Autofocus situation will be fixed next video. I'm using a new camera setup and didn't feel like re-filming. Thank you for tolerating it this time around 🤕
When you mentioned luck, it's pretty true. Everything you do, the more work you put in, the better you try to become, the more people you reach out - you're basically working to increase your luck. With the luck you've increased you get much better chances at stumbling upon something worthwhile, usually, if not mainly, through networking.
Exactly right! I always say that being good at something buys you a lottery ticket. Each skill you learn and put in to practice is another ticket. Then you just have to keep trying to get more tickets and hope one hits
This is so true. I work in VFX and the difference between corporate clients and working at a studio is massive. If you work at a top VFX house you will be surrounded by some of the best artists in the world who are working for pretty mid pay and the standards are through the roof. Switch to the corporate world and client expectations are seemingly low by comparison and the people around you have no clue about anything you do. Oh and corporations pay so much more than studios.
That’s the best advice I ever heard, there’s more money to be made by companies that are lacking a photographer/videographer/3d modeler instead of working for like a studio or even freelance online
Not a 3D designer but coming from a photographer and videographer view everything you said was really true, a lot of creatives struggle with the business aspect of work. There’s A Lot of money and work out there for whatever you do. You just have to be smart enough to get it.
Ah yes this is an "intelligence" issue. 🙄 because succeeding business definitely isn't just about sucking up and stepping on people. Defs need to be "smart" to succeed there.
@@skepticalpanda8862tell me you're bitter without using the word bitter. You can use words like "suck up" and "kiss ass" - and yes, there are people who kiss ass so much that you feel like you want to slap them - but the opposite is also bad. You need to find a sociable balance because ultimately, work (especially well paid work) will only ever come via personal recommendations. Is that fair? No. But it's how the world works.
@@skepticalpanda8862 I mean smart enough to figure things out, to problem solve and figure out how to get more clients. Not intelligence, taking it too literally
In regards to putting together a portfolio- some advice I got from one of Rocksteady's lead character artists: Hirers will judge you based on your worst pieces! It’s better to have a few to set a high standard than having multiple of different quality! You raised a fair point!
actually, they will judge your progress: if you have really bad work at start, but then your projects are getting better and better, its good signal to hire you (especially if you improve your skills fast)...if you trying put only good projects in portfolio, it is just suspicious... *yes, add only best work, but don't delete old works too, they were the best of their time and shows your real growth rate*
Yeah I'm not a 3d artist, but as a web dev / designer this makes a lot of sense and your advise is pretty applicable to a lot of things when it comes to offering a service. I also think it was pretty cool how you pointed out 3 very specific things to do to become more successful when it comes to making 3d art, rather than give very general advice. I wish people did that more. 10/10 video 🔥
Semi true for sure. Landing jobs and making money is not all about your skill as an artist but also as a person who can market themselves, and have good relationships with clients. That doesn't mean you should strive for mediocrity or stop studying your craft. Because having decent communication skills and being timely aren't all that rare. I'm happy to hear you landed some good work! As an owner of a 3D Studio I know how exciting that can be, Stay Sharp!
Really solid communication advice here! When potential clients were asking me why should they hire me instead of a company I just noted they paid me to work for them instead of paying 5 or 10 people that were working for someone else. Did the trick 80% of the time. 14y freelancer btw.
Bro if you're actually 14 that's crazy young to be doing this and especially dealing with clients. You got a bright future for sure!! Keep it up young killa
hahah okay i get it now. 14 years is impressive. also unless a team is managed super well, projects done by a team can get bloated and overcomplicated. having one set of professional eyes on a project is often so much more efficient
The video discusses how 3D artists can make more money even if they are not the best designers. The key points include: 1. Better design rarely correlates with better pay, so it's essential to focus on other aspects. 2. Building a strong network and making connections can lead to better opportunities. 3. Providing value, such as free work or discounts, can help establish a friendly relationship with clients. 4. Focusing on lighting, texturing, and motion animation can improve the quality of work and potentially increase income. 5. Big companies may hire designers with mediocre work if they have the right connections or unique style. 6. Having a strong portfolio with high-quality work can attract more clients. 7. Networking and outreach are crucial for finding clients and growing a business.
I've noticed this a lot too while growing as a graphic designer / video editor, it's not really about your skill level it's more about who you're selling it to, how you're selling it and really just getting attention and being picked up by someone, literally lmao. I feel like it's because usually artists have an ego that they don't realize this, it's not about "your art" or how much of "you" it shows. It's about, does it fulfill a goal / will it solve a solution? and literally the higher demand / complexity there is in said solution you'll be compensated more, no matter how basic or simple your skills are. It doesn't get as simpler as that.
Thanks for showing that corpos are literally controlling everything. Art is about passion and expression. Its not about giving a solution or fulfill a goal or make tons of money. Thanks for destroying any act of actual passion in exachange for material. We truly live in a society tell me an other joke Murray.
@@toplay1764 I think that's a pretty cynical way of viewing it. You can show passion & express while also having a goal and make a ton of money from it. It's all a matter of giving something a direction and diverting it's target to something a mass relates to and not only what YOU relate brother. The problem I'm highlighting is that a lot of artist/graduates go into the industry with this kind of mindset that's sorta like MY art when it truly isn't about you bro. These guys be moving around the world like it's MY ART, MY EXPRESSION, MY WORK and that's why a lot of them struggle so much to make a decent living, because they cannot leave that ego behind. How are you supposed to get benefits if the work you do only holds meaning to you? it does not make sense. Not everything is about oneself. this world is about mutual benefits, money comes from another hand, not yours, so we all gotta learn how to provide value.
@@KeniSlayer no no , this is just my point of view, a opinion not a fact. People will always do what at the end brings the most results and if thats their goal thats fine. But when we go deeper "much deeper" into the true thinking "why do i do that" "what does it give me for a feeling if i know i wont make millions with it". At the end everyone should do (and will) what he thinks does make him happy or feel acomplished. cheers
Alot of truth in this video, you succeeded relatively quickly compared to average 3D artist. For me personally it took around 2 years to build my skills as 3D artist before I was confident enough to reach out to clients. Learning never stops though since game niche is constantly evolving and you gotta keep up with tech.
