Render, not a photoGlow Saunas, from the 32 images released on 30 October 2025
[ Services · Rendering & animation ]
Product renders that sell it
before it exists.
Photorealistic renders and explainer animations for your campaign, your deck, your launch and your store, made from the CAD your product will be built from.
Since 2017: 150+ projects, 50+ products shipped, and renders behind campaigns that raised $20M+.
Where will people see it first?
Pick one: the image above and the shot list below follow your answer.
A first-year brand that went to market looking establishedYour shot list ↓
[ Your shot list ]
What does a brand launch
need?
A crowdfunding page needs images that make a backer believe the product already exists: a hero render in a real room, the product in each of its finishes, how it works and what is inside, then a short animation. KORU ran its Indiegogo launch on ours and reached over 1000% of its goal, raising $110,000+.
An investor deck or a grant application needs images that make an unbuilt product credible: the product in its world, every angle of the design, how it is built and the brand it will carry. Many founders raise their first money with the renders and the brief; eXalt's program secured about US$1.2M in government funding.
A brand launch needs a library rather than a few pictures: hero images for the site and social, the interior and its light, the finishes, and the whole range together, all in one look. Glow Saunas went to market on 32 of ours, released on 30 October 2025, before there was anything to photograph.
An online store needs the product alone in clean light, the same views for every model and every finish, and the details a buyer zooms into. We rendered each of Glow's four sizes from the same six views at 4000 px and built the configurator the brand launched with, and we rendered Orphey in both of its colorways.
The campaign is decided before the product is made, so every image on the page is a render. Backers read them closely: KORU's founder tells us its renders are often mistaken for product photos, and Photonix, whose brief was a crowdfunding launch, got its renders and explainer animations alongside a prototype that worked in a field.
A reader of a deck has not seen the product and may never touch a prototype before deciding. The renders carry the design, the technical visuals carry the engineering, and both come from the same model, so a question about a dimension has an answer in the CAD.
A library built alongside the product commits to the design before the first unit exists, and it is why a first-year brand can look like a company several years older. Every image comes from the same models, so a new size or a new finish is a new render, not a new shoot.
A product page is compared with the page next to it, so consistency sells: the same camera, the same light and the same background for every model and every finish. Renders make that consistency cheap, and a finish added later matches the rest.
Shot 01The hero image, in its room
The product where the backer pictures it, lit like a photograph. It is the first image on the page and the one that gets shared.
KORU. Seven scenes set KORU in living rooms and bedrooms, from December 2020 to June 2021. Case study →
Shot 02Every finish it comes in
The same object in each color and base, so a backer can choose before pledging and every reward tier has its picture.
KORU. The render brief of 26 November 2020 set four color configurations, each with its Pantone references. Case study →
Shot 03How it works, drawn
The air or the water made visible, through a body that shows nothing of it from the outside.
KORU. Room air drawn in at the joint between shell and base, out through the ring around the plant. Case study →
Shot 04A short explainer animation
The shell lifting off, the sensors named, the app it pairs with: the proof that the product does what the page says.
Photonix. Photonix got renders and explainer animations for its crowdfunding campaign, alongside its field-tested prototype. Case study →
Shot 05The page around them
If you want it, the campaign page too, so the images and the words tell one story.
KORU. KORU's Indiegogo page opened on our renders. Case study →
Shot 01The product in its world
The product doing what it is for, in the place it is for, before a prototype exists.
eXalt Aircraft. SOLO, a single-seat kit aircraft, rendered in flight over Lake Powell. Case study →
Shot 02Every angle of the design
Plan, side and three-quarter views from the production surfaces, so the proportions in the deck are the real ones.
eXalt Aircraft. Outer surfaces built in 3D as Class A masterlines: 7.8 m span, 5.58 m long, 2.4 m high. Case study →
Shot 03How it is built
The structure and the assemblies, for the reader who asks whether it can be made.
eXalt Aircraft. Modules that bolt together, every assembly numbered in one CATIA V5 product tree, 40 hours from crate to flight ready. Case study →
Shot 04The brand it will carry
Liveries, colors and the identity on the product, so the deck shows a company and not only a part.
eXalt Aircraft. Livery boards tried twelve schemes in white, navy, lime and blue on the side view. Case study →
Shot 05The document around them
The images go into a document someone acts on: a deck, a grant file or a business plan.
eXalt Aircraft. The 103-page strategic plan of March 2018 carried the funding case. Case study →
Shot 01The hero, at dawn and at dusk
The product in its setting at the hours that sell it, for the home page, the ads and the press kit.
