3D Models neverending how much would it cost discussion.

So basically when someone ask question about cost of a game development assets usual answer is "How much cost a car".

So I would like to ask how much would cost making for example this car:


Also I would like to ask about estimated cost of texturing already modeled object.

 

A strange car

 

You should contact a studio and ask for a quote. Last time (been a long time ago) I asked for a quote of a knight I got $800-$1200 range.

As far as I heard, high detail character can easily take a month, especially if it is not a typical "mostly symmetrical human" one. The stuff on our picture will be certainly cheaper if it is sculpture and not a rigged and animated model with a soundset.

 

depends on who is making the car. You can get it cheap, you can get it expensive.


and as mentioned, are you just talking static mesh and textures or a complete, game ready rigged/animated character? One is 10% of the work only.

A dimly lit monstrosity is much easier to sculpt than a realistic human, but you will need an atypical rig and custom animations. So it's all going to balance out in the end I think.

Instead of asking for generalized price which is too vague to mean anything, I'd ask what are signs you can assess a good quality art house or freelancer so you can be sure you'll get what you pay for.

 

No Animations, but rigging should be present.

 

if you mean how can I be sure I will get what I expect ?
I would say there are portfolios for this.

 

Painting is a bit easier than the model since it is quite complex and unusual. Asking a human is pretty easy, there are lots of base models for artists to start sculpting. Also depends on what texture maps you're asking. Lets say hdrp skin maps.

Model is also needs attention. It can be a good game model or bad even it looks the same. So it is really depend on artist. It can be 150k poly but a good artist can make it 20-30k. And topology plays a big role on animations. I'm guessing you would like to animate those eyeish mouths.

So I'm guessing don't let anyone do it with less than $1k and $250-400 for extra revisions since there'll be.

 

one more thing you have to think about is that rig and animation kinda go hand in hand. The rig has to support the animators work. It's not usually just a one and done deal. There is some back and forth.


Becuase a monster like this isn't going to share animations with other generic things you can get for cheap, the rig and animations will likely be a bigger time cost (money) than the actual model creation itself.

Somebody who makes monsters like this a lot can probably do so in a couple days. It's a grotesque blob so it's not like there is strict criteria to know if it's perfect or not.

But the rest of the process is technical and will require probably more than one specialist. You might find somebody who can throw together a basic rig in a few hours and charge a couple hundred bucks and maybe that is fine if you only need a few simple animations. The animations will probably also cost a couple hundred bucks on the low end.

Basically you can go for cheap and you'll get something that may work if you aren't picky. But if you need to define a certain level of quality and want to get exactly what you ask for, you'll probably need to spend at least $1k and work with a few different people.

Again, it all depends on your project needs. It can be done for a few hundred or a few thousand.

 

I was very precise. Model as on a screenshot. (can be high poly can be optimized not a problem just that keeps visual quality that high)
Model + Texturing + Rig no animations. Let's just say that I got other people for animation.

And I would like to know how much would cost only texturing for such a model.

 

Still looks ride-able

 

I'd estimate around $1000 if I wanted to pay myself a living wage for the time. But somebody in vietnam or india, etc. can probably do it for less and the quality might be fine.

I'd look for someone who ask a lot of questions in addition to having a portfolio full of work in the genre, rather than someone who is working cheap and seems focused on fast turnaround.

 

In my experience artists range from $20 to $60 an hour depending on their skill level.

Something that high quality is going to be on the high end.

Probably about 10!hours to model, texture, and rig.

So ~$600 if I were to guess.

This is why retro and stylized art is so popular.

A quake one quality model will run closer to $100 from a lower end artist.

You could probably do all the assets in quake 1 for ~$2000.

Alternatively, a game like slime rancher will cost about the same if not less per model.

EDIT: Of course this is all speculative on the hours it will take to make, which artists can easily lie about, so you need an agreed upon price upfront. It should have about a 25% down payment, 50% in incremental payments, 25% completion payment, and a bonus for sales.

Edit 2: and you should expect to pay for unused content. AND specify that you have exclusive ownership of the models. They may not resell them, they may not reuse the design.

Edit 3: And be smart, you paid an artist to make you something, let them make it. If you were an artist, you would just make it yourself. Give them the authority to make good artistic choices. Your input should be explaining what the effect of the thing should be, then let them run with it.

 

Because you're precise, you need to ask a studio for a quote.

This is not a human, asymmetrical(?) and with uncommon rig. You'll also really want animations for this.

When making humans there are more streamlined processes and templates that can speed things up. With this thing you'll lose most of them.

 

I don't want animations, I use procedural animations and sometimes re-targeting.