business of archi-viz, which is the investment? [freelancing]

[carlonarducci]

Dear friends

which could be considered a starting list of tools with costs to start into this business as a freelance (architectural visualization)?

 

I am refering a guys as Marcus Novak, or Philipe Steele as good kickass starter fo this kind of carrer.

 

what I would need?

• pc dual xeon
  
• 3ds max
  
• vray licence
  
• photoshop or/and AE
  
• others plug in
  

 

I count at least 12 000 euros with taxes.

 

this is a sort of start toolkit, someone can enter in the discussion adding details?

[Scott Schroeder]

You need a good PC, but not an over the top expensive PC. You need to invest money in your software first, build some capitol, then you can buy that bad-ass PC. The blunt truth is that the first few months of freelancing you may struggle to find work that that hyper expensive machine is just going to be a paper weight. The the first few jobs you do get, they probably won't need 14+ hour render times. They'll be fast and they won't be the best images you've ever done. If you ever find yourself needing a bit of extra power, there are plenty of options like EC2 or an online farm like Rebus. Once you find yourself really using those outside options more and more, then think about buying a super PC.

 

My first freelancing machine was a near top of the line i7 from Dell that was about $1,800 US. Though, I could have probably built it myself for around $1,000.

 

If I would do it all over again, I would budget the following:

-A good i7 set up. Roughly $1,200 - $1,600 for the computer that I build myself. (Maybe X2 for the PC so I can have one rendering while I work on the other to maximize productivity.)

-3ds Max, but do you really really need it just yet? Can you get by with SketchUp?

-Forget Vray. Corona all the way and/or UE4. Vray is still awesome but there are just as awesome, and much cheaper, engines now for budget conscious freelancers.

-Photoshop. ~$9 a month for the basic or $19 a month for the Behance Pro bundle, which may be helpful as that can be your portfolio site now

-Forget about AE. You won't be landing too many animations starting out.

-Forest Pro and Rail Clone Pro, though you can probably get by with the free versions of those for a while

-Various scripts like Miauu's packs that are super duper cheap but very cool and effective for your workflow.

[SkylineArch]

If the project timing is OK, you can let your final renderings run over night, so an off the shelf PC like Scott mentioned would be fine. I do all my freelance on an XPS 15 laptop, I just let the renderings run at night, or if they are going to take more than 8 hours I'll run them on my old XPS desktop which is about the speed of the laptop but it frees the laptop up.

 

SketchUp and one of it's available render engines are an option. Once a few more plugin alternatives are available that I use in Max, I'm going to switch completely over to SU and Vray all together.

 

You will need some sort of CAD program, or at lease a DWG TrueView, which is free.

[carlonarducci]

now people in europe ask for 5k renders. IS hard to manage one night renderings with this file dimensions. My idea is to add to the cost soon a 4x e5 racks to bring 100 bucket.

with 3000 euros on used e5 from london can be possible

[philippelamoureux]

My initial setup is :

 

3 good pc, (we already had them so it's not a new expense)

3ds max, vray, corona renderer, unreal engine 4, adobe subscription, cloud storage account for back up

I would love to switch 3ds max for blender or a less expensive solution but I'm more comfortable with max for now.

 

For now, our movies/animations/walkthrough will be made with unreal engine 4. Stills, probably with Corona renderer. We'll use online farms when needed.

 

This type of business is pretty much risk free, the worst that could happen is that we don't make money. I am a pc enthusiast so spending money on hardware is not really a huge deal for me.

[notamondayfan]

A fantastic PC doesn't make you a fantastic freelancer. My workstation is very average, and can be frustrating at times, but I have a small i7 rendernode to handle the final image rendering.

 

Also as a freelancer your jobs are likely to be only a handful of images to begin with, so rendering images overnight is entirely do-able.

 

Finally, don't forget to budget in marketing, websites, and of course a contingency for the first year at least.

[ryannelson]

My initial setup is :

 

This type of business is pretty much risk free, the worst that could happen is that we don't make money.

 

I think this is a contradictory statement here. If you're starting a business and spend money on hardware, the exact risk is that you don't make money with it. I was fortunate enough to have a client front me the cash to buy a good PC to get going. I'm only running one machine (i7 5820k @ 4.2ghz and 32gb ddr400 ram) and it's doing a great job, was around $3k canadian.

 

As a freelancer, i'll work on the image after work and let it render overnight and through the day if necessary. Works out quite well actually.

[notamondayfan]

I think this is a contradictory statement here. If you're starting a business and spend money on hardware, the exact risk is that you don't make money with it. I was fortunate enough to have a client front me the cash to buy a good PC to get going. I'm only running one machine (i7 5820k @ 4.2ghz and 32gb ddr400 ram) and it's doing a great job, was around $3k canadian.

 

As a freelancer, i'll work on the image after work and let it render overnight and through the day if necessary. Works out quite well actually.

 

You could always argue that the investment is as much in time as money. I'd hate to add up all the hours I spent setting up a portfolio, webite, making contacts, etc before actually quitting my job and going freelance. Even now there are some weeks when I invest time into projects / the business when it might not actually make any money, at least not straight away, and sometimes I find it hard to justify over a 9-5 job.

