In today’s video, we are going to talk about 8 Mistakes of Selling 3D Models. So, if you want to start selling 3d models you probably want to know about some of the things you should do, and most importantly, what you should avoid in order to start generating some income from selling your art online.
Today we will give you the guide that shows you how to become a better artist by answering the following question:
How to Overcome the Mistakes of Selling 3D Models?
8- Be Good First, Sell later
One of the main reasons why a lot of people don’t see results when it comes to selling 3D models is the fact that they want to sell their work more than they want to be good at. This happens to be one of the very famous Mistakes of Selling 3D Models, which is probably the reason why most people don’t see results in this field and why they get frustrated, quit, and then they tell themselves that the market does not want or need their 3d models.
I would say that the market needs your models but they need to be good first. I am sure that if you are new to selling 3d models, you will realize this fact sooner or later. But it is better to learn this lesson early on to avoid the frustration that might bring with it.
Good 3D artists don’t tell you this but they know that there are a lot of beginners out there who try to sell tons of low-quality models, so what these good 3d model sellers do is always create high-quality models with reasonable prices.
You see good 3D artists value their time by creating high-quality models that have a higher potential of being sold and they value quality over quantity because this is where the evolution of this industry is taking us right now.
7- Try Different Categories
In the early stages of learning how to make money selling 3d models, you must try different categories in order to test and see for yourself what kind of 3d models artists, and studios you are willing to work for. You can do your research in combination with the process of trial and error to figure out what is going to work out for you. And you can later expand your collection from there if you need to, but first, you need to start with something that does sell.
This is important if you want to avoid Mistakes of Selling 3D Models because as a beginner you don’t have experience and experienced sellers are kind of secretive about their methods and techniques when it comes to what works and what does not. Actually, I think that people who do make a living from selling 3d models probably will not be happy about the fact that we are making videos and teaching new people about the secrets and strategies of selling 3d models, simply because this industry has become competitive and saturated to a certain extent, but there are still opportunities to make money if you have the right mindset and skills.
6- Learn from good Sellers
If you are a smart artist who does not only know how to play with polygons and verticles, then you must try to learn from successful sellers. This sector of the computer graphics industry is not the most beginner-friendly and selling 3d models is not a subject that artists want to talk about because as we said before if they do, it will generate more competition for them, which means less money. But regardless of this fact, you can actually learn from successful 3d artists in the marketplace by observing what they do not by trying to listen to what they are not telling you.
For example, you can take a look at the categories they focus on which will give you an idea about what section of the market is in high demand and what is not. Overall as I said, you need to experiment for yourself and see what works for you and what does not but it is not going to hurt to expand your knowledge about the subject.
Actually one of the best and practical ways of learning from professional 3d model sellers is to observe how they organize their descriptions and tags, which plays a huge role in attracting the right customers to your models, as we said in a previous video. This is important for you to stay away from the Mistakes of Selling 3D Models because first of all if you have a clear organized description it will indirectly tell the buyer that you are very good at what you do and understand the needs of clients. second of all the description under your 3d models can be a very important factor when it comes to whether the buyer is going to choose your model or not. because if you give them direct and clear information about what they should expect when they buy your models they are more likely to buy them.
Also, using the advanced model inspector in Sketchfab you will be able to see Models in detail with all their maps and textures which can be of great help if you want more details about the process of modeling and texturing certain models.
5- Make a Plan and Follow it
If you are a beginner who does not have any experience selling 3d models, or if you have not sold your first 3d model yet, then probably, you should focus on that first. But if you have sold few models before, and you have an idea about what works for you, then you kind of need to develop a plan or a strategy that can help you sell even more. If you really want to keep away from the Mistakes of Selling 3D Models, then adopting a plan is very important because when you create one you will more likely to resist the temptation of spreading yourself too thin. part of your plan could be selling architectural visualization models, animation models, game development models, or 3D printing models only.
You can take this to the next level by specializing in a certain area like creating high-quality 3d models of weapons for the first-person shooter video games, or 3d printable characters as an example.
