page. For other examples, take a look at our exterior CGI work or a Lutyens-style country house we visualised.
If you’re planning a rural or country house project and think an aerial CGI could help, we’re happy to talk it through with you.