Could you share some examples of cold DMs you send to initiate a conversation? I always relied on my RUclips and Instagram presence for sourcing 3D work so I never really had to go hard on reaching out, but getting good at cold DMs is a universal skill for any field of work or business. Great channel💰
Yeah I can try to go into more detail about this in a future vid, but I'd say #1 thing is to keep it brief. Nobody is gonna read more than 2 or 3 sentences since basically all companies get loads of spam. On Instagram, you can see a 38-character preview of incoming DMs. Use those 38 characters to write something to get them to open it (like you're a potential customer). Then at the end just throw in the fact that you're a 3D designer and want to work. Here's an example of something I'd do: "Hey! I really like your packaging, the colors are so vibrant! I do 3D renders for brands and I'd love to work with you! Please let me know 🙏" Personalize the message enough where it doesn't seem like bot spam, but don't write them an essay or get too salesy with cold leads. Best of luck!
it is true that you must fish where the fish are. unfortunately a lot of clients that come my way dont hang out with those fishes. i am fortunate enough that some of them do hang out with the fishes and are willing to pay what the work is actually worth. hell, i've worked with huge companies that are stingy and it baffles me to this day. it is just a constant hassle trying to figure out the client and seeing what they are willing to pay. I know of visualization companies that charge triple what I do and honestly no bias at all my work is tremendously better. anyways thank you for sharing! i am in the archviz industry and this is still valuable information :-)
Raw videos are great! I got the same value out of it, and can see how much time you saved by not really creating high end thumbnail and intence editing
Hehehehe, you're very right. On working with big companies, just do it for the money. But if you're very passionate about your work, steer away from big companies. They are very allergic to creativity. Go generic charge them high, go home happy. Take the money do your own creative projects on the side, to nourish your creativity. To the author of the video. Don't fall into the trap of complacency. Especially if you want to do 3D as a life long career. It's a very competitive field, and at the very top, great communication and work ethic is the base level spec, so it comes down to pure talent. Anyone reading this, I will tell you the most in demand skill in 3D is rigging and coding/scripting. Master these two skills, you'll be set for life. If you can master Houdini and unreal engine as well, you'll not even have competition
Yeah I agree, I should have touched on that more. If you're actually trying to express yourself creatively, big companies are as bad as it gets for rewarding that. Pay on the other hand...
I agree with the title. Having worked in the field for more than 5+ years now, it certainly has ups and downs. I got to a level where I was really good technically and was brought over to a 6 figure job to work in film. After 2 years, I realized thats not what I wanted anymore, and decided to move overseas and work remotely. Now, relearning the market, and new ways to sell my products. The VFX industry is full of people making money without having a linkedin/social accounts which is also super interesting. I would never have had a job without social media.
Yeah it's hard to imagine building an income without a social media following these days. Pretty much all my clients are on my Instagram. Losing access to my Instagram account would actually be devastating haha
I have been a 3D Artist for 30 years and never made that kind of money that you are talking about potentially getting soon, and this only after 3 years as a 3D Artist :) . I mean i started making 3D when i was 13 years old in the nineties, so your video it is a little bit of a wake up or smack in the head for me. Thank you a good reminder to just cold contact people, i can confirm that giving stuff for free does open up opportunities. Keep it up!
My biggest problem is evaluating how long something might take me so I can end up late on some commissions, but it is pretty crazy how being approachable and easy to talk to can help on your work, and it's kinda sad there aren't a lot of people with that ability. Specially today, it's not something that needs to translate from your real world ability, and might even help to have that sort of training online if you're too shy to engage in conversation irl.
As far as estimating how long things will take, that will come with time. I've pretty much realized that things almost always take longer than expected so I plan for that
I'm a graphic designer who got tons of value from this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge my dude. You've convinced me to systematize my communication like I do my graphic templates.
Very inspiring. I'm a web designer, and I've had times where I felt like I would never compare to the best. However, I've realized that the more effort I put into my design skills, along with those traits you mentioned, there is the potential to stand out.
Thanks for the video, it’s really eye opener, I think what I learn from it is the direction I want to take my channel to and made me realize I’ve looking in the wrong places for gigs, it’s like in every other job, you just need to make connections with the right people to start making money out of 3D, and what you mention about the 3 pillars of what people are looking for in a designer, it’s completely true, sometimes is more important someone you can trust and work from there than someone you can only make a transaction and that’s it, thanks again for the video, it’s something I needed to hear at the right time.
this is an awesome video with genuinely good advice, it sounds like you have a good pulse on what makes a good freelancer in this space - its definitely not just art skills alone. Keep it up
Aren’t you the channel that made the artists pay you, even though they had to come up with a full tutorial video for your channel, and in return they got nothing back from it.
I just landed my first product project by emailing one of my favorite companies about their new item they just launched, sent them a quick animatic of one shot I had in mind for the intro, and they hit me back saying it looked like fun and they're putting me on their list to receive a review model. I've been so psyched, putting together test shots and figuring things out for the final result. That is something very important that doesn't get talked about enough: Test everything you want to have in your final render before creating the scenes because you WILL inevitably run into problems you could have never predicted, and it can take some time to figure them out. Once you're in the final scenes, it can really suck when you get far along and then find problems that make you have to go back, sometimes waaaaay back, and that is both inconvenient and a time-killer.
Thank you for the insights, love these raw videos. I recently graduated Uni with BS in Engineering specialization in Product Design and I've been at Still Human Creative Agency for about 2 years doing Motion for them, making 3D work for our clients and internal projects. The whole "Who you know beats what you know" lesson has changed my outlook on things, and it's helped me refocus where to apply my efforts. I agree, you can tell when someone didn't bother to change the "Graph Editor" settings and just keyframed something to spin on the Z-axis lmaooo. I appreciate this vid, just subscribed & looking forward to more 💫
Glad you enjoyed and congrats on that degree, that's huge! I haven't gone to college but I'm sure the networking aspect of it has to be really good. It seems like that's where a lot of people build their core networks without social media, even now. But yeah my quality in work hasn't necessarily gotten much greater in the past year. I've picked up bits of knowledge on specific topics where needed, but I can't remember the last time I just sat down and watched a multi-part tutorial on any aspect of Blender. Network is the only thing that's significantly grown recently. Thanks for watching & the sub!
