Pricing
cost
guide

Before we emerge ourselves into exploring the pricing strategies, let us tell you some things you can achieve and get for your money. Also we will talk about architectural modeling and object modeling in the same article, because the principle is similar. Where ever there is significant difference, we will point it out.

• With 3D rendering you can create exact presentations of your project (regardless if it’s real estate or a new line of luxury sunglasses)
• You can create digital content for online customers- and let’s be honest, most of the customers tend to be online nowadays-. Create photorealistic images of the exterior of your new real estate development, sell apartments with stunning virtually staged design, show off your online brands and use the 3D models and renders on e-commerce websites. You can use renders for print in brochures, magazines, banners.
• Sell your products to investors and get funding for your projects from the moment that it is only just a concept.

• What influences the price
• What things add up the price
• Pricing strategies for 3D modeling and rendering services
• Recommendations and things to avoid

Let us begin with clarifying that all of the 3D visuals you see start with modeling the process regardless if it’s architectural visualization or products. The outcome after lots and lots of work then can be still images that are so realistic, you can’t tell anymore if it’s a photo or a render, or animations that imitate reality and enables users to experience the visuals like a movie from multiple angles. Other types can be 360 interactive walkthroughs or virtual staging.

Not with the intention to be misleading here, but it is just not possible to give an exact price  before we see and discuss the project.

There is no exact answer to this without knowing every single detail of your project, your exact needs and expectations.  If you ever encounter a company that promises you exact prices upfront, run in the opposite direction fast. You can check other pro companies angle on this conversation and anybody who really claims to provide premium services will ask questions first, and give you a quote after. You being a professional in your field, by now have learned that there are no miracles, and anything that is just too good to be true…it probably is scam.

What matters is :

• Size of the project and complexity
• How many exact and clear specifications a client provides from the start about the project, and how many changes will there be en-route and not foreseen.
• The time required and available to successfully complete the project – maybe there will be one person working on your project or might be 10. They are trained professionals with years  of experience.
• Still images have resolution and sizes, it can differ if you would like to use the images for web, or want to print a big banner as commercial.
• Complexity and number of details of the projects
• For animations key factors are for example if only the camera is moving, or are there moving objects or does the lighting change, do you wish visual effects like explosions?
• Still, to give you an approximate idea of high quality visualization still images can cost you from 500$ to 3-4000$ easily for modeling and rendering for architectural 3D rendering projects and 150$ to 800$ for product rendering depending on so many variables.
• Animation can cost you from 15$/second to 45$/second depending on quality, resolution, complexity of the video

Firstly 3D modeling and rendering costs depend on the scope of work that is needed to be done, and has to be determined clearly from the beginning. Typically there will be at lest 2-3 professionals working for you on your project: A project manager, a 3D artist and a post processing artist. But there can be many more, like animation experts, VFX experts for special effects and more. These dedicated people’s labor costs adds a big chunk to the total costs.

Their responsibilities during the projects include:

• Clear understanding the clients vision, plans and needs
• Creating a highly accurate 3D model of the building, or object based on whatever they have as a base with the help of cutting edge 3D software (that took some blood and sweat to learn how to use, not to mention the costs for even paying for all the programs, hardware, PC-s a company like this needs to function)
• Texturing the model, adding realistic details, surroundings, lighting, mapping
• Setting up camera angles
• Postprocessing images and animation editing

What costs so much?

• detail and complexity level and number of unique elements that are required (you might wish for an exact object to be included, apart from your model, from a specific brand and it has to be modeled – there is an exact tree that has to be in the picture, not just any tree)
• deadlines- we work in a really past paced manner. Out turn around times are market competitive, but quality takes time. So if you require something faster than it normally would take us to create- we might need to work overtime, include more labor force etc.
• and resolution, image size: there is big difference from rendering for online showcasing and for printing. The bigger the final picture, for a high quality rendering it will take more time to render. In addition will need more high-end computing power. (translation: more and more of very expensive resources)

What is rendering time?

