How 3D Artists Can Work With Clients Online

Long gone are the times when 3D artists had to prepare an array of presentation materials, including section plans, elevation plans, floor plans, diagrams, and renderings to meet their clients’ needs. And even if they managed to prepare all the materials, that still wasn’t enough to ensure their clients would get along with their work.

The real problem starts when the client finds something they don’t like and is unwilling to let go. This is a common problem in the digital age where 3D artists have to work with clients online. While this problem could be easily solved with animations, this form of communication is time-consuming and quite expensive.

So, how to find the best way to work with your clients online with as few problems as possible? We can provide a few valuable tips that could help you address this issue in a way that would suit both you and your clients. Communication is the key to success, regardless of what you do or what industry you come from.

We will discuss the most effective ways to achieve successful online collaboration with your clients and make sure you are on the same page. When it comes to understanding the job market for 3D artists, there are many things to consider. Fortunately, this short guide will help you navigate both the job market and communication with your clients.

Find clients using reliable platforms!

One of the easiest ways to find clients as a 3D artist is through reliable freelance website. The freelance market is constantly growing and expanding, offering new opportunities to all types of freelancing 3D artists. You can find all sorts of clients on such platforms as there are more freelance websites with each passing day.

Freelance platforms are simple to navigate and easy to use. Find the one that suits your expertise, register, and create an account to start looking for clients. It’s crucial to correctly add all the essential details about your experience, skills, expertise, and education so that you can begin negotiating terms.

The better your portfolio, the more jobs you will be able to find. Top-rated platforms also employ rating systems that determine the final score for each freelancing 3D artist. This makes it easier for clients to browse through endless freelancers and find the most reliable ones. The better the platform, the better the clients you find.

If you want to make sure your communication with your clients goes as smoothly as possible, you’ll need top-rated clients that know what they want and are prepared to pay for an artist who is prepared to work around the clock to exceed their expectations.

Use different communication programs!

Clients and 3D artists can use a variety of software tools to facilitate communication. Whether you need a tool to communicate with other 3D artists in your company or you’re looking for a solution for external communication with your clients, there is a communication program for all sorts of communication needs.

Individuals mostly rely on email tools to send their files and messages. On the other hand, you can use an array of conferencing tools to speak to both individuals and large groups via video chat. If you prefer communication over the phone, VoIP programs require nothing but an internet connection to work.

If you’re working with a company, team collaboration software may just be the best solution to share messages with others and track your performance instantly. If you want to maintain clear and transparent communication with your clients, it would be best to use different communication programs to ensure you don’t limit yourself.

Here are some essential communication software tools to take into consideration:

• Zoom – offers group messaging, online meetings, and cloud video conferencing features, as well as a screen-sharing option;
• Skype – the perfect solution for video conferencing;
• Webex Meetings – offers a seamless, flexible, and secure collaboration solution;
• GoToMeeting – an excellent option for on-the-go collaboration and online meetings;
• Microsoft Teams – if you need a chat-based solution in Office 365, Microsoft Teams has you covered;
• Google Workspace – get the calendar, email, survey, video conferencing, and screen sharing in one solution;
• OpenPhone – the best VoIP  solution used by many modern companies that works great for individual users;
• BlueJeans Meetings – bring your web, audio, and video conferencing needs together under one roof;

Have an ongoing communication

Communication allows you to be agile enough when it comes to communicating your ideas, and it makes it easier to get your clients on board with what you have in mind.

It also helps you finish the project on time and stay aligned with end-user ideas and goals. Planning and designing any work of art requires time, effort, and a significant amount of resources.

Since collaboration between a 3D artist and a client is crucial to providing a satisfactory result, it is paramount to establish ongoing communication with your clients to streamline the whole design process and ensure you and your clients are on the same page regarding both ideas and goals.

Information sharing allows you to explain your work convincingly and clearly, including the thought process behind the work. Communication needs to be smooth and transparent in every phase of the design process.

Be honest with each other!

Honesty plays an essential role in working with clients online. If their ideas are simply impossible to handle and bring to life, don’t hesitate to tell them so. If their expectations are way beyond your expertise and skill, be open and honest about it.

It is much better for both you and your clients to be honest about the things you can and can’t do than to accept their instructions and come up with the end product that is far below their expectations.

This is how you risk getting negative reviews that won’t help you find new projects at all. On the contrary, you might find it hard to earn trust from new prospects with negative reviews and unhappy clients under your belt.

