Standalone CAD drafting and photorealistic 3D renderings — for builders, homeowners, surveyors, and projects that need visuals or drawings outside a full design contract.
Not every project needs a full design engagement. Sometimes you already have plans sketched out, or a builder's hand-drawn layout, and you just need it drafted cleanly in CAD. Sometimes you need a photorealistic rendering to help a client visualize a home before it's built, or to support a sale, a listing, or a permit submission. We offer drafting and 3D rendering as standalone services, priced separately from full home design. Builders and contractors use us for overflow CAD drafting and redrawing hand sketches into permit-ready drawings. Homeowners use us to visualize a design before committing to construction. Real estate professionals use photorealistic 3D exterior and interior renderings for listings, marketing, and development presentations. We serve clients across Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, Leelanau, Antrim, and Benzie Counties.
We also provide CAD drafting services to licensed land surveyors — boundary surveys, property divisions, mortgage surveys, ALTA/NSPS surveys, site plans, and topographic surveys, drafted from the field data you provide. See our drafting for surveyors page for the full breakdown and rate structure.
We accept most common formats without conversion on your end — hand sketches scanned to PDF, DWG, DXF, PDF drawings, and images of existing plans. If you're not sure whether your file format works, send it over and we'll confirm before scoping the project. We deliver DWG and PDF by default. If you need a different output format, let us know upfront and we'll confirm whether we can accommodate it.
Most standalone drafting projects — converting a sketch to CAD, redrawing an existing floor plan, producing a set of elevations — are returned within 2–5 business days depending on complexity and scope. Simple single-sheet conversions are often faster. 3D renderings typically take 3–7 business days depending on the level of detail, number of views, and complexity of the model. Rush turnaround is available when project timelines require it — reach out directly and we'll tell you what's realistic for your specific project.
Can you work from a hand sketch?
Yes — hand sketches are one of the most common inputs we receive. As long as the sketch has dimensions noted or we can establish scale, we can produce clean CAD drawings from it. If dimensions are missing or unclear, we'll flag that before starting rather than guess.
What software do you use?
We draft in AutoCAD and produce 3D models and renderings in Chief Architect with PBR (physically based rendering) for photorealistic output. For surveyor drafting specifically, we also use Carlson Survey. DWG files are deliverable in any recent AutoCAD version.
Can you produce a rendering from plans you didn't draw?
Yes. If you have an existing drawing set — from another designer, a builder, or an architect — we can produce renderings from those plans without needing to redraw anything. Send us the drawings and we'll confirm what we need to get started.
Do you need a full drawing set to produce a rendering?
Not necessarily. For a basic exterior rendering we typically need at minimum floor plans and exterior elevations. For interior renderings we need the floor plan and any finish or material specifications you want reflected. The more complete the information, the more accurate the rendering.
How do I send files?
Email works for most projects. For large files — high-resolution scans, large DWG sets — we can arrange a shared folder or file transfer link. We'll confirm the handoff method when we scope the project.
Builders who need a drafting partner for overflow work, homeowners who already have a concept and just need it drawn up, real estate professionals who need marketing visuals, surveyors who need their field data turned into finished drawings, or anyone who needs CAD or rendering work without a full design contract.