Glow Saunas. Final renders set up on the four models at the end of October 2025, at 4000 px. Case study →
Shot 02The interior and its light
What it feels like inside, which no exterior shot can say.
Glow Saunas. The interiors show the benches with their LED strips lit. Case study →
Shot 03The finishes, compared
Patterns, colors and woods tried on the same model, then the chosen ones shown.
Glow Saunas. Roof patterns tried on the cabin in September 2025; three wood finishes compared on the Estate on 10 October. Case study →
Shot 04The whole range, one look
Every model side by side, so the range reads as one family.
Glow Saunas. Four sizes behind the same frame, the same door and the same benches, from 1300 to 2500 mm wide. Case study →
Shot 05The configurator and the model
The configurator the brand launched with, and the 3D files handed over with the images, for the next render or the factory.
Glow Saunas. Glow launched with the configurator we built and the campaign library; the four models were handed over as FBX and GLB files. Case study →
Shot 01The product alone, in studio light
The main image of the product page: nothing around it, every surface readable.
Orphey. The final model and the white and black renders delivered in November 2021. Case study →
Shot 02The same views for every model
Front, three-quarter, side and back, set up once and repeated for every size.
Glow Saunas. Front, three-quarter, side, high back three-quarter and two interior views of each size, at 4000 px. Case study →
Shot 03Every colorway
Each color on the same view, so a buyer compares finishes, not photographs.
Orphey. Seven trim and color trials, from black with gold to white with copper, before the white and the black colorways. Case study →
Shot 04The details buyers zoom into
Handles, seams, logos and textures, close enough to read the material.
Glow Saunas. Materials set up from the brand's references: charred timber, roof shingles and a light cedar. Case study →
Shot 05Every finish on the same model
A finish added later is a new render of the same view, so the page stays consistent.
Glow Saunas. A silver finish tried on the roof and the slats on 26 September 2025, beside the charcoal. Case study →
[ TIME AND COST ]
How long do renders take,
and what do they cost?
Renders you can show come with the concept phase of a product, about 6 weeks and $3,200 to $10,000 for the whole phase as an order of magnitude. A library for a campaign, a deck or a store is quoted per project, at a fixed price once the brief is written. Glow Saunas took under eight weeks from its first model to 32 final images.
Orders of magnitude, not a quote: you get a fixed price once the brief is written.
The guide sets out every phase with its time and budget: how to develop a physical product, in seven steps.
What moves the time and the cost
- Whether a 3D model exists
Glow's first model was built from the brand's architectural drawings and its dimension sheet; KORU was rendered from the CAD we designed.
- How many scenes, sizes and finishes
KORU had seven scenes and four color configurations. Glow had four sizes, six views each, and three wood finishes compared.
- Whether it moves
An animation adds a camera path, timing and every frame of it to render, and it is planned with the stills so both share one look.
[ MODEL TO CAMPAIGN ]
How does a 3D model
become a campaign image?
A 3D model becomes a campaign image in stages: the model, the light, the materials, a check of the dimensions, the finishes, the interior, then the final cameras. Each stage is reviewed on renders before the next one starts, so the brand decides on images, not on descriptions.
Glow Saunas went through all of them in under eight weeks, from a first video of the Compact on 7 September 2025 to a library of 32 images released on 30 October. The image beside the steps is Glow at each stage, dated. The Glow Saunas case study →
01 · 10 Sep 2025Glow Saunas · Compact, first modelEvery image on the left is a render by ONMOTIO, dated from the Glow Saunas project files. No photograph of a built cabin was used.
10 Sep 2025
The model
The product built in 3D from what the brand has: drawings, dimensions, a sketch or CAD.
Glow started from the brand's architectural drawings and its dimension sheet. The first model was the Compact: a video on 7 September, then ten stills on 10 September showing the slatted body, the rounded frame, the glazed front with its door, the benches and the heater guard. Revision 2, on 11 September, saved it as a base module ready to take materials and the other sizes.
You getA 3D model of the product, reviewed on stills and a short video.
11 Sep 2025
The first light
Where the light comes from decides what the product feels like, so it is tried early.
The first light study on Glow came the day after the first stills: LED strips under the benches, seen through the glass. It set the warm interior glow that every later image keeps, long before the final cameras were placed.
You getA light direction, tested on the model.
16 Sep 2025
Look development
Every material set up on the model and tested until it reads like the real thing.
Look development is the setting up of every material and finish on the 3D model, tested in quick renders until it reads like the real thing. Glow sent its references, charred timber, roof shingles and a light cedar, and the first round on 16 September produced three-quarter, front, open-door and interior test renders of the Compact and the Classic. Further rounds followed on 18 September and 1 October.
