What are the best tools to render elevations with (realistic) color and texture?
Several methods depending on the speed, budget and quality you want:
1. Architectural markers
2. Water colors
3. SBF fill in DataCAD
4. Adobe Photoshop or similar "paint" program.
5. Adobe Illustrator
6. Sketchup.
7. Thea Render (my choice) or any photo realistic rendering software.
Robert