Therefore, be honest with your clients. Keep in mind that the main goal here is to understand their needs and desires to create a common vision towards achieving the end goal with success.

Honesty will also make it easier to gather all the critical information you need to start working on your ideas. If you’re both open and honest about the things you want and can do, it will be much easier to present multiple solutions iteratively to create a design that matches the use case.

Don't promise what you can't deliver!

A significant part of being honest with your clients is to avoid promising what you can’t deliver. Remember, you’re working online with your clients. All they have is your word. If you start making promises you can’t keep, that will only result in negative reviews of your work.

If you want to avoid such a risk, it is paramount to say what you can and can’t do. It’s much better to leave it to someone else if you can’t deliver than to deliver the result that your clients won’t accept or pay for.

This is why it is essential that you find clients on trustworthy and, as they get to see your portfolio, skills, and expertise right away. When your clients can see what you can do, it becomes easier to find common ground and get along.

Send images as examples!

When you’re working with clients that come from delicate industries such as graphic design and architecture, even the smallest of details can make a considerable change and result in the failure of entire projects.

However, if you send some images as examples and allow your clients to visualize your ideas before you finish, things can get much easier and smoother. If your clients like your images, the chances of sealing the deal suddenly look a lot better.

On the other hand, creating 3D visualizers for your clients offers a few great benefits:

• You can increase the chance of selling your work
• Improved communication with your clients
• Identifying and fixing any design flaws early on

Sending images will help you instill confidence in your clients and ensure credibility and an improved customer experience. Modern clients are mostly into 3D visualizers these days as they allow them to see your work, which can significantly change their minds in the end.

Take the time to explain everything!

One of the most common situations that 3D artists often find themselves in is working with clients who don’t have a clue about design, modern architecture, or 3D art in general. If that’s the case, you’ll have to take it easy and take the time to explain every detail and idea you have in mind to make sure they understand your intentions.

This is simply vital for getting them on board with your ideas. This is also where you can use images, animations, and videos to tell your story and make it easier for them to understand. It will also help you better understand their desires and wants and the use case for the end result. The more you explain, the more you make sure you understand each other.

Make sure your connection is good!

Working with clients online means you need to rely on your internet connection to get things done. Make sure you have the right internet plan that best suits your work needs. If you’re having trouble with your connection, here are a few things you can do to make sure you improve it.

Get the right equipment!

The first thing to do when improving your internet connection is to consider both the total area coverage and speed of transmission. You’ll need two devices for this:
WLAN/WIFI extender – it duplicates the signal of the existing WiFi, significantly extending the WiFi range.

WLAN/WiFi repeater – it provides more capability and power to your router, boosting its transmission speed and range.

Make sure your router is installed at the correct height

If your router isn’t installed at the correct height, your WiFi internet signal can get significantly weaker. It should be installed at 1-1.5 meters off of the ground to work optimally.

Reset your router if you’re experiencing any trouble

In most cases, you can quickly fix a slow connection by simply unplugging your router and then plugging it back in.

Use a reliable payment method!

Since you’ll be required to accept payments online, here are a few great, secure, and reliable payment solutions to take into consideration:

• Authorize.net
• PayPal
• Google Pay
• Amazon Pay
• Dwolla
• Stripe
• Braintree
• WePay

If your clients prefer to make payments through mobile devices, these two payment services are an excellent solution for that:

• Square
• Intuit’s GoPayment

Share your screen with clients

Screen sharing is an excellent method for getting along with your clients and ensuring they are delighted with your works. Screen sharing offers a few competitive advantages, such as:

• Invaluable visualization – a few moments of screen sharing can significantly reduce the potential misunderstanding of limitations, benefits, or features you tried to explain in previous conversations.
• Effective closing – since your clients can see exactly how their ideas behave in a real-life environment, you can address their concerns right away, which increases the probability of sealing the deal.
• Improved communication – placing your ideas right in front of the eyes of your clients makes you forthcoming, communicative, and collaborative in the eyes of your prospects.

Conclusion

When you combine all these points into a whole, you get an effective strategy for setting your online collaboration with your clients on the right path. They will appreciate you for being so forthcoming and open with them and will not hesitate to leave positive reviews regarding you and your expertise as a 3D artist. If you simply keep things transparent and accept the rules of engagement in the digital age, finding top clients and exceeding their expectations should not be that hard.