@@renderer Thanks and same to you. I need to get better at Networking, and moreso, In-Person events. Here's to both of us advancing on that front in 2024 🤞🏽
Thank you! Just trying to share as much value as I can here. As for the breakcore, I like something a little more flavorful than the stock music in RUclips's non copyright library hahah it's also nice to listen to while i edit
Loved the video. I'm a 2D illustrator and animator and I totally resonate with everything you've said, and you explained it in a concise, entertaining way. Would love to see more of this.
yknow! thats so true regarding so many professions, the music industry or the illustration industry, there are so many skilled artists like really exceptional talents but I used to think high skill = more fame = more money.... sadly it doesnt work out that way for most Its not to say that leveling up your skill is a waste of time, one should never stop improving their art, but if making more money is the goal I think that should be the top priority above improving at your art right? really valuable insight you dropped on here, thanks so much for the upload, I liked this raw style keep posting!
Spot on. If getting really good at art is your thing, by all means go for it! I love and appreciate good design and aspire to get better. I take inspiration from things all the time. With that said I also like earning money and personally enjoy the business side of things a lot. There's a ton of people talking about design on RUclips but nobody really goes into depth about what it takes to get paid well for your services. Glad I could help!
The fishing analogy is how I have approached selling my work since forever. I’m a traditional painter, leaning hard on learning blender ect. Looking at beginning with my kids with the donut lessons. Thanks for the vid.
Sometimes you get those ads where they just say they know and will teach you a way to make lots of money and then they keep repeating that for the whole ad, yeah this vid was the opposite of that. lol
Firstly I'm shocked and impressed that you got the name renderer! A lot of what you said is true. In my earlier 3D years I was prolific posting on forums and writing tutorials (back when they were 99% written lol) and got almost all my work and career through meeting people that way.
Hahah you're the first person to mention the name. when RUclips rolled out the handles I claimed it super quickly. I actually started this channel because I thought the name was so good I had to make something out of it! The thing about the forums is super true too. This RUclips channel is my version of that. I'm basically just trying to grow an audience through providing value. At worst, I manage to help some people so it's not a bad tradeoff no matter what happens!
Awesome straightforward content man! Super engaging to watch you speak! The porfolio tip is actually very smart! I've never thought of it that way, but now that you said it just makes so much sense! Keep it up man! Love from Barcelona
That’s for your videos, it really motivates me to do more “creative” work and your just honest & authentic about every topic or story! I really like it! Keep going.
I used to do 3D design and was very skilled at it. Unfortunately, I struggled with client communication, leading to the loss of many clients. Did I improve my communication skills? Nah. I pivoted to another industry where my communication skills wouldn’t hold me back. The best advice is to be brutally honest with yourself and recognize your strengths. It’s better to triple down on your strengths than to try to overcome your weaknesses.
The way I see it, client communication applies to so many aspects of life. If I decide I want to go get a full time 9-5 job, the interviewing process and skill to sell yourself and negotiate may be the difference between getting that job or not. I do agree that you should "triple down on your strengths" but communication is such a vital part of business and even life that if you have enough time to focus on both your innate strengths and improve your communication skills, then I think you should.
Hey Spencer! Just in time to start my day :D Great video again, love the raw content (autofocus was going a bit bonkers but hey :D ), keep making some if you have a short message for people like this one! I'm just about to finish my branding, portfolio and website. I've seen a couple of designers with a website/instagram/behance combo, that's what I am aiming for to display my work (not sure about Behance yet, have you got any experience with it?) On another note just saw a Prada ad on Facebook, it was about 3 seconds, a simple particle system animation with a bit of motion, a perfume bottle and good lighting, but it was fairly simple, could recreate that with no problem. It really made me wonder how much they could have charged for an ad like that. Probably a lot more than I think they did! Keep on the good work!
I think Behance is pretty widely accepted as a professional place to share work. Something about artstation/dribbble just gives me low-end vibes and I can't really explain why. I think website/ig/behance is great though. And yeah, mediocre work is all around us. High paying clients literally don't care. It's just about positioning yourself to get in contact with people like that. Also yeah I realize my autofocus was freaking out the whole time. I just gotta adjust the settings on my camera. I switched from my $40 logitech webcam to my Sony A6300 so I just need to get the settings right now haha
Whoa! I love this video more than Mr.bests's videos honestly. this is pretty straight forward and learned lot of things and really helpful. To be honest this is best video I've watched in 2024 and the channel as well. I can't express more through words. this is probably one of the video that I watched without skipping a single frame lol. I feel lot of things you said right now as a 3d artist. thank you
You got it man. Although just be aware that even if you start getting paid for 3D, if you don't like doing it you may have trouble with burning out down the line. Just something to be aware of!
@@renderer I love 3d soo much, I've always had passion for it since a was little, in fact I started learning it with a 4gb ram laptop no dedicated GPU, that's how much I loved it. But you know sometimes it can get tough, lol. Thanks for the kind words
Learn how to Rig and script and go hard with it. Good riggers are like a unicorn in the industry. It's not enough to be passionate, you have to be strategic as well. Find gaps in the market and fill them. Do things a lot of artists are afraid of. Rigging, coding/scripting and learning Houdini
@@CuriosityIM That hardware was sci fi when I started in 3D, using POV-Ray on a, I forget, 2MB or 4MB desktop, 8086 or 80486, clock speed a turtle could keep up with. Ugh, but it was something that *MUST* do. It is a calling!
I cannot tell you how much I love your videos and appreciate your advice. Thank you so much you got another subscriber and i can't wait for more content 🔥
This was so human, I love it. Thank you very much for eye-opening information. I've been a web developer and as a beginner I had clients, but rn when I have the best skills ever in my career - I'm starting over, I have zero clients and I don't know where to start. I really needed that video. Please keep up human content, there is too much of "mr beast" content already. I just skip those videos
I'm starting my 3d career and in 2024 I want to go deep in that industry, your video gave me a good direction what to do and improve. Thanks a lot bro!
