To Buy 3D products - or download for free?

[SSPEIPER]

I have been struggling to convince my boss that we need to upgrade our 3D software and rendering package + and also buy some 3d packages that already come with materials.

 

I have also recommended that instead of downloading alot of free models (cars, furniture, trees etc...) we should be purchasing hi-quality packages such as Xfrog trees etc... We can then pass this cost onto the client and we then have those models for use for further work.

 

What are some of your experiences on this - is that the norm?

 

The old phrase of - you have to spend some money to make money - I think rings true in this instance.

[Matt McDonald]

I think that it is a matter of approach. One of the things the President of our firm told me was to think of everything like you were writing a check for the products yourself. I think that if you do that earnestly it will change your approach to the acquisition of new materials, it has for me.

 

Your boss is in a position where he or she figures that you will ask for everything and the kitchen sink. You need to make it clear to him or her that you are not asking for extravagant spending. That means showing options, competitive shopping, etc.

 

I'm not trying to suggest that there aren't things that you need but you have to be able to illustrate a case that these products make your boss' business better. That might be a better looking rendering but you're better to make the case that the addition of x makes you so much more efficient because right now it takes you y hours to do it and that costs the company z. I think that you also need to point specifically to how you intend to use the new tools that office is considering for purchase. I have never found "we kind of need to kick the tires" to be a successful argument.

 

It also helps to be able to talk in terms of the competition. Outfits are fighting for work and if it clear that your competitors are using tools that you are not you can make a compelling argument for the purchase of those tools.

 

If your firm operates with a budget you can use that to your advantage to forecast future purchases. That way when you go into your boss' office to request an upgrade he or she has already heard a little about this.

 

The last thing, I don't find the "we can bill the client as a reimbursable" to be an effective argument either unless it is a specific thing that you absolutely have to have for a project. Everyone is cutting costs these days and even if there is a reimbursable expense component to your contract your boss isn't going to be terribly thrilled to explain an expensive line item that he or she knows very little about to someone who understands it even less. "THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR '3D PEOPLE'?!?!?!?"

 

The whole deal is tough but if you do your homework and are absolutely certain that you are acting in the best interests of the company it gets easier.

 

Good luck!

[dean@pikcells]

we find buying certain models will save time, and as such save money. for example if a 3d car cost £50 to buy, it may seem like a lot, but if we were to make it in house it would take 10 hours to make, which would take up a whole day (which other wise could be spent on something more profitable).

 

plus once you have a good set of assets, you can reuse and modify them as much as you like in the future, thus saving more money.

[mskin]

One of my biggest problems is that the entourage never seams to match my angles. I purchased Dosch 3d cars and love it. I can use ten cars, change the colors and scatter them about. I’ve had less luck with trees and people. Either the angles are wrong, the lighting is wrong, or the attire isn’t correct. Lately I’ve been taking my own photos of entourage from the correct angle and with the correct lighting. Its taking a bit of up front work, but im beginning to develop a useful library. If I go out with my kids, I snap some random shots of people and trees and other stuff and tuck them away. I’ve posed people in my office and gotten on the ground to get the correct angles. If im rendering a classroom, I ask the school for permission to snap some photos – I try to think about backgrounds and what kind of shots would be easy to crop people out of etc…

 

One thing I hate about some of the plug ins is that they ask you upgrade when your rendering program upgrades. Its hard enough to convince my bosses to keep up with the main platform let alone all the plug ins – I’ve been able to avoid them from the most part.

[Noise]

I used to have a boss that would buy one or two small things a year even though I would provide firm figures and examples for the benefits of the purchase and how this would elevate us above our competitors - he still wouldn't purchase anything significant.

 

When I handed in my notice he said that I should have told him about requesting the digital resources - I opened the previous years diary and showed him notes on two separate occasions when I had requested them in that year. Then opened the current years diary and showed him more notes from meetings we had.

 

Some people are just crap at recognising when investment is required and will eventually leave the company with outdated resources and therefore a much diminished ability to compete for the more prestigious projects.

 

Presently, we do alot of research and development before any purchase but we do buy digital resources on a regular basis. Some times we have to go out and make them ourselves when we have the time.

Edited December 2, 2008 by Noise