According to a report published by Global Market Insights, the 3D rendering market will be worth over 6 billion dollars in 2025 — a significant upgrade from the 1.5 billion in 2018. The growth will be fuelled by factors like increased use of 3D rendering in product marketing, higher demand for customized products, as well as a growing number of construction and real-estate companies utilizing 3D rendering.
What threatens this growth? According to the authors of the report, one of the crucial issues is the lack of truly skilled 3D design professionals. There are not enough of them on the market and some of those available are not experienced enough to work on many of the commercial projects.
How then, in these unfavorable circumstances, hire 3D designers that really fit the specific needs of your business? Follow the 10 rules below to make sure you are fully prepared for the hiring process.
1. Review portfolio and past projects
When reaching out to your candidate, ask for as many examples of their work as possible. PDFs, their own websites, Behance profiles, profiles on other platforms — the more types of portfolio you have, the bigger the number of projects you can review. Try also to look for your candidate’s designs by yourself. Search their name on Google, review their LinkedIn profile. Look for projects they haven’t added to any of their official portfolios.
What to consider when reviewing past projects of 3D designers? First, your own subjective opinion on their work. Secondly, assess whether their projects are done commercially or just out of pure passion. The latter should be, of course, highly praised, but you will get the best results with experienced 3D designers who have a history of working with clients on multiple different projects.
2. Consider project fit
A portfolio of a 3D designer, alongside their CV, gives you also the opportunity to find out whether they actually have the right experience in the field relevant to your business.
3D design might sound like a specific niche, but it is actually a broad term for a process that can take different forms. For example, video game 3D modeling will be different from architectural design done with CAD tools or modeling based on motion capture. Different approaches have to be taken when building a 3D model that’s supposed to be generated on a mobile device and when building a 3D animation to be run on powerful hardware for movie industry professionals.
When you want to hire 3D designers, you should, then, focus on the project fit — pick the candidates that have previous experience in the type of 3D design you need them for.
3. Assess the hard skills
The most important hard skill for a 3D designer is the experience with 3D design tools relevant in their field. For example:
- Video game companies often work with special engines, such as Unreal or Unity, that include 3D editors.
- Autodesk’s 3ds Max is also often used by video game companies, as well as other businesses utilizing motion capture technology.
- CAD tools (including Autodesk’s leading AutoCAD) are used by various engineers and other relevant specialists (e.g. architects) to create 3D visualizations of their projects.
- FX artists often work with tools like Maya or Houdini.
Consider the tools used at your company (or the type of project you want to hire 3D designers for) and look for relevant fit among your candidates.
4. Don’t forget about soft skills
While the technological background is important, 3D designers are most importantly artists, meaning they also have to possess a set of specific soft skills. Their skillset should, therefore, include:
- Creativity
To build models and environments that are unique and make your brand stand out in the crowd.
- Researcher attitude
To strive to always learn about new approaches to 3D design.
- Attention to detail
To make sure the 3D models built have no weak spots that can be later pointed out by internet critics.
- Teamwork skills
To be able to communicate well with other people working on the project, such as developers or other 3D designers.
- Adaptability
To be always ready for unexpected challenges and special requirements of decision-makers.
5. Think of a freelance 3D designer
Many companies don’t actually need to hire 3D designers working in-house, as they don’t develop 3D-based projects on a regular basis. If that is your case, an experienced freelance 3D designer is surely the best solution for your needs.
However, remote work can now be easily implemented also for full-time 3D designers. Online communication tools, as well as cloud file sharing, are widely available and stable, meaning staying in touch with other team members is easy. Just make sure your candidate possesses hardware powerful enough to handle the type of project you are working on!
6. Look for certified 3D designers
If you are looking to hire 3D designers with experience in a specific technology or field, you might consider focusing on candidates with relevant certificates. Some examples of such certifications are
- Unity Certified 3D Artist - for 3D designers focused on creating models for video games and other virtual environments built with the Unity engine.
- Autodesk Certified User and Autodesk Certified Professional - official Autodesk’s certificates for professionals working with the company’s signature tools, including AutoCAD and 3ds Max
- NX Certification - for 3D designers working with the Siemens NX software.
- MakerBot Certification™ - for 3D designers working with 3D printing, especially with the MakerBot hardware.
7. Look into the education of your potential 3D graphic designer for hire
University education is not enough to become a great 3D designer, but it is a great way to learn about all the best practices that should be followed in order to deliver amazing results.
Professional 3D designers most often hold degrees in:
- computer graphics
- computer arts
- graphic design
- 3D design
- 3D animation
- relevant engineering field (mostly CAD designers)
8. Remember about industry fit
To some extent, industry fit can be tightly linked to the project fit, but it’s not always the case. 3D product visualizations, for example, are done by companies in all possible industries.
To get the best results, we recommend you to hire 3D designers with previous experience in working with clients from your industry. This kind of fit means the designer most likely already has some understanding of your customer group and is able to build a 3D vision that sells.
9. Look for shared values (company culture fit)
Each company has its own values that represent their attitude to business and customers. Things like the approach to building diverse and inclusive environments, focus on the local or global market, push for innovation, and the preferred style of management are all having an impact on every member of the team. Hire 3D designers who match your vision and values to achieve the understanding that fuels great results delivered fast.
10. Ask for an opinion of another 3D designer
Before you hire 3D designers, you should have another expert look at their portfolios - especially if you are not experienced in 3D design yourself. This kind of unbiased review of your candidates’ work will broaden your perspective and allow you to understand the technical aspects of their craft.
How to connect with and hire best 3D designers in the field?
As the demand for experienced 3D designers rises, it’s getting more and more difficult to hire ones that really fit your business and the project you are developing. But we can help.
At Ideamotive, we run a network of top IT professionals looking for new career opportunities. Our network does not only include a number of great 3D designers, but also all the other people you might need for your team, including developers, project managers, data scientists, and more.
After you reach out to us, we will connect you only with the candidates that best fit your company profile, project specification, and any other requirements you might have. This way, you will be able to hire 3D designers that can deliver the exact results you anticipate fast.
Contact us today to learn more and take your project to the next level.
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