You getMaterials approved on test renders.
17 to 18 Sep 2025
Dimensions, then the range
The model is checked by its dimensions, then every size is built in the same file.
On 17 September we took two views straight from the model: a side elevation measured in the viewport, its overall length read at 2389.56 mm, and a section through the stepped benches, the floor and the glazed front. The next day every size stood in one file: the same frame, the same door and the same benches, only the width changing, from 1300 to 2500 mm.
You getA model checked by its dimensions, and the range in one file.
22 Sep to 10 Oct 2025
Patterns and finishes
Options are tried on the model, where a change costs a render instead of a sample.
A hexagonal shingle pattern went onto the roof on 22 September, dark shingles over the charcoal cladding the same day, a silver finish on the roof and the slats on 26 September. Revision 6 put a shingled roof on the Compact and the Estate, revision 7 reworked it, and three wood finishes were compared on the Estate on 10 October.
You getThe finishes chosen on images, before any sample is ordered.
19 to 26 Oct 2025
Inside, day and night
The interior gets its own cameras and its own light, morning and evening.
A round on the interiors on 19 October showed the cabin at first light and the same view after dark, through the glazed front. On 26 October the bench lighting was studied again, seen through the glass from outside, the view the evening hero would use.
You getInterior views approved, for the day and the night images.
30 Oct 2025
The library
The final cameras on every model, in one look, at print resolution.
The final renders were set up at the end of October on the four models: front, three-quarter, side, high back three-quarter and two interior views of each size, at 4000 px, with the wood finishes compared on the Estate. The full library of 32 images was released on 30 October 2025, and the brand went to market with it and with the configurator we built.
You get32 images at 4000 px, the configurator, and the four models as FBX and GLB files.
[ WHAT GETS BUILT ]
Why render from
the production CAD?
Because a render made from the model the factory works from shows the product people will actually receive. On Glow Saunas, the final images were set up on the same four models that went to the manufacturers for tooling and tolerance validation, so the campaign and the parts came from one set of files.
CADThe casing in CAD, developed for injection molding
RenderThe same product in a launch render
A render made apart from the engineering can promise a radius, a seam or a finish the product will not have, and the gap shows on the day the first unit is unboxed. Ours start from the CAD the engineers and the factory read, with its joints, its parting lines and its real proportions. On KORU, the joint between the ABS body and the cork or wood base had to hold its line across five finishes, and the renders show that joint where it is.
It works the other way too. Renders check a design before anyone pays for a sample: Glow's roof patterns, its wood finishes and the light under its benches were all tried on the model, in images, before the final library. The four models were then handed over as FBX and GLB files, the brand launched with a configurator we built, and the Signature turns in your browser on the case study, from that model, lightened for the web. Turn the Signature →
KORU is a piece of art. By the way, the renders are often confused with product photos.
Friedrich EickhoffCEO of Botany Labs, PlantKORUThe KORU case study [ THE SHORT ANSWER ]
What is product rendering
and animation?
Product rendering is the making of photorealistic images of a product from its 3D model, before it is made, and product animation is the same model in motion. Founders use them to fund, launch and sell a product that does not exist in numbers yet: on a crowdfunding page, in an investor deck, at a brand launch and in a store.
A photorealistic render is an image computed from the 3D model of a product, with its materials, its light and a camera set up as for a photo shoot. A scene render places the product in the room or the landscape where it will be used. Light, lens and material are the same decisions a photographer makes, taken on a model instead of a sample, so a color, a camera angle or a whole room can change without a new shoot.
Rendering sits at both ends of a product's development. Renders you can show come with the concept, and many founders raise their first money there, with the renders and the brief. The campaign, the deck and the store library come at launch, when every route, funding or production, needs images that sell the product before it exists in numbers.
The steps around it, from the brief to the launch, are laid out in our guide, how to develop a physical product.
[ ANIMATION ]
What can an animation show
that a photo can't?
An animation shows what a product does and what is inside it: the shell lifting off, the parts named one by one, the app it pairs with, the finish turning in the light. A photograph of a finished unit shows none of that, and before production there is no unit to photograph.
The scenes
An explainer animation is a short film made from the 3D model that shows what a product does and what is inside it. KORU's runs 34 seconds and was one of the animations its launch ran on: two machines in one body, the app and its 150+ plants, then the inside, sensor by sensor, and back to the room.
