Two years ago, we shared 5 Popular Types of 3D Assets That Sell. Now it’s time to revisit the topic by taking a broad view of the factors that drive demand. In this article we will take a look at these factors and highlight strategies and opportunities to maximize your sales in the 3D asset market.
Factor #1: Supply and demand
The more assets there are of a particular type, the more competition there will be for buyers’ attention. For example, many creators offer furniture assets—as a result, it can be challenging to make your furniture assets stand out or rise to the top of a buyer’s search results.
Don’t be discouraged, though! High competition is closely linked to high demand. You may create assets within a highly competitive category and still have many sales. To do this, however, you will need to know your buyers by doing some research about them and create 3D models that will stand out for them.
Start by knowing why a buyer would want to buy your 3D models—by understanding what your work has to offer you will be able to talk directly to buyers through your assets. You can also identify common characteristics of your potential buyers, for example, they might require a specific type of 3D model—high-poly, low-poly, toon style, game-ready, etc.
Factor #2: The rise of the gaming industry…and its 3D modeling needs.
The gaming industry has become one of the most profitable industries on the planet; it is now worth more than $300 billion and boasts almost 3 billion players worldwide. Unsurprisingly, the demand for 3D models is increasing along with the growth of the gaming industry.
There are many coders and small game studios without the time or budget to create every individual prop necessary to fill the scenes of their video games. They look on the Sketchfab Store (and other online marketplaces) for game-ready assets or asset packs that they can easily drag and drop into their projects.
To make the most of this growing market, consider optimizing your assets for use in games. Keep in mind that developers prefer stylistically consistent model packs that they can use to populate entire scenes.
Factor #3: Specialized 3D model categories
Creating realistic animal, science, medical, or space-related models can be time-consuming because it requires some research in order to achieve accuracy in form and details. Perhaps as a result of the extra effort required, these asset categories are underexplored and unsaturated by creators—and highly in demand by buyers.
Good models in these categories tend to be highly priced. Competition is very low, making the opportunities for sale bigger. Try expanding into specialized categories like these—or any others that seem to be less populated but full of potential.
If you are not yet selling on the Sketchfab Store, apply to become part of our growing community.
About the author
Sasha Carvajal
Sketchfab Store Associate Manager and AR enthusiast.