A plan is important as we said because you need to focus to see success in this type of work. Some people who have the resources can dominate all areas and create models in all categories and in all sections whether it be models for games, architectural visualization, animation, or 3d printing. Because they own studios that have tens of artists probably working together on a continuous basis to perform at this level and generate a massive quantity of 3d models.
But if you are a solo artist you need to have a plan if you want to be successful.
4- Don’t be a Pessimist
A lot of people who try to sell 3d models have a pessimistic approach to the whole process, due to many factors, for example, the fact that a good portion of beginners face the seemingly impossible wall or barrier to overcome when they embark on their journey as a 3D model seller. This can discourage a lot of people and make them think that it is impossible to make money in this industry. Sometimes artists become pessimistic when they face the second wall which is, I would say, more real than the first one, and this is one of the biggest Mistakes of Selling 3D Models. Artists who have some experience face this wall when they start making between $300 to $1000 per month, which is kind of hard to overcome. But it is not impossible if you put in the effort and work on high-quality 3D models consistently.
The third wall, in my opinion, is almost impossible to break if you are working alone. Usually, professional artists who sell models hit this wall when they are selling between $2000 to $5000 per month. The way I see it is that your performance is going to a plateau to a certain extent unless you have a group of artists who work for you or if you collaborate with a group of artists to work together on creating a huge library of assets that artists and studios use. And people who can reach this level will have greater opportunities that small and individual artists don’t have access to.
3- Don’t Underestimate the Market Needs
This is one of the points that we touched on briefly in the beginning, but now we have to explain it a little bit more because it is very important if you want to avoid the Mistakes of Selling 3D Models.
You see the 3D models you are creating and selling are going to be used by professionals who will use them in their projects to save time and money. Sometimes, people who don’t have experience, when it comes to 3d modeling, buy models to fill scenes in architectural visualization or they use them for 3d printing. But if you are selling models for animation, cinematics, or for people who create video games, then I think you should create models that rise to the level of people you are trying to sell to.
For example, if you trying to make a game character or hero asset for a video game, don’t expect that people will casually buy it and call it a day. Because in order for them to do so, they need you to make sure that your model is error-free, modeled, UV unwrapped, Baked and textured, and painted properly.
2- Don’t Undercut other Sellers.
Also, one of the Mistakes of Selling 3D Models that artists with little experience do is undercutting each other in order to sell more. i will tell you right now that this is not going to work and it is not going to help you sell more. On the contrary, you will generate fewer sales and the money you will make from those sales is going to be less as well. This is one of the problems that this industry is suffering from right now because people think that this is the best way to make money selling 3d models but it is not.
Instead of undercutting your competition, try to create better and higher quality models at the same price that good competitors are selling at, or you can try to sell at a price higher than them because it will give the buyer a subconscious signal that your stuff is actually of higher quality and better in all aspects compared to the others.
A lot of artists who have been doing this type of work for years now feel the negative effect of this practice because it is literally bad for everyone and it will destroy the ecosystem completely if it goes out of control. and to be honest, people are witnessing its negative effects already so please don’t do it.
1- Don’t give up when you don’t see sales
I would say that the difference between people who can make money from selling 3d models and those who can’t is having the ability to keep moving forward and trying again and again until they start generating sales.
I am not going to pretend that it is very easy to make money selling models, but if you do it long enough and you don’t see results, you need to be flexible by either enhancing the quality of your work or selling in different categories, until something clicks.
I would say if you have less than 50 good quality 3d models that you sell on a single marketplace, then you should not really expect to sell a lot. As the saying goes, the harder you work the luckier you get. By this logic, if you have 500 good quality models you are probably 10 times more likely or more to sell them than someone who has 50. And keep in mind that not all models sell the same, some sell 30 times and some don’t sell at all even if they are of high quality.
These were the most famous Mistakes of Selling 3D Models that artists make in their careers, but I have given you here all the steps and tips to avoid these Mistakes of Selling 3D Models, soyou can overcome obstacles and become a better artist.