Photonix, a solar mower whose brief was a crowdfunding launch, got renders and explainer animations for its campaign, produced alongside a prototype that was filmed and tested on real grass. The Photonix case study →
[ WHAT WE MAKE ]
Which renders and animations
do we make?
We make eight kinds of visual, all from the product's 3D model, so one model serves the campaign, the deck, the launch and the store. The three that weigh most for a brand launch come first.
02Scene renders
Key for yours
A scene render places the product in the room or the landscape where it will be used. KORU in living rooms and bedrooms, Glow on a deck at dawn and by a lake at dusk.
Glow Saunas, the launch library →03CMF and finish studies
Key for yours
CMF, for color, material and finish, is how a product looks and feels: the material, the color and the surface finish of every visible part. KORU had four color configurations with their Pantone references, Orphey seven trim and color trials.
Orphey, from seven trials to two colorways →073D for the web and configurators
Key for yours
The model handed over as FBX and GLB files, lightened so it turns in a browser, as the Glow Signature does on our case study. For Glow Saunas we also built the configurator the brand launched with.
Glow Saunas, configurator and campaign library →01Photorealistic stills
A photorealistic render is an image computed from the 3D model of a product, with its materials, its light and a camera set up as for a photo shoot. KORU's are the ones its founder says are often mistaken for product photos.
KORU, renders for the launch →04Range and store views
The same views for every model and every finish: Glow's four sizes from the front, three-quarter, side, high back three-quarter and inside, at 4000 px.
Glow Saunas, 32 images →05Explainer animations
An explainer animation is a short film made from the 3D model that shows what a product does and what is inside it. KORU's opens the shell and names its sensors; Photonix got its own for its crowdfunding campaign.
Photonix, campaign ready →06Technical visuals
A technical visual is an image that shows how the product works, an exploded view, a section or the path of air or water, drawn from the same model. KORU's air path, Glow's sections through the benches, the eXalt SOLO's assemblies.
eXalt Aircraft, the assemblies →08The campaign page
If you want it, the page the images go on: a crowdfunding or launch page designed so the images and the words tell one story. The campaign itself, ads, press and community, stays with you or a specialist agency.
The launch step, in our guide →[ THE RIGHT STEP ]
When are renders
the right next step?
Renders and animations are the right next step when your product is designed, in CAD or in drawings, and has to be seen, funded or sold before it is made. When the product itself is not settled yet, start with the service that settles it.
Start with rendering when
- Your product is designed, in CAD or in drawings, and people have to see it before it is made.
- You are preparing a crowdfunding page, an investor deck or a grant application.
- You launch a brand or a store and need every model and every finish in one look.Your case
- Your product does something a photo can't show: what is inside, how air or water moves, what the app does.
Start with another service when
- The product has no form yet, or only a sketch.
Industrial Design → - It has to work for real, in a field or in a hand, and be filmed or tested.
Prototyping → - The brand itself, its name and identity, is not settled.
Branding → - You need the campaign run: ads, press and community.
The launch step, in our guide →
[ THE WORK ]
Which products
have we rendered?
We have rendered saunas, an air purifier, a light aircraft, a solar mower, EEG headphones and Mango, our own floating speaker, among the products we designed and engineered. Each case study shows the renders beside the work they came from.
Premium home sauna rangeClosest to yours
Glow Saunas
Four models built from the brand's drawings, look development from its references, the light inside and out, a library of 32 images at 4000 px released on 30 October 2025, and the configurator the brand launched with.
A first-year brand that went to market with the visual credibility of a company several years older.
Read the case study
Premium home sauna rangeClosest
Glow Saunas
Four models built from the brand's drawings, look development from its references, the light inside and out, a library of 32 images at 4000 px released on 30 October 2025, and the configurator the brand launched with.
A first-year brand that went to market with the visual credibility of a company several years older.
Air purifier and planter
KORU
Seven scenes in living rooms and bedrooms, four color configurations and the animations the launch ran on.
Over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo, $110,000+.
Light sport aircraft, sold as a kit
eXalt Aircraft
The SOLO in flight at its conceptual design stage, its livery boards and its assemblies.
The program secured about US$1.2M in government funding.
Solar-powered mower
Photonix
Renders and explainer animations for its crowdfunding campaign, beside a field-tested prototype.
Campaign ready: a machine that works and imagery that survives a close look.
EEG headphones
Orphey
Seven trim and color trials on the refined shape, then the final white and black renders.
A validated proof of concept, positioned as a luxury object.
Floating Bluetooth speaker, our own brand
Mango
Launch visuals and two hero videos for three colorways, Mango amber, Coconut cream and Pacific turquoise, each with its own halo.
