Bespoke Stair Models

[Geoff]

I specialise in modelling and rendering 'feature' stairs, glass, stainless steel etc for a staircase company.

A friend suggested marketing the 3d models to architectural viz companies. I had never really thought of this before and has got me thinking if there is a market out there!

They would have reasonably priced I guess, say £65 ($100) straight stairs and maybe £125 ($200) for spiral/helical.

I could have about a dozen different design options to choose from, with different materials included.

 

Would any of you guys buy a model of a ready made staircase designed to suit your needs? Or is the max stair tool enough?

 

Thanks for any feedback

 

Geoff

 

(Moderator, if this is deemed to be advertising, then please delete. I do not think I am breaking the rules. I am seeing if there is a market before investing time into this project.)

[AubreyM]

Have a look at places like Turosquid and see what is available and selling. I am willing to bet that if the models are hi quality that you would make some sales. I doubt that you would be able to quit your job but you might make a few bucks here and there.

Just make sure the company you work for doesn't have a problem with you making money off their designs.

Good luck

[WAcky]

Some of the better 3D viz guys out there sell great furniture models for around $15-40 on turbosquid. If i were doing a render that had this chair specified and required close up shots then I would justify this amount but any more is getting a bit pricey and adequate models can usually be obtained from a manufacturers website.

 

Turbosquid can take a large chunk of your royalties depending where in the world you are so maybe a different approach could be to create models for architecture firms or even the manufacturers. If you sell to the manufacturers, you could have a one-off deal or a royalty system.

 

If you're creating models like this for use in documentation then Max might not be the right software for the job. Something like rhino will create a precise model which will give the client more flexibility down the track.

 

Some companies in their downtime will create Revit families of components such as windows and doors and sell these families back to the manufacturers to be available for future download. If you have any interest in revit this could be another avenue but the cost of a revit license would be prohibitive...

 

I suppose you need to work out whether your models will be for rendering or technical documentation or both then move on from there. As Aubrey said thought i dont think you'll be able to quit your day-job doing this type of stuff...

[notamondayfan]

We need to see samples

 

To be honest, stairs are one of those items that are custom made 99% of the time, so selling pre-made models isn't going to work at lot of the time.

 

If I were you I would think about ways to make something more procedural, I don't necessarily mean scripting, but exploded models, that can be altered, scaled, moved, etc to fit together easily

The mark up on this would be better than selling individual models, and probably more appealing to the arch viz community too

 

Dean

[Geoff]

Thanks for the feedback.

Dean you hit the nail on the head. What I am thinking about offering is a bespoke modelling service to suit dimensions provided. Not just a downloadable model that you'd have to butcher to get into your scene.

The models would be highly detailed, and of course if I think there is a market I would have a website with samples and close-up renders etc.

I can model these things pretty fast with a streamlined work-flow and have a large library of parts.

Not been a lot of response. bugger!

 

Geoff