Dude, the best recent advice that actually changed my life was give without expecting anything back. And the way i came across this advice, was while i was scrolling through Facebook and stoped at this post that had a list of advices for better life. I was reading it and this one caught me by surprise because i thought this Is not how the world works if you give somebody something you Always expect something back. But it stuck in my head i thought about it a lot, even started doing it. It feels So good when you give or help somebody, just because you want. Feels like a true love. I became So much more open and kind to people, made me a much happier person then i have ever been and also i could connect with people that i would never be able to before. ❤
IM still tryibg to get 'good' at blender to be able to think of myself as merely passable/acceptable to elude myself into thinking I could do some work in the 3D/design world for anything I could possibly provide, and I like your thoughts on it and see how your background made it through your approach to life, how the 'cult of done' is working out for you to some degree, the 20%work for 80% result ratio kinda, I'm glad to see at least one of us wannabe actually slowly but surely quite becoming something into the industry, miles by miles, growing into a new direction with every opportunity coming along the way, good luck in this new draconian year, it can be a great year of opportunities in the year of the dragon for anyone willing to put in some work ;)
Love the videos, thank you for sharing your experience. Apologies if you've already addressed this somewhere but how do you foresee the future of freelancers in 3D, or art freelancers in general, with the advent and progression of AI? Is it something beginners looking to break into the field should worry about?
Truly agree that average designer tends to make more money by finding niche that is looking for artist to deliver the job in close time frame. just suggestion for good video- plz use manual focus on recording camera as camera struggle to focus on the subject that is quite distracting.
seemingly very useful info that i look forward to testing. i've been working shit jobs forever, have been learning 3D for a couple years now to try to break into that career genre, but generally have zero intuition of how to strategize my way into reliable income. video polish plays second fiddle to output of quality information. looking forward to more insights
It's wild how, being nice to people, keeping your temper (don't flip people off, no matter how redicules or annoying they are, even if they are wrong) and setting clear goals and expectations can bring you. I basically talked to a ton of people and I never mention what I do in the start. Eventually I will say if they ask me and some people worked for companies and they just thought about me, that's it lol
@@renderer That's Great. I'm a video editor and will help you edit them for you. So you can save your time as well.I can share my portfolio too.Let me know we can connect (:
pretty much its the amount of work you get not how good your work is but if your work is good high chance you'll get more work sometimes you just end up getting someone who will give you a lot of commissions
man my communications skills are bad i can get the job done but if i have to go in front of people and explain what did i do is over for me. I also noticed my artstation is feeding with inquiry's they keep asking to buy my art and i don't reply or i put excuses I'm terrified tbh. My english is also self taught maybe thats why im not confident enough. But in the university i noticed people that has better communication skills get in better groups and us who dont talk well is just whatever people is left to work with.
I hear you on that. I was pretty bad socially starting out. Even comparing to my earlier RUclips videos you can see how awkward I was in front of the camera. It's not perfect yet, but trust me; there's so many good reasons to get good at talking to a camera or even writing and explaining your work. Articulation is an extremely important skill and I personally believe that you can only benefit from taking the time and risk to learn it. I wish there was a better solution but I think you gotta just put your head down and do it even if it seems impossible. You will overcome fear through action. You're really lucky to even have people reaching out to you for work on artstation. So many people try for so long to get clients and it sounds like you have some waiting for you. You gotta just go get it man, idk what else to say. You got it!
Amazing video, we share a similar 3d journey, I started learning cinema 4d and octane render in the beggining of 2020, in mid 2020 I entered the crypto space but the more digital art related space, actually sold a few of my personal pieces and lived of that for 2 years (I'm from argentina) moved to blender, unreal engine 5 and nowadays i'm working on a Dao, still crypto art related and getting paid pretty well. I'm happy, I also think that being honest, having a good communication and just having some common sense separates you from the majority of other designers/artists
I truly can't believe it, it makes sense, it's not an isolated thing... But I can't just face it, more when we get such an unpredictable variable as "luck"; anyway, thanks for sharing the experience and advice.
Hey the studio job is nice in it's own way. Client outreach is crazy tedious especially with a bunch of cold leads. If you have enough experience and connections though you could consider starting your own studio! Take it slow and do it on the side and see how you like it?
DONT BE DISCOURAGED. Just because a single person claims all this and that, doesnt mean the industry requires heavy marketing, connections, or anything of that matter. I landed my first gig by just making phone calls. Though, this industry does extremely benefit from your geographical location, preferably one of the major animation cities of the world
It doesn't necessarily require it but a good combination of technical skills, communication abilities and connections never hurt anybody. Glad your calls got you where you need to be 🙏
Autofocus situation will be fixed next video. I'm using a new camera setup and didn't feel like re-filming. Thank you for tolerating it this time around 🤕
Just landed my first 1500+ gig with networking thank you a lot mate
@@Sandor3D So huge! Happy for you bro
When you mentioned luck, it's pretty true.
Everything you do, the more work you put in, the better you try to become, the more people you reach out - you're basically working to increase your luck.
With the luck you've increased you get much better chances at stumbling upon something worthwhile, usually, if not mainly, through networking.
spitting facts my friend
Exactly right! I always say that being good at something buys you a lottery ticket. Each skill you learn and put in to practice is another ticket. Then you just have to keep trying to get more tickets and hope one hits
This is so true. I work in VFX and the difference between corporate clients and working at a studio is massive. If you work at a top VFX house you will be surrounded by some of the best artists in the world who are working for pretty mid pay and the standards are through the roof. Switch to the corporate world and client expectations are seemingly low by comparison and the people around you have no clue about anything you do. Oh and corporations pay so much more than studios.
That’s the best advice I ever heard, there’s more money to be made by companies that are lacking a photographer/videographer/3d modeler instead of working for like a studio or even freelance online
Not a 3D designer but coming from a photographer and videographer view everything you said was really true, a lot of creatives struggle with the business aspect of work. There’s A Lot of money and work out there for whatever you do. You just have to be smart enough to get it.
Ah yes this is an "intelligence" issue. 🙄 because succeeding business definitely isn't just about sucking up and stepping on people. Defs need to be "smart" to succeed there.
@@skepticalpanda8862true
@@skepticalpanda8862tell me you're bitter without using the word bitter. You can use words like "suck up" and "kiss ass" - and yes, there are people who kiss ass so much that you feel like you want to slap them - but the opposite is also bad. You need to find a sociable balance because ultimately, work (especially well paid work) will only ever come via personal recommendations. Is that fair? No. But it's how the world works.
@@skepticalpanda8862 I mean smart enough to figure things out, to problem solve and figure out how to get more clients. Not intelligence, taking it too literally
Always comes down to right place right time
In regards to putting together a portfolio- some advice I got from one of Rocksteady's lead character artists: Hirers will judge you based on your worst pieces! It’s better to have a few to set a high standard than having multiple of different quality!
You raised a fair point!
