Jonathan Lloyd

In recent months we have ramped up the analysis of 3D models available on TurboSquid. Some categories are heavily over subscribed with hundreds of 3D models available.

A great example is in the number of Airbus A380 models, of which there are over 250 of them. They do come in different liveries, file formats and quality levels, but that is still a significant number of duplicative work and too many for a customer to possibly choose from.

The goal of our analysis is to decide what 3D models artists should make, avoiding duplication and ensuring the models made are of a quality level that applies to the customers shopping on the site. We will continue to announce the developments of this in due course, but for now I hope that you will find some use from my tips below.

Top tips for deciding what 3D models to make

1. Create unique content. If there is already competition in this space you cannot guarantee a customer will buy your content over theirs. Like the Airbus example you are only weakening your chance of selling content.
2. Focus on brand new content. Newly manufactured products will command more attention than products from 5 years ago. Marketeers need this content to help market these new products.
3. Build popular content. Similar to above, new products tend to be more popular than others, but focus on content that is hot now and has a lot of online coverage. One product in the same industry may not be as popular as another even if they are released at the same time.
4. Build timeless content. Unlike the two points above, timeless content is not often new products that are in vogue now. Instead this is content that has ongoing needs. Anatomy is a great example. Visualization of the human body will always be in demand.
5. Build detailed content. The market you are selling to are 3D modelers themselves. They will be taking the content and using it in production. As experts themselves if the content is easy to make there is more chance they will simply spend the time to create it instead of the option to buy. Build detailed content that would normally take the customers many hours to build.
6. Build localized content. Customers have varying needs when it comes to content and regional content is certainly one of them. Cars, buildings,  furniture, electronics and other items can be different all around the world. Helping the customer to set the scene is very valuable.

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Charging by the polygon

An interesting referral came to my site today from a Google search. The user had entered the search term: “charging by the polygon”.  When I saw this I thought:  ”what an interesting idea!”. It is a concept that I have not seen discussed in the artist community.

It seems reasonable to assume, looking at the top 3D models on TurboSquid, that artists could charge between $0.001 and $0.002 per polygon of geometry. So, you get roughly 99,000 polygons of detail for $99 – $199. I think this is very reasonable price for the customer and could offer great returns for the artist in to the future.

Obviously there is a lot more to a model than just polycount. The quality of the geometry, texturing and materials also need to be considered and let’s not forget the subject of the model itself, which may or may not be high in demand. None the less, I think it an interesting concept.

A selection of CheckMate Pro content as found on TurboSquid.