Brand identity and the launch site mangosound.net.
[ WHY ONMOTIO ]
Why work with ONMOTIO
on renders and animation?
ONMOTIO renders products from the model they will be built from, in the studio that designs and engineers them. Since 2017: 150+ projects delivered, 50+ products shipped, and renders behind campaigns that raised $20M+.
Our two co-founders, Izek Therrien and Clément Simon, and Eduardo Leardini, our head of product development, lead every project. About us →
From the model that gets built
Renders are set up on the CAD the engineers and the factory work from, so an image never promises a shape, a seam or a finish the product will not have.
Rendered by the people who designed it
The studio that lights the product is the one that drew it: industrial designers, engineers and prototyping specialists in one team, who know where every joint really is.
Behind campaigns that raised $20M+
KORU funded at over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo with the renders, technical visuals and explainer animations we made.
From sketch to campaign page
We cover the brief, the design, the engineering, the prototypes and small batches, and the renders, animations and pages that sell the product, so the images arrive with the product.
Very happy with Clement at Onmotio Design. Clement was super communicative, responsive and had great visions for the work we required.
Isaac ZahaviCo-Founder, Glow Saunas[ Questions ]
Questions founders ask
about product rendering.
Ordered for a brand launch: the 3 marked first are the closest to it. Open a question to read its answer; something else? Ask us on a call.
Can you render a product that is not built yet?For yours
Yes, that is what renders are for. Glow Saunas went to market on our images before there was anything to photograph, the eXalt SOLO was rendered in flight at its conceptual design stage, and KORU's launch ran on renders made before production. All three came from 3D models, not from samples.
What is look development?For yours
Look development is the setting up of every material and finish on the 3D model, tested in quick renders until it reads like the real thing. On Glow Saunas the first round, on 16 September 2025, set the charred timber, the metal bands, the glazed front and the cedar inside on test renders, before any final image.
What is CMF, and can you show every color?For yours
CMF, for color, material and finish, is how a product looks and feels: the material, the color and the surface finish of every visible part. Yes: renders show every option on the same view before samples are ordered. KORU's render brief set four color configurations with their Pantone references, Orphey went through seven trim and color trials, and Glow compared three wood finishes. Building a signature CMF system that scales →
What is product rendering?
A photorealistic render is an image computed from the 3D model of a product, with its materials, its light and a camera set up as for a photo shoot. Product rendering makes those images before the product is made, for a crowdfunding page, an investor deck, a brand launch or a store, and product animation puts the same model in motion.
How long does product rendering take?
Renders you can show come with the concept phase, about 6 weeks for the whole phase. A launch library takes longer: Glow Saunas went from its first model on 7 September 2025 to 32 final images on 30 October, models included. On KORU, the first two scenes came a week after the render brief.
How much do product renders cost?
As an order of magnitude, the concept phase that includes renders you can show costs $3,200 to $10,000. A library for a campaign, a deck or a store is quoted per project, because it depends on the scenes, the sizes, the finishes and whether it moves. You get a fixed price once the brief is written.
What do you need from us to start?
Your 3D CAD if you have one, or drawings and dimensions: Glow's first model was built from the brand's architectural drawings and its dimension sheet. Then your references for materials and mood, as Glow sent charred timber, shingles and cedar, and where the images will be used, so the shot list fits the channel.
Will people be able to tell a render from a photo?
Not when the materials and the light are right. KORU's founder tells us its renders are often confused with product photos. What matters more is that the render shows the real product, which is why we render from the CAD the factory works from rather than from a separate model.
What is an explainer animation?
An explainer animation is a short film made from the 3D model that shows what a product does and what is inside it. KORU's runs 34 seconds: the shell lifts, the sensors are named one by one, the app shows its 150+ plants. Photonix got explainer animations for its crowdfunding campaign.
Can I use renders to raise money?
Yes. Many founders start with the brief and the concept, then use the renders to raise the money for development and prototypes. eXalt's program secured about US$1.2M in government funding, and KORU funded at over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo with our renders and animations.
Who owns the renders and the 3D files?
You do: under our standard contract, the intellectual property is transferred to you once all invoices are paid, and we sign an NDA from the first exchange if you want one. If you plan a patent, speak with a patent attorney before you show the product in public, a crowdfunding page included.
[ NEXT STEP ]
Have a product
to show?
Send us what you have: CAD, drawings or photos of a prototype, and where the images will be seen. A first call takes thirty minutes and costs nothing. You leave it with a view on the shots your channel needs, a rough order of cost and the next steps worth taking.