Selling 3D content online can offer the digital artist a lucrative income stream. There are many independent 3D model vendors, like 3DRT, and Arteria Gaming, both of which specialize in game-ready model packs. However, such 3D stores as these have an established reputation and a highly visible web presence that can take many years to create. Furthermore, these companies have an extensive and growing catalogue of 3D content for sale.
In contrast, an individual 3D artist might not currently have a large enough portfolio of models to warrant the intensive work that building, maintaining and marketing an online 3D resource store requires, when that time could be put to better use creating more 3D content.
Online Marketplaces Increase 3D Sales
An effective alternative to making a new website is to have 3D content listed on an existing website that specializes in selling 3D resources. These online shops host a huge variety of 3D models, and make their profit by keeping a share of the value of each model sold, and paying the content creator the remainder as a royalty percentage.
The benefit of such 3D stores is that they will market a model maker's products effectively, using their established web presence to target customers with an interest in purchasing 3D models. Furthermore, many such stores will convert existing 3D models into many different formats, will resolve any customer issues arising from a purchase and will take care of the purchasing process in its entirety, all of which add up to increased sales for the 3D artist.
Selling 3D Through Many Models Stores
The majority of reputable 3D vendors do not expect their 3D content creators to sign an exclusivity agreement, which would restrict any models submitted to being displayed only on one site. Non-exclusivity allows the 3D artist to submit 3D content to multiple marketplaces, increasing the exposure of the model and thus, the chances of a sale.
3D Shops: Online Models Stores
There are many 3D marketplaces that have an established web presence, a non-exclusivity clause and a generous affiliate royalty program. Such 3D stores include:
- TurboSquid: The largest provider of 3D content on the internet, TurboSquid offers a 50% royalty on all sales priced under $150, 53% for 3D content in the $151 to $499 price bracket, and 55% for content sold at over $500. While there are better commission rates than those offered by TurboSquid, no other 3D store can match the market penetration of TurboSquid.
- The 3D Studio: With an industry presence of over 13 years, the 3D Studio is a superior 3D resource site, offering a 60% royalty rate on sales. With its impeccable in-house customer support and aggressive product promotion, this is a particularly valuable models vendor for any 3D content creator to be associated with.
- 3D Export: With a strong and growing catalogue of 3D content, 3D Export offers a generous royalty of between 60 to 70% on the value of each sale.
- Altair Models: Altair Models give an excellent flat rate of 70% of the price value of any 3D product sold.
- Presto 3D: Presto 3D is still in beta at the time of writing, but already has an extensive model range and good online market presence. While Presto 3D offer only 50% of the value of each sale, during the beta period, 3D content sellers will receive 60% royalties on each sale.
- Exchange 3D: Exchange 3D offer model sellers a progressive scale based on the number of models submitted to the vendor for sale. An initial 60% royalty rate increases to 65% once 10 items have been submitted, then 70% for publishers with 20 to 50 items available for sale, up to a generous 75% for content creators with over 50 displayed models.
A 3D content creator should strive to set up seller accounts with each of these online 3D shops to achieve maximum market exposure for their models, along with any other 3D resource vendors that offer a competitive royalty rate without enforcing an exclusivity agreement.
Why Selling 3D Models Online is Good Business
Once a 3D artist has uploaded content for submission to multiple 3D vendors, the digital nature of the 3D product means that the work of the artist is now done. The 3D store will manage the business of advertising and the mechanics of selling the product, and every sale thereafter will generate pure profit for the content creator. And with numerous 3D models submitted, a 3D artist can make a very healthy residual income for work that was completed long ago.
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