[Nic H]

"pretty much risk free"

:-)

[philippelamoureux]

Well, I said that because I probably haven't spent much $ so far. I don't even count my time invested in the starting of the business because I'm having fun doing it (website, demo work, business registration, etc). It's also my second ''career'' currently (to become full time for me..eventually, hopefully) so it's not a very tough and demanding process so far. I'm planning a slow and peaceful transition from my current job to my full-time arch-viz freelance career. So, i'd say, in my situation...it's pretty much risk-free :-)

Edited July 22, 2015 by philippelamoureux

[Nic H]

"I don't even count my time invested in the starting of the business because I'm having fun doing it "

 

;-)

[notamondayfan]

"pretty much risk free"

:-)

 

Well, I said that because I probably haven't spent much $ so far. I don't even count my time invested in the starting of the business because I'm having fun doing it (website, demo work, business registration, etc). It's also my second ''career'' currently (to become full time for me..eventually, hopefully) so it's not a very tough and demanding process so far. I'm planning a slow and peaceful transition from my current job to my full-time arch-viz freelance career. So, i'd say, in my situation...it's pretty much risk-free :-)

 

 

Risk free? Yea if you're living with your parents, using a PC already paid for and illegal software.

 

Back in the real world where people have responsibilities, bills, legitimate software then the risks are very clear. If I don't bring in the money, who's gonna feed and house my children?!

[philippelamoureux]

Risk free? Yea if you're living with your parents, using a PC already paid for and illegal software.

 

Back in the real world where people have responsibilities, bills, legitimate software then the risks are very clear. If I don't bring in the money, who's gonna feed and house my children?!

 

Well I don't have kids and have my own apartment...I still think I live in the real world :-P

[kriscabrera]

i guess the main question as well would be how to you atract/get clients?

[philippelamoureux]

My guess is to write/call local arch firms...and offer your viz services...

Expose your work online, on forums, behance, even fb...

[kriscabrera]

Has that worked out well for anyone? usually company's don't like to be called about that, curious

[Jonathan Fantucchio]

Risk free? Yea if you're living with your parents, using a PC already paid for and illegal software.

 

Back in the real world where people have responsibilities, bills, legitimate software then the risks are very clear. If I don't bring in the money, who's gonna feed and house my children?!

 

The fun part is were I laughed. I spit out 10 or so renders today. My boss is going to expect 10 or so tommorow and i'm sweating looking at mistakes and am fearful of client revisions and deadlines. How the hell is someone having fun doing this. And risk free... I'm missing something with that one.

[philippelamoureux]

The fun part is were I laughed. I spit out 10 or so renders today. My boss is going to expect 10 or so tommorow and i'm sweating looking at mistakes and am fearful of client revisions and deadlines. How the hell is someone having fun doing this. And risk free... I'm missing something with that one.

 

We are not all slaves to our work guys. 1st of all, I'm starting a business, I have no boss, no pressure and, of course, very few clients right now. You guys do realise that's it's possible to hand pick what projects you want to work on heh? Allllllllllllso, it's possible to use free and/or cheap softwares. Blender, sketchup, unreal engine, adobe CC. Yes I had already paid pc, but who does not nowadays? I also have another source of revenue that allow me to live well. I'm starting rendering as a sideline that will eventually evolve to a career, hopefully. So, I'm telling you, right now I'm having fun :-)

[TomasEsperanza]

We are not all slaves to our work guys. 1st of all, I'm starting a business, I have no boss, no pressure and, of course, very few clients right now. You guys do realise that's it's possible to hand pick what projects you want to work on heh? Allllllllllllso, it's possible to use free and/or cheap softwares. Blender, sketchup, unreal engine, adobe CC. Yes I had already paid pc, but who does not nowadays? I also have another source of revenue that allow me to live well. I'm starting rendering as a sideline that will eventually evolve to a career, hopefully. So, I'm telling you, right now I'm having fun :-)

 

Good on you mate; I share this mentality, and this is my second career too. It is clear that when people feel they are "under the cosh" they can be resentful of those who have more control over their lives, while often it is a reflection of the things they have chosen to value themselves! I value the freedom to choose my work more than having loads of money, therefore (when I can) I take control and say no to scenarios that will lead to my unhappiness. Age and experience often has a bearing on learning this balance; most of us go through some shit before realising they don't want to do that any more. And let's not forget there are so many various personal circumstances that will influence our status quo; health/sickness, good/bad luck, education, ambition, intelligence, family, location, politics, etc.

 

For example: I have two kids, I don't pay a thing for them. (!) They were stolen from me.. by their mother. She moved to another country and took my kids with her, met another man, and refused to engage in any form of communication. She thought it was her right as a mother to do this. I had "rights". I took it to court and fought for seven years. The legal system was inadequate, and failed me and my kids. I have no contact with them, and no address. So when someone says to me "oh you're lucky, you can do what you want; you don't have a family to support" they really don't know what they are saying. That's my story but everyone's got one. Often it's not until one has had some "real-world" that they learn to empathise more broadly and not be judgmental.

 

I sold equipment from my previous career plus borrowed to get decent hardware, because I work hard and it's a matter of "quality of life" not to be sitting waiting for my computer to catch up. When I use a poor system, it's so frustrating I want to smash it, and would simply not worth the money saved on buying cheap.

[Scott Schroeder]

When starting out your business there is a fine line between buying el-cheapo, investing wisely with scalability in mind, and putting yourself into a non-recoverable debt hole from overspending. There isn't a one size fits all answer for everyone, but you need to balance those three scenarios.

 

Just my 1, 2, or 3 cents.