Absolutely true. Unfortunately it's hard to overlook the weak spots in a portfolio. That's just how it is. Thanks for watching!
actually, they will judge your progress: if you have really bad work at start, but then your projects are getting better and better, its good signal to hire you (especially if you improve your skills fast)...if you trying put only good projects in portfolio, it is just suspicious...
*yes, add only best work, but don't delete old works too, they were the best of their time and shows your real growth rate*
Yeah I'm not a 3d artist, but as a web dev / designer this makes a lot of sense and your advise is pretty applicable to a lot of things when it comes to offering a service. I also think it was pretty cool how you pointed out 3 very specific things to do to become more successful when it comes to making 3d art, rather than give very general advice. I wish people did that more. 10/10 video 🔥
Appreciate the feedback, so glad you enjoyed!
Semi true for sure. Landing jobs and making money is not all about your skill as an artist but also as a person who can market themselves, and have good relationships with clients. That doesn't mean you should strive for mediocrity or stop studying your craft. Because having decent communication skills and being timely aren't all that rare.
I'm happy to hear you landed some good work! As an owner of a 3D Studio I know how exciting that can be, Stay Sharp!
Yes, it's totally a balance of both. If you stop sharpening your skills it'll start to feel more like a repetitive and boring chore.
Really solid communication advice here! When potential clients were asking me why should they hire me instead of a company I just noted they paid me to work for them instead of paying 5 or 10 people that were working for someone else. Did the trick 80% of the time. 14y freelancer btw.
Bro if you're actually 14 that's crazy young to be doing this and especially dealing with clients. You got a bright future for sure!! Keep it up young killa
@renderer ah man thanks but I meant I've been freelancing for 14y ahah
hahah okay i get it now. 14 years is impressive. also unless a team is managed super well, projects done by a team can get bloated and overcomplicated. having one set of professional eyes on a project is often so much more efficient
I read this like 5 times and still can't get it. Could you rephrase or explain it in some other way, please?
@@senior4153 agree…not sure what he’s saying
The video discusses how 3D artists can make more money even if they are not the best designers. The key points include:
1. Better design rarely correlates with better pay, so it's essential to focus on other aspects.
2. Building a strong network and making connections can lead to better opportunities.
3. Providing value, such as free work or discounts, can help establish a friendly relationship with clients.
4. Focusing on lighting, texturing, and motion animation can improve the quality of work and potentially increase income.
5. Big companies may hire designers with mediocre work if they have the right connections or unique style.
6. Having a strong portfolio with high-quality work can attract more clients.
7. Networking and outreach are crucial for finding clients and growing a business.
I've noticed this a lot too while growing as a graphic designer / video editor, it's not really about your skill level it's more about who you're selling it to, how you're selling it and really just getting attention and being picked up by someone, literally lmao. I feel like it's because usually artists have an ego that they don't realize this, it's not about "your art" or how much of "you" it shows. It's about, does it fulfill a goal / will it solve a solution? and literally the higher demand / complexity there is in said solution you'll be compensated more, no matter how basic or simple your skills are. It doesn't get as simpler as that.
Thanks for showing that corpos are literally controlling everything. Art is about passion and expression. Its not about giving a solution or fulfill a goal or make tons of money. Thanks for destroying any act of actual passion in exachange for material. We truly live in a society tell me an other joke Murray.
@@toplay1764 I think that's a pretty cynical way of viewing it. You can show passion & express while also having a goal and make a ton of money from it. It's all a matter of giving something a direction and diverting it's target to something a mass relates to and not only what YOU relate brother.
The problem I'm highlighting is that a lot of artist/graduates go into the industry with this kind of mindset that's sorta like MY art when it truly isn't about you bro.
These guys be moving around the world like it's MY ART, MY EXPRESSION, MY WORK and that's why a lot of them struggle so much to make a decent living, because they cannot leave that ego behind. How are you supposed to get benefits if the work you do only holds meaning to you? it does not make sense. Not everything is about oneself. this world is about mutual benefits, money comes from another hand, not yours, so we all gotta learn how to provide value.
@@KeniSlayer no no , this is just my point of view, a opinion not a fact. People will always do what at the end brings the most results and if thats their goal thats fine. But when we go deeper "much deeper" into the true thinking "why do i do that" "what does it give me for a feeling if i know i wont make millions with it". At the end everyone should do (and will) what he thinks does make him happy or feel acomplished. cheers
Alot of truth in this video, you succeeded relatively quickly compared to average 3D artist. For me personally it took around 2 years to build my skills as 3D artist before I was confident enough to reach out to clients. Learning never stops though since game niche is constantly evolving and you gotta keep up with tech.
Honestly I respect how real you kept it on this video. Keep doing your thing man
Could you share some examples of cold DMs you send to initiate a conversation? I always relied on my RUclips and Instagram presence for sourcing 3D work so I never really had to go hard on reaching out, but getting good at cold DMs is a universal skill for any field of work or business.
Great channel💰
Yeah I can try to go into more detail about this in a future vid, but I'd say #1 thing is to keep it brief. Nobody is gonna read more than 2 or 3 sentences since basically all companies get loads of spam.
On Instagram, you can see a 38-character preview of incoming DMs. Use those 38 characters to write something to get them to open it (like you're a potential customer). Then at the end just throw in the fact that you're a 3D designer and want to work.
Here's an example of something I'd do:
"Hey! I really like your packaging, the colors are so vibrant! I do 3D renders for brands and I'd love to work with you! Please let me know 🙏"
Personalize the message enough where it doesn't seem like bot spam, but don't write them an essay or get too salesy with cold leads.
Best of luck!
Raw and uncut video = huge level transparency.
The brawler 3d shout out lets gooooooo
it is true that you must fish where the fish are. unfortunately a lot of clients that come my way dont hang out with those fishes. i am fortunate enough that some of them do hang out with the fishes and are willing to pay what the work is actually worth. hell, i've worked with huge companies that are stingy and it baffles me to this day. it is just a constant hassle trying to figure out the client and seeing what they are willing to pay. I know of visualization companies that charge triple what I do and honestly no bias at all my work is tremendously better. anyways thank you for sharing! i am in the archviz industry and this is still valuable information :-)
Raw videos are great! I got the same value out of it, and can see how much time you saved by not really creating high end thumbnail and intence editing
Thank you lol I literally filmed and edited in under 3 hours it was crazy
there's prety much a 1 to 1 correlation to video production or really any other creative service - love it and subbed! 🙏
Hehehehe, you're very right. On working with big companies, just do it for the money. But if you're very passionate about your work, steer away from big companies. They are very allergic to creativity. Go generic charge them high, go home happy.
