Selling digital art can seem harder than selling its traditional counterpart—but if done right, you could make a solid side income from it. The key is knowing how to position the type of art you do so that it’s appealing to the right audience. 

Without further ado, 3D artists, here are technical tips for selling your work like a pro:

Provide All the Details

There are so many shops that don’t describe exactly what they're selling. How can you expect someone to spend their hard-earned cash without knowing what they are getting for it? Let your customers know exactly what they are buying. It's as simple as that. 

For models, you want to sell quads, not tris, as the buyer might want to animate the models and quads are generally easier to do so with. The same goes for kitbashes—some artists sell their kitbashes with tris as well, but quads are generally easier to edit in 3D software than tris are. 

If you're using tris, clearly mention that in the product description. In fact, we’ve seen poor customer reviews because a seller fails to mention that the models are sold with tris.

Know Your Polygon Count

For games, ask the lead artist (or boss) for a polygon limit. Some models are more important than others, so simply putting "low poly" in the product description isn't always that useful for sculpting or modeling. Ask for a specific number and an example of other models made for games. It can be helpful to know how important your model is going to be in a game.

Optimization is key! To save a considerable amount of polygons, deleting the ones that aren't ever going to be visible to the viewer can be a good idea. That way, you’re only processing the ones that are completely necessary for a game engine. 

Remember, less isn't always better. Some people will only buy models with a high polygon count. There are also sellers who offer low-, mid-and high-poly for the same product, which is great as well.

Create Groups

Be sure to group parts of a model together and use texture mapping correctly. Fewer maps mean an easier job for the programming or design team. If the game is top-down, the player won't be seeing all sides of the model. So skipping texture details on those components can save precious time during both designing and processing.

Consider offering unwrapped models too. This always comes before adding textures and can be nice to see as a customer. The buyer can then start adding textures immediately, and it can save some time for you as the seller too.

Create Clean Topology

Don't sell an object with a messy topology, period.

Bake Your Models

Does the end product have to be textured and baked? The answer is simple—if you use texture, you can’t forget to bake your model! Although it can be time-consuming, texture-baking can be beneficial for a number of reasons.

• Models are typically baked when you want to convert a high-poly model into a low-poly one. This can be helpful if you are trying to use less data and decrease the file size. 
• High-poly models can also prove difficult to process by game engines, and web viewers, making optimization essential. 
• Many AR programs such as social media platforms only accept low-poly models, so baking your models can end up being a necessary step before selling your product.

Use Normal Maps

Instead of modeling every little detail, consider using normal maps, a better solution to bump maps. Remember, the detail added with any type of mapping is fake, but simply gives the illusion of more surface depth on the model. A normal map, for instance, uses RGB values that correlate to each axis on the 3D model so that the program knows which direction to orient the texture for any given polygon.

In the beginning, it's trial and error before you've figured out which parts, in particular, require a normal map and which you can use alternative types of mapping for, like bump or displacement maps.

Sell Your Assets Off

If you want to sell your 3D art, Cubebrush is a great place to start. As a beginner or a seasoned seller, Cubebrush has all of the features you need to establish a successful CG art shop, such as:

• Revenue split: Take home the profits you deserve with an unbeatable 95/5 revenue split.
• Continued business: Cubebrush allows you to input all your current followers into a new store automatically so that you can make the most of the hard work you’ve already done.
• Easy communication: Directly sell to your followers with emails and discounts.
• Collaborate with others: Help another seller using your special URL and get a cut of that sale.
• Community forums: Connect and gain knowledge from the thriving community of digital artists who are all using Cubebrush.
• Customer service: Benefit from a team who works around the clock to ensure both sellers and customers on Cubebrush are getting the job done with ease.

Being a successful 3D artist is one thing, being a successful 3D artist is extra income in your pocket, starts with Cubebrush.