At the Sketchfab Store, we pride ourselves on offering a wide variety of asset types and styles to our customers. One of the fastest-growing niche areas in the 3D space is photogrammetry, for which creators use photographs and photogrammetry software to generate photorealistic 3D models. These types of 3D assets are in high demand. In this short article, we share a few tips on how to best monetize your 3D scans.
Choose an in-demand subject
Choosing what to scan is crucial. You have to think about what the buyers want and how your assets might be used. For example, human scans can be used for arch viz projects, foliage scans can be used in game development, and high-quality object scans can be helpful to VFX artists. Certain items can be very hard to scan, especially translucent objects and shiny surfaces, and may not be worth the time or effort to digitize them with photogrammetry.
Try to focus on small objects as you build your confidence with photogrammetry. Making a complex architectural scan is much harder than 3D scanning a wooden box or a hamburger. Choose wisely and use the store search to learn what is already available on the marketplace.
Retopologize your model or provide muti-res files
3D scanned assets can have more complex geometry than traditionally modeled assets. For this reason, we recommend retopologizing and optimizing your scanned assets.
If you’re unable to completely optimize your model’s geometry, simply decimate the model and export at least 3 different levels of detail to add to your upload as additional files. In this way, you will be able to offer both a high-quality scan and something lower poly to buyers of all sorts, from game developers to VFX pros.
Price your 3D scans effectively
As with anything you want to sell, it is always a good idea to get a sense of what the competition is charging for similar products. A quick search on the Sketchfab Store should help you discover the average selling price for similar assets and allow you to set an informed price for your asset(s). If you are uploading something unique that does not yet exist in our store, use your best judgment and try to price your upload reasonably. Be thoughtful not to overprice or underprice—both practices can erode the trust of your customers.
Other general tips:
- When scanning human subjects, have them sign a model release form so that you can sell 3D models of them commercially under our standard license.
- If your first scan does not turn out well, don’t give up. Keep at it—the second attempt is almost always better. To discuss techniques, head over to the #3d-scanning channel on our Discord server.
- Utilize relevant keywords in your tags and descriptions so that your models can be found easily in our search.
- In 3D Settings, select Shadeless rendering. Since 3D scans typically already contain lighting information, additional lights can make them look grungy.
If you are just getting started with photogrammetry, our friends at CapturingReality are kindly offering an exclusive discount for a limited time. Get 50% off 2000 RealityCapture PPI credits with the code SKETCHFAB-DISCOUNT-50OFF-WRMCNE. This offer ends 24th October 2020 but the benefit of the PPI credits is that they will never expire and remain in your account until you spend them.
We hope these tips come in handy and will assist you whether you are a photogrammetry expert or just getting started with the technique.
If you are not selling on the Sketchfab Store yet, register now to join our growing seller community.
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Sketchfab Store
High-quality 3D models for VFX, game development, VR/AR, architecture, and animation. Inspect every mesh and texture before you buy.
