   3D modeling salaries
  Hi all!It's maybe the wrong forum for this, but it is not really industry related.The question is, how much an average 3D modeler can ask for a work?It's not a full time job, models are to be made only on request.The models have to be made by photographs. In worst case by only one photo, so the work requires some research too. Modeling includes meshes and textures, but no animation.The models are custom-made low/medium-poly models with short deadlines (2-3 days) (the customer sends a photo, and some additional details).I'm having a hard time to figure out how should I calculate the prizes, since the time to finish a model is obscure for the customer.Two screen shots of a particular model:(the model is not the final version yet.)Thanks for hints or pointers in advance!   
  You could charge hourly or per poly? It's a really vague question. What's your goal? How fast are you? How good are you? What's your cost of living?   ;Quote:Original post by Pete MichaudYou charge hourly or per poly? It's a really vague question. What's your goal? How fast are you? How good are you? What's your cost of living?I'm not sure I can answer for those.per poly / per hour partly that's what I'm asking.goal: to make some money, but why is it important?How fast, I said: 2-3 days deadline (the model that's shown was made in maybe 5 hours, but there was some struggling with formats, etc).How good, I can make the stuff I'm assigned withcost of living, the costumer doesn't have to do anything with this.Maybe I haven't expressed myself clearly: it's not a full time job, it's just a tiny supplement job, I won't make a living from this. I already started the stuff, I just need to figure out the prices. I will work for minimal prizes, since the "company" is very small that I work for. But not too minimal of course, I don't want to be a pigeon.   ;  Have you looked at like turbosquid or similar to get an idea of what a typical model might cost? Maybe you can find a price for a similar detail model and double it (as a custom job), or more if it is exclusive.Here's a nice looking model in similar style to your chair for $13Fabric Armchair;Quote:Original post by karwostsHave you looked at like turbosquid or similar to get an idea of what a typical model might cost? Maybe you can find a price for a similar detail model and double it (as a custom job), or more if it is exclusive.Here's a nice looking model in similar style to your chair for $13Fabric ArmchairDon't compare to that prices. There is a big difference, you are working on request and have a short deadline. The shorter the deadline the higher should be the price. Also if the model is made exclusively for the company you should multiply price by some factor. While the 13$ chair model might sell 100 time You can sell your model only once but should earn roughly the same amount of money.Better to agree on some Price before accepting the job. I'm not a 3d artist, but I would charge per hour, for every job you usually get paid per hour so it is very natural.   ;Quote:Original post by szecsQuote:Original post by Pete MichaudYou charge hourly or per poly? It's a really vague question. What's your goal? How fast are you? How good are you? What's your cost of living?I'm not sure I can answer for those.per poly / per hour partly that's what I'm asking.goal: to make some money, but why is it important?How fast, I said: 2-3 days deadline (the model that's shown was made in maybe 5 hours, but there was some struggling with formats, etc).How good, I can make the stuff I'm assigned withcost of living, the costumer doesn't have to do anything with this.Maybe I haven't expressed myself clearly: it's not a full time job, it's just a tiny supplement job, I won't make a living from this. I already started the stuff, I just need to figure out the prices. I will work for minimal prizes, since the "company" is very small that I work for. But not too minimal of course, I don't want to be a pigeon.The goal and your cost of living are important because it helps determine what you should be willing to do. If you're just trying to make some pocket change, figure out how much spare time you want to spend per month, how much pocket change you want per month, and divide the money by the hours for the hourly rate. If the hourly rate is in line with the market, then you win. If it's too low, good for you, raise it and make more or work less. If it's too high you need to adjust your expectations or try something different.Hourly is fine for a trusted relationship. If I know you're a good artist who works reasonably fast, I'll pay you hourly. If you're a stranger, I would be FAR more comfortable paying a flat rate for the model, that way I know what to expect. In your shoes, I'd use my intuition to figure out how long it would take to build a given model, multiply that by the hourly rate you figured out before, and give the flat rate for the model.   ;  Hi szecs,i would do a calculation like this.If you would do it fulltime, say 40h a week, you need ...  let's say 3000 Euros.That's 172h per month => ~17,50 Euros per hour.You say, you needed about 5 hours for the model ... let's say you get better and do something like it in 4 hours.As you do not have to pay your rent, food etc. with that money, you do not have to calculate for 'downtime' or customers that do not pay ... at least at the beginning.The models costs 70 Euros plus tax. If you adjust this (+/- 15%) to your customer, you should be fine.May start a little bit lower and rise your price if this is really a running business (even if only parttime). Maybe offer a 50% discount on first model or something. Invest some 'free' time in the first models, so the people come back. Maybe say ... a 30% discount if you may sell the model again (after 6 month or whatever).--GWDev   ;  Thanks, and sorry for the late reply.Calculating like it was a full-time job seems to be a good idea. I was hoping that someone who actually does something similar would reply, but I think I can calculate it pretty well now.   