Take the money do your own creative projects on the side, to nourish your creativity.
To the author of the video. Don't fall into the trap of complacency. Especially if you want to do 3D as a life long career. It's a very competitive field, and at the very top, great communication and work ethic is the base level spec, so it comes down to pure talent.
Anyone reading this, I will tell you the most in demand skill in 3D is rigging and coding/scripting. Master these two skills, you'll be set for life. If you can master Houdini and unreal engine as well, you'll not even have competition
Yeah I agree, I should have touched on that more. If you're actually trying to express yourself creatively, big companies are as bad as it gets for rewarding that. Pay on the other hand...
I agree with the title. Having worked in the field for more than 5+ years now, it certainly has ups and downs. I got to a level where I was really good technically and was brought over to a 6 figure job to work in film. After 2 years, I realized thats not what I wanted anymore, and decided to move overseas and work remotely. Now, relearning the market, and new ways to sell my products. The VFX industry is full of people making money without having a linkedin/social accounts which is also super interesting. I would never have had a job without social media.
Yeah it's hard to imagine building an income without a social media following these days. Pretty much all my clients are on my Instagram. Losing access to my Instagram account would actually be devastating haha
Provide value and you actually win. That's soo true
Such transparenct
I have been a 3D Artist for 30 years and never made that kind of money that you are talking about potentially getting soon, and this only after 3 years as a 3D Artist :) . I mean i started making 3D when i was 13 years old in the nineties, so your video it is a little bit of a wake up or smack in the head for me. Thank you a good reminder to just cold contact people, i can confirm that giving stuff for free does open up opportunities. Keep it up!
My biggest problem is evaluating how long something might take me so I can end up late on some commissions, but it is pretty crazy how being approachable and easy to talk to can help on your work, and it's kinda sad there aren't a lot of people with that ability.
Specially today, it's not something that needs to translate from your real world ability, and might even help to have that sort of training online if you're too shy to engage in conversation irl.
As far as estimating how long things will take, that will come with time. I've pretty much realized that things almost always take longer than expected so I plan for that
I'm setting up my own fashion brand. Self taught in 3D. Loved hearing your experience!
Good luck man, you got it!
You make clothes in 3d?
I would like to see that. I think I want to look at fashion a bit more. It seems interesting lately so seeing this sounds neat
I'm a graphic designer who got tons of value from this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge my dude. You've convinced me to systematize my communication like I do my graphic templates.
Hell yeah bro you got it!!
Very inspiring. I'm a web designer, and I've had times where I felt like I would never compare to the best. However, I've realized that the more effort I put into my design skills, along with those traits you mentioned, there is the potential to stand out.
Exactly, your advantage can be built on connections. The best artists aren't often recognized for their skills alone.
Thanks for the video, it’s really eye opener, I think what I learn from it is the direction I want to take my channel to and made me realize I’ve looking in the wrong places for gigs, it’s like in every other job, you just need to make connections with the right people to start making money out of 3D, and what you mention about the 3 pillars of what people are looking for in a designer, it’s completely true, sometimes is more important someone you can trust and work from there than someone you can only make a transaction and that’s it, thanks again for the video, it’s something I needed to hear at the right time.
Wow, love how you're just tapping us in
this is an awesome video with genuinely good advice, it sounds like you have a good pulse on what makes a good freelancer in this space - its definitely not just art skills alone. Keep it up
Oh hey thank you! I've seen your videos when I was first starting Blender. Appreciate the support 🙏
Aren’t you the channel that made the artists pay you, even though they had to come up with a full tutorial video for your channel, and in return they got nothing back from it.
I just landed my first product project by emailing one of my favorite companies about their new item they just launched, sent them a quick animatic of one shot I had in mind for the intro, and they hit me back saying it looked like fun and they're putting me on their list to receive a review model. I've been so psyched, putting together test shots and figuring things out for the final result. That is something very important that doesn't get talked about enough: Test everything you want to have in your final render before creating the scenes because you WILL inevitably run into problems you could have never predicted, and it can take some time to figure them out. Once you're in the final scenes, it can really suck when you get far along and then find problems that make you have to go back, sometimes waaaaay back, and that is both inconvenient and a time-killer.
Major win man! Super glad to hear it!
Thank you for the insights, love these raw videos. I recently graduated Uni with BS in Engineering specialization in Product Design and I've been at Still Human Creative Agency for about 2 years doing Motion for them, making 3D work for our clients and internal projects.
The whole "Who you know beats what you know" lesson has changed my outlook on things, and it's helped me refocus where to apply my efforts.
I agree, you can tell when someone didn't bother to change the "Graph Editor" settings and just keyframed something to spin on the Z-axis lmaooo.
I appreciate this vid, just subscribed & looking forward to more 💫
Glad you enjoyed and congrats on that degree, that's huge! I haven't gone to college but I'm sure the networking aspect of it has to be really good. It seems like that's where a lot of people build their core networks without social media, even now.
But yeah my quality in work hasn't necessarily gotten much greater in the past year. I've picked up bits of knowledge on specific topics where needed, but I can't remember the last time I just sat down and watched a multi-part tutorial on any aspect of Blender. Network is the only thing that's significantly grown recently.
Thanks for watching & the sub!
@@renderer Thanks and same to you. I need to get better at Networking, and moreso, In-Person events. Here's to both of us advancing on that front in 2024 🤞🏽
solid vid bro, very well articulated, and the breakcore in the background is mint
Thank you! Just trying to share as much value as I can here. As for the breakcore, I like something a little more flavorful than the stock music in RUclips's non copyright library hahah
it's also nice to listen to while i edit
@@renderer for sure bro, lots a love big homie
I like the title and this channel is great and helpful for people to make actual money through 3D art
facts after facts after facts!
Loved the video. I'm a 2D illustrator and animator and I totally resonate with everything you've said, and you explained it in a concise, entertaining way. Would love to see more of this.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed
yknow! thats so true regarding so many professions, the music industry or the illustration industry, there are so many skilled artists like really exceptional talents but I used to think high skill = more fame = more money.... sadly it doesnt work out that way for most
Its not to say that leveling up your skill is a waste of time, one should never stop improving their art, but if making more money is the goal I think that should be the top priority above improving at your art right?
really valuable insight you dropped on here, thanks so much for the upload, I liked this raw style keep posting!