It is the amount of time that is required to finalize the final high quality image of your image or animation. It directly depends on how complex your project is, how detailed the scenes are, and what amount of realism it has. This is not something the customer should be concerned about, this is our job to tell you. Scenes with high polygon counts, large textures (the really realistic ones are), complex lighting setup and lots of reflective and refractive surfaces tend to have longer render time than the simple ones.

Per image pricing

Here the customer will be billed per image. There is a flat rate for the 3D model that is created, and then every image will have an additional fee.  For example you have sunglasses that come in different colors, and wish for multiple image angles. We create the model and it costs X amount. Then for one image of the product The fee will be X + the cost of an image to be rendered. If you want more images then you pay only the cost of the number of  additional images. Changing materials and colors : Still we keep the initial X (the model) but to change colors and materials will still cost you less than to redo the model every time over and over again. Anytime later you want to add other images we just bill you the price for the image or the color change, not the model. If you purchase many images, you can get a discount from us.

Per project Pricing

This means you pay for the whole thing. You send us all the details of your project, all your needs, and we give you an estimate. If changes will be made during the project there were not foreseen, we could charge extra. This pricing works well for big scale projects and when the customer already knows the package it needs, and is sure of the final form of the building/object. This can include different elements like 3D floor plans, multiple images, animation etc.

Per hour pricing

We use this pricing method for product developing. If the client is not really sure about the final form of his project, and very understandably it is also hard to imagine it in it’s final form, we help. This can be useful in real estate for pitching to investors, or for product design development. After we agree on the final form of the 3D model, you will also be able to get and present some high quality visuals for your clients, investors. Here we divide the 3D modeling and 3D modeling prices in 2 segments. We create the 3D model, with you guiding us along the project, and make changes to your design until you are satisfied. After we apply the usual: materials, textures, colors, lighting etc., and render the final images. The billed amount of ours will be communicated for each of the sectors.

Provide the team with accurate information from  the beginning

Can’t stress this enough. When asking for a quote give us as much detailed information as you possess. Yes, give us pictures of the exact materials of the shiny velvet materials you are going to use for your couch. We need that, even if you think there are some details that do not matter much. They do. We can’t imagine what you would like if you’re not telling us. For us just to create something similar to your needs is just not good enough, and neither will it be for you, your business and your wallet, when we charge extra for the amounts of changes that needed to be done that could have been avoided if we knew from the start. This way we will be able to implement faster and produce the visuals as you imagine. Don’t spare details.

Trust our process and the order of the steps we take

We have a very well established workflow, that is a conclusion made from years of experience and working with many different clients. There is not one way works for all kind of solution here, there are no two same projects, nor clients. Please don’t skip steps, for that might be a crucial turning point in the project, and can affect efficiency and costs on the long run. Trust us.

Run from fixed priced deals

In 3D rendering and visualization there is no such thing as fixed price rates. So please choose your vendors carefully, and run as far as possible from the deals that sound almost too good to be true, even before anyone has seen your project files, or had a detailed discussion.

Avoid scams

The competition is high. There are many companies with 1 or 2 images in their gallery. Check if they have more than one high end visual in their portfolio. Selling decent looking images for cheap deals can be just that: scam.  Anyone can download a good rendering from the internet and add it to their portfolio.

Communication

Select a company that goes for communication and good customer service. We at Volume9 proud ourselves with the fact that we offer premium personalized services. You won’t ever talk to a robot or call center. You will have premium and personal access to professionals who know your project by heart.

Give us precise feedback

The best way you can contribute to the project is by providing clear info from the start. Your constructive criticism is a key factor to achieve the best results. Take your time and consult the 3D model we send you, check on the details with attention. This leads to less revisions, less rendering ours, less costs. Good service=both parties are happy.

Even if the difference between a decent service and a premium service has also a noticeable price tag, at the end what matters is that high-end, premium modeling and rendering studios such as ours go for communication, excellent costumer service and experience, skill levels and professionalism, they can take on huge projects and complete the most complex tasks. They have quality control and the perfection.

We hope you enjoyed reading through all the details and find the info here useful.