good question. that's tough. depends on so much - level of detail, how many shots, how "small", incorporated into a photo, printing... lots of variables. 30-60 hours? i think we bill these hourly with a maximum.

are you doing a sequence? don't forget to factor in the post-production work if your doing short clips. it's kind of a hard thing to bill. like (strawbeary) said...lots of variables.

Yup, lots of variables. How much time you have, how much they are paying are very large factors beyond the obvious.

Ugly architecture costs more ;-)

depending on the job:

i.e. job i am doing right now,

category 1: flat fee for development of 2 dimensional geometry depending on extents of space and amount of detail (multiply hourly rate by time estimate for completion) multiply this by 20%

category 2: flat fee for development of 3 dimensional geometry depending on extents of space and amount of detail (multiply hourly rate by time estimate for completion) multiply this by 20%

category 3: lighting/textures/rendering-hourly depending on your skill at getting it right (give yourself some leeway for this because it is dependent on what you are doing interior/exterior/autonomous object

revisions must be defined initially: total cost includes one revision with each additional at a fraction of category 1 and 2

this is generally how I begin to break things down

forgot to mention to add the 20% back into original figure, but you probably figured that out

Im fairly new to sidework(recent grad), but I will tell you how I've billed clients. Before I start work on the model/rendering I give the client a written estimate for the range of hours(ex. 20-30) for the modeling and the estimated hours per rendering(4-6 for a small rendering). I explain to the client, in writing, that the level of detail and number of changes largely determines the number of hours. I also ask which views they need renderings of before I start modeling. Then I bill hourly and try to stay within my projected hourly budget. My first job I projected 40-50 hours and I did it in 43.5. So far, so good.

I would like to hear how other people do this.

you are absolutely correct be sure to story board you ideas initially, very important to specify what is to be seen so the model can be somewhat bare boned in terms of content to save on rendering time by not modeling the whole nine yards

jshmermely, aseid- what #'s though people? let me see dollar signs $$

i mean- whats the amount you charge (have no shame now)

i mean- hourly...?

you have to feel out the client, is the client a baller does he/she have cash to spend or are they pinching you/nickel and diming everything?

how much do you make hourly at your full time job? add a couple of buck or so for a tight client, for a high roller double your hourly rate (why not?)

we have to make profit however sometimes the client just doesnt have the budget and you have to look at it as a learning experience and a portfolio builder

work is work!

however, watch out for clients that want to see work before you set up payment arrangements, not your personal work but work pertaining to the project, this can get messy, you must iron out the initial concept after payment arrangements have been made

btw: what is your experience level, and not just schlocking together models and putting in lights and texture, i mean a heavily detailed model with eye blisteringly accurate lighting and texturing

you cant charge bucks unless your work is a+, and im talking seriously the motts, not just "ok it looks nice"

ok...well say experience is good enough to make work like 3dwin stuff (look it up)

say 60.00/hr is too much?

useful information: www.3dwin.com

whoops

www.3d-win.com

ahh damnit!

www.3d-win.com

sometimes it is good to ask the client if they have a budget for the work. this can sometimes give you sense of your client's finances and whether they are serious about it. i'm not saying you need to use their budget as the rule, but just as yet one more piece of info to help you establish your fee.

with my clients, mostly print and digital work, my rates often depend on who i am doing the work for. some can afford more than others. with production work, and i consider rendering production work, i always bill hourly. i want to get paid for every hour i work for the sometimes unglamourous work that production work can be. with design work, i bill on a per project basis with guidelines of the scope. if it expands beyond the scope, i will then issue a change order.

if your work is that good, 60 an hour is not out of the question.

kyll...
isn't that 3d-win work all done in china?...and i believe kpf uses them
because they're hella fast..turn things around in two or three
days...and they're hella cheap...but if you can do similar work i'd
imagine as strawbeary said 60/hr isn't out of the question..
especially using your own machines.

My firm uses these guys, also in China. The turnaround and cost is unbelievable. We'll send them a model at 5 and the next morning we'll get the rendering. Im not sure but I think its around 500$ for one of those flashy renderings. There is no way I could do a rendering like that for 500$.

$60 an hour is about average, if perhaps on the low side.

Uh, thanks for advertising for off shoring work. Just what we need.


Thankfully, we can offshore CD and cad work too, so all that will be left in this profession is very good designers and marketers. That leaves about .1% of the profession, optimistically.



Yeppie.

....no one can compete with the asian market on a dollar/dollar basis...
that said, for typical renderings i charge:
*800-1000$ for interiors (typical lighting,geometry,etc.)
2-3 days / 1 revision.
*1500-2000$ for exteriors (typical lighting,geometry,etc.)
4-6 days / 2 revisions.

but that's just generalized #'s. you have to figure out your hourly rate just like any business, figure out all your overhead (living,entertainment,etc. be realistic) then a normal wage , add the two together, divide by workable hours in a year and you have your rate. this varies wildly depending on infinite variables.....

Thank you everyone for the responce.
I did renderings for my firm. I spent more than 40 h (3-d modellin+rendering). I was told to consider the learning curve -thus i subtracted 10h.
One of my co-workers said he did his last rendering in 6h! I do not want to look like an ass charging them for 30 h when a co-worker finishes in 6-10h .......at the same time i really did spend that time.

toby- this guy that did the rendering in 6 hours - i don't know how quality it was, but I can't imagine it being very good. perhaps he meant rendering time?

i have worked all summer on renderings (multiple buildings and views on one campus). but they are really high quality and people think they are photographs.

what does your client want? a generic massing model so they can better imagine the idea? or a "photo" for marketing purposes - an image meant to stir excitement?

If you are worried about overcharging, you can bill hourly to a maximum, say $2000 -$2500.

Just give a flat fee. Put hours in if you want, but clients usually don't care, they just want it done for X$.
As you get faster, you'll make more. They never have to know, and shouldn't know, how long or how much time you put into it.

uhm- 3d-win has an office in englewood nj guys. theyre not just in china

their work is done in china. It's just marketing on this end, as far as I know. They aren't the only ones doing this.

I personaly give a fixed estimate for the rendering and then I charge the client for any additional changes by hours. I show examples of renderings which have different renderings qualities to the client, and i go from there for the price.