Spot on. If getting really good at art is your thing, by all means go for it! I love and appreciate good design and aspire to get better. I take inspiration from things all the time.
With that said I also like earning money and personally enjoy the business side of things a lot. There's a ton of people talking about design on RUclips but nobody really goes into depth about what it takes to get paid well for your services.
Glad I could help!
a lot about becoming successful is about who you know and how to roll with the opportunities.
great video dude! straight to the point, no bullshit! loved your insights.
The fishing analogy is how I have approached selling my work since forever. I’m a traditional painter, leaning hard on learning blender ect. Looking at beginning with my kids with the donut lessons. Thanks for the vid.
Sometimes you get those ads where they just say they know and will teach you a way to make lots of money and then they keep repeating that for the whole ad, yeah this vid was the opposite of that. lol
Firstly I'm shocked and impressed that you got the name renderer! A lot of what you said is true. In my earlier 3D years I was prolific posting on forums and writing tutorials (back when they were 99% written lol) and got almost all my work and career through meeting people that way.
Hahah you're the first person to mention the name. when RUclips rolled out the handles I claimed it super quickly. I actually started this channel because I thought the name was so good I had to make something out of it!
The thing about the forums is super true too. This RUclips channel is my version of that. I'm basically just trying to grow an audience through providing value. At worst, I manage to help some people so it's not a bad tradeoff no matter what happens!
Awesome straightforward content man! Super engaging to watch you speak! The porfolio tip is actually very smart! I've never thought of it that way, but now that you said it just makes so much sense!
Keep it up man!
Love from Barcelona
That’s for your videos, it really motivates me to do more “creative” work and your just honest & authentic about every topic or story! I really like it! Keep going.
I used to do 3D design and was very skilled at it. Unfortunately, I struggled with client communication, leading to the loss of many clients.
Did I improve my communication skills? Nah. I pivoted to another industry where my communication skills wouldn’t hold me back.
The best advice is to be brutally honest with yourself and recognize your strengths.
It’s better to triple down on your strengths than to try to overcome your weaknesses.
The way I see it, client communication applies to so many aspects of life. If I decide I want to go get a full time 9-5 job, the interviewing process and skill to sell yourself and negotiate may be the difference between getting that job or not.
I do agree that you should "triple down on your strengths" but communication is such a vital part of business and even life that if you have enough time to focus on both your innate strengths and improve your communication skills, then I think you should.
The algorithm has blessed me ^^
Hey Spencer!
Just in time to start my day :D Great video again, love the raw content (autofocus was going a bit bonkers but hey :D ), keep making some if you have a short message for people like this one! I'm just about to finish my branding, portfolio and website. I've seen a couple of designers with a website/instagram/behance combo, that's what I am aiming for to display my work (not sure about Behance yet, have you got any experience with it?)
On another note just saw a Prada ad on Facebook, it was about 3 seconds, a simple particle system animation with a bit of motion, a perfume bottle and good lighting, but it was fairly simple, could recreate that with no problem. It really made me wonder how much they could have charged for an ad like that. Probably a lot more than I think they did!
Keep on the good work!
I think Behance is pretty widely accepted as a professional place to share work. Something about artstation/dribbble just gives me low-end vibes and I can't really explain why. I think website/ig/behance is great though.
And yeah, mediocre work is all around us. High paying clients literally don't care. It's just about positioning yourself to get in contact with people like that.
Also yeah I realize my autofocus was freaking out the whole time. I just gotta adjust the settings on my camera. I switched from my $40 logitech webcam to my Sony A6300 so I just need to get the settings right now haha
This guy is right. Love what he’s saying.
Whoa! I love this video more than Mr.bests's videos honestly. this is pretty straight forward and learned lot of things and really helpful. To be honest this is best video I've watched in 2024 and the channel as well. I can't express more through words. this is probably one of the video that I watched without skipping a single frame lol. I feel lot of things you said right now as a 3d artist. thank you
Wow thanks for such a nice comment!
That is some solid advice right there. Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm sure a lot of people needed this, I know I did.
You’re very efficient as saying what you have to say, thank you
Thanks! I prefer to not waste anybody's time lol
Thanks a lot for this video. I'm about to give up 3d in general because I'm broke as hell. Your story is inspiring
You got it man. Although just be aware that even if you start getting paid for 3D, if you don't like doing it you may have trouble with burning out down the line. Just something to be aware of!
@@renderer I love 3d soo much, I've always had passion for it since a was little, in fact I started learning it with a 4gb ram laptop no dedicated GPU, that's how much I loved it. But you know sometimes it can get tough, lol. Thanks for the kind words
Learn how to Rig and script and go hard with it. Good riggers are like a unicorn in the industry.
It's not enough to be passionate, you have to be strategic as well. Find gaps in the market and fill them. Do things a lot of artists are afraid of. Rigging, coding/scripting and learning Houdini
@@jomo2483 Hmm I might be in luck then. Rigging is my specialty.
@@CuriosityIM That hardware was sci fi when I started in 3D, using POV-Ray on a, I forget, 2MB or 4MB desktop, 8086 or 80486, clock speed a turtle could keep up with. Ugh, but it was something that *MUST* do. It is a calling!
I cannot tell you how much I love your videos and appreciate your advice. Thank you so much you got another subscriber and i can't wait for more content 🔥
This was so human, I love it. Thank you very much for eye-opening information. I've been a web developer and as a beginner I had clients, but rn when I have the best skills ever in my career - I'm starting over, I have zero clients and I don't know where to start. I really needed that video. Please keep up human content, there is too much of "mr beast" content already. I just skip those videos
this is so helpful, thank u!
I'm starting my 3d career and in 2024 I want to go deep in that industry, your video gave me a good direction what to do and improve. Thanks a lot bro!
You'll kill it my friend, keep it up!!
The most honest youtuber ever
Always has been the goal, thank you for your support
Dude, the best recent advice that actually changed my life was give without expecting anything back. And the way i came across this advice, was while i was scrolling through Facebook and stoped at this post that had a list of advices for better life. I was reading it and this one caught me by surprise because i thought this Is not how the world works if you give somebody something you Always expect something back. But it stuck in my head i thought about it a lot, even started doing it. It feels So good when you give or help somebody, just because you want. Feels like a true love. I became So much more open and kind to people, made me a much happier person then i have ever been and also i could connect with people that i would never be able to before. ❤
Super real. Just one of those tips that improves the situation for everybody. Happy to hear you applying it!
