3D rendering is super-popular! You can use it to render high quality images be it for your game, software, or even an animated video. Adding realism and depth to your rendered images is even though desirable, it’s not always the most affordable option.
Most brands and startups tend to sway from 3D animated videos and renders for the fact that the costs are too high. And, they’re not wrong for the price can vary significantly depending upon the quality and detail of the image.
The price can be anywhere between $99 and $10000 per image. Yeah, there’s no limit to customization. And, the varying bracket should not keep you from hiring for 3D animation services.
But, here are a few pointers that you should keep in mind to determine your 3D rendering cost.
So, let’s begin
Skill level of artists
The core challenge with any 3D rendering project is that it’s not a one-man show. You need a myriad of high quality skills to nail a rendering job to perfection. To get into the technicalities of the job, and coordinate with the 3D artists and post-processing designer/artist, you’ll need a competent project manager.
More importantly, you need to hire a talented 3D artist, who’ll be working on the renders for most part of the job. So, when it comes to cost, you need to factor in the expense of the 3D artist, who has a pivotal role here.
If you’re not really familiar with what the 3D artist would do, here’s an small overview of the job they’ll undertake;
- Communicating with you and finalizing the creative brief upon your vision
- Creating the 3D model using high-end rendering software
- Working on textures and lightings to add more depth to the appearance of the model
Last, but not least, the 3D modeler will use a camera to capture movement, and work it into real-time 3D animation.
What is likely to impact the cost of my 3D rendering project?
Predicting cost is not as easy as thought. It primarily depends on the quality of 3D artists you’ve got onboard.
What’s important to know is that not all the 3D artists will provide the quality you had expected. Moreover, the level of delta you require in your video will also impact the cost of the overall project.
Plus, the deadline of your project also plays an imminent role in determining the cost of the rendering project.
For instance, if you need a lot of customized elements to be created and modeled from scratch, then expect the cost to be a lot higher than with template based design elements.
Is post-processing important for 3D rendering projects?
Well, not always. 3D rendering is an intricate job. Usually you have a 3D modeler create the model, and the animators just animate it.
And, it might often be the final product. However, there are instances where animation studios would go for a post-production edit, which involves the work of a highly-skilled graphic designer or even photoshop artist.
They’ll work on the detailing of the render, making it look sharp, professional, and original on its own. The purpose of assigning this part of the job to a pro-level graphic designer is to enhance quality of the final render, and also keep an additional phase of quality assurance for 3D rendering.
While this part of the job is not always needed, it is advised to have some final tweaks with the render to enhance its quality. And, if you wish to hire a graphic designer for the job, then expect the go cost to go up by a reasonable, if not substantial amount.
Keep in mind that to hire pro-level designers, you’ll need to increase your budget. You just cannot expect to get to the end of a project with the bare minimum budget.
Impact of time required for 3D rendering
Another major cost factor for any 3D rendering project is the amount of time required to accomplish the project. Your price will be directly proportional to the degree of realism and detail you require with your 3D render.
Here are a few things that will directly affect the cost of your 3D render. Most 3D rendering companies have their pricing packages made upon these pointers. So, make sure to check these out.
- The polycounts involved in the render
- Degree of realism and quality detailing will also increase time of render
- The number of elements in foreground and background will also cause delay in render
- Your PC hardware and software will decide how quickly you get the render
- Curved surfaces require more detail; So time for rendering will go up
- More lighting in an image will also increase the time
- High-resolution images will also increase the render time significantly
Wrap up
Let’s wrap this one up. 3D rendering is an intricate process, and probably the most popular with brands who have themed their branding using 3D animation. Rendering services is their primary requirement. Getting quality renders is not always an affordable option. In this blog we covered major cost factors, and pointers that will help you decide how to go about your 3D render.
So, feel free to return to this blog, and guide your way through 3D rendering.