These raw style videos are good.
Love the raw videos! Keep them coming.
IM still tryibg to get 'good' at blender to be able to think of myself as merely passable/acceptable to elude myself into thinking I could do some work in the 3D/design world for anything I could possibly provide, and I like your thoughts on it and see how your background made it through your approach to life, how the 'cult of done' is working out for you to some degree, the 20%work for 80% result ratio kinda, I'm glad to see at least one of us wannabe actually slowly but surely quite becoming something into the industry, miles by miles, growing into a new direction with every opportunity coming along the way, good luck in this new draconian year, it can be a great year of opportunities in the year of the dragon for anyone willing to put in some work ;)
Congrats man...best of luck on that client 👍
this dude looks abit like old Spiderman, one of my siblings fav movies in youth, anyhow nice clip keep up the good advice!
Love the videos, thank you for sharing your experience. Apologies if you've already addressed this somewhere but how do you foresee the future of freelancers in 3D, or art freelancers in general, with the advent and progression of AI? Is it something beginners looking to break into the field should worry about?
Your content is gold man
Thanks for sharing valuable information! Best of luck with the channel! 👍
man this guy finna blow up, thanks for the advice man
ayy thanks bro, super glad you enjoy!
Truly agree that average designer tends to make more money by finding niche that is looking for artist to deliver the job in close time frame. just suggestion for good video- plz use manual focus on recording camera as camera struggle to focus on the subject that is quite distracting.
Every word IS true. Be a good marketer and not too Bad of a designer.
The idea from the go giver is interesting
Thanks man, im not even a 3d modeler but you made some interesting points
You are too real for this great video. You are giving such good information.
The camera feels like it keeps falling towards you and you have to cut and catch the camera
Wow, so much value in this video! Thank you
Thank you man! Got me thinking
raw videos is why im here for babyyyy
This is such amazing advice regardless of what creative discipline you pursue. Thanks for this amazing content.
Ive needed that video, thank you.
Great video, raw and well spoken
Bro thats fire keep it up! Just fix the focus🙏
seemingly very useful info that i look forward to testing. i've been working shit jobs forever, have been learning 3D for a couple years now to try to break into that career genre, but generally have zero intuition of how to strategize my way into reliable income. video polish plays second fiddle to output of quality information. looking forward to more insights
Thanks, I try to make practical content that genuinely helps people start. So much of the advice on RUclips is so vague. You got it! Glad you enjoy
It's wild how, being nice to people, keeping your temper (don't flip people off, no matter how redicules or annoying they are, even if they are wrong) and setting clear goals and expectations can bring you. I basically talked to a ton of people and I never mention what I do in the start. Eventually I will say if they ask me and some people worked for companies and they just thought about me, that's it lol
Exactly. Just gotta be mature and professional in all aspects of life. Working well so far
Keep up the raw content videos !
Great Video!
Do you edit them yourself?
Thank you! Yes, I edit all of them myself with Premiere
@@renderer That's Great. I'm a video editor and will help you edit them for you. So you can save your time as well.I can share my portfolio too.Let me know we can connect (:
pretty much its the amount of work you get not how good your work is but if your work is good high chance you'll get more work sometimes you just end up getting someone who will give you a lot of commissions
man my communications skills are bad i can get the job done but if i have to go in front of people and explain what did i do is over for me. I also noticed my artstation is feeding with inquiry's they keep asking to buy my art and i don't reply or i put excuses I'm terrified tbh. My english is also self taught maybe thats why im not confident enough. But in the university i noticed people that has better communication skills get in better groups and us who dont talk well is just whatever people is left to work with.
I hear you on that. I was pretty bad socially starting out. Even comparing to my earlier RUclips videos you can see how awkward I was in front of the camera. It's not perfect yet, but trust me; there's so many good reasons to get good at talking to a camera or even writing and explaining your work.
Articulation is an extremely important skill and I personally believe that you can only benefit from taking the time and risk to learn it. I wish there was a better solution but I think you gotta just put your head down and do it even if it seems impossible. You will overcome fear through action. You're really lucky to even have people reaching out to you for work on artstation. So many people try for so long to get clients and it sounds like you have some waiting for you.
You gotta just go get it man, idk what else to say. You got it!
Amazing video, we share a similar 3d journey, I started learning cinema 4d and octane render in the beggining of 2020, in mid 2020 I entered the crypto space but the more digital art related space, actually sold a few of my personal pieces and lived of that for 2 years (I'm from argentina) moved to blender, unreal engine 5 and nowadays i'm working on a Dao, still crypto art related and getting paid pretty well. I'm happy, I also think that being honest, having a good communication and just having some common sense separates you from the majority of other designers/artists
Thanks for uploading this! Your content is so real and helpful. I hope you gain many more subscribers in 2024
I truly can't believe it, it makes sense, it's not an isolated thing... But I can't just face it, more when we get such an unpredictable variable as "luck"; anyway, thanks for sharing the experience and advice.
Another great Video. Thank you for your content.
What a cool piece of life story, thanks
That sounds awesome. It reminds me a bit of my journey. How did you find the prospects that you sent DMs to?
Thank you! Also I made a video covering that in detail: ruclips.net/video/STHcy8e5_l0/видео.html
Thank you for the video. Exactly what I needed to watch today
Great video man. Got me questioning my 3D studio job for freelance
Hey the studio job is nice in it's own way. Client outreach is crazy tedious especially with a bunch of cold leads. If you have enough experience and connections though you could consider starting your own studio! Take it slow and do it on the side and see how you like it?
This is amazing advice. Thank you for such high value content.
unexpected brawlersworld appearance
Surprise!!
Top vid. Good stuff brother.
great video, and also you look like Violet’s love interest from the Incredibles
LOL I see it
DONT BE DISCOURAGED. Just because a single person claims all this and that, doesnt mean the industry requires heavy marketing, connections, or anything of that matter. I landed my first gig by just making phone calls. Though, this industry does extremely benefit from your geographical location, preferably one of the major animation cities of the world
It doesn't necessarily require it but a good combination of technical skills, communication abilities and connections never hurt anybody. Glad your calls got you where you need to be 🙏
Congrats my man