Do you recognise the picture below? CD Projekt Red's Witcher is an epic game that has its own cult of followers.
The White Wolf is an unforgettable character, an astounding result of expert 3D design skills.
The crazy thing about 3D design is that it can turn a 2-D image into a 3-D life-like image, sometimes to the point of imitating reality exactly how it is.
In a virtual world, a 3D designer gets to play God. The tricky part, though, is that there are many gods in the play right now. The competition is high, and you must set your footprints now or never. The question is:
How do you go from being a god to the God of 3D design?
Here's a blog that helps you find an answer to this question.
Feel free to give this a read and understand:
-Tips for branding yourself as a 3D designer
-Tips for setting yourself as an excellent freelance 3D designer
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Top 4 tips for setting your 3D design brand
As a 3D designer, your first question should be:
What separates you from the mundane?
How can you market yourself to the audience when you want to build yourself as a 3D designer?
We have given 4 VERY IMPORTANT tips to help you see how you can stand out as a 3D designer.
Let's prepare you to build your 3D design brand.
#1 Set the right tone
You rarely come across a logo that instantly catches your eye. The Apple logo took years until it finally took the shape of the version we see today. Even though simple, the logo catches attention and raises curiosity. Inspiration to create a logo that watchers will remember for ages is a huge achievement.
If you want to build your brand as a 3D designer, the most crucial part is the logo. The tone of the logo is the most significant part. Your best work on the tone of a logo can make or break your career.
What is a logo?
A logo is a company's image. Complex companies need more than a shape or an element to tell the brand story. A logo is a summation of what the brand represents.
Want to build yourself as a 3D design brand? Begin with a logo. Your logo should be outstanding enough to indicate more than what meets the eye. 3D logos will show two things:
Your skills as a 3D logo designer
Your flexibility to morph to fit clientele demands.
Consider your logo part of the excellent 3D design portfolio you are about to create.
Tip for inspirational:
Get your pen and paper ready to draw using the inspirations you find. Use various resources from the internet, books, and newspapers to any advertisement or brand you come across. Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook, are some of the best platforms to check out various brands and their logos. Lead with your gut instinct. The suitable logo will instantly feel right. Until then, keep trying until you 'zing'.
#2. Tell Your Story
Are you thinking of branding yourself as a graphic designer, 3D designer, or fashion designer? Your designs will be a portal to your world. Artists leave a part of themselves with every art piece. You, too, will leave a part of you in your 3D designs.
Adding a part of you through a story in your 3D designs can have multiple benefits:
-It presents your 3D designer journey, from the beginning to the growth.
-It shows how talented you are.
-It builds your persona as a 3D designer artist.
-It portrays your personality in vibrant 3D ways.
-It can bring more clients who feel related to or inspired by your 3D design work.
As a 3D designer, the trick is how do you portray this part of you in the most intriguing ways possible?
First, understand how portraying your personality can boost your 3D design portfolio. As a 3D designer, most of your clients will be online rather than offline. The only way to attract them is by creating what defines you the best. You can also add your story in a caption to help the audience understand and connect. This is a unique way of presenting yourself as a 3D artist.
#3 Get the right visibility.
There's no point in having an extraordinary portfolio if it isn't accessible to anyone. For any type of branding, visibility is the key. Do you know what can help you increase your visibility?
The answer is SEO.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a technique to help your 3D designer website appear at the top of the rankings. Make your website SEO-enabled. When a person searches for 3D artists or 3D designers, your 3D design agency should appear at the top.
Study various SEO techniques to help you enhance your 3D designer rankings on search engines like Google and Bing.
You can also publish 3D design blogs that can help you boost your rankings. As a professional 3D designer, you may teach your readers a technique or two. Talk about what's trending in 3D design or create 3D designer reviews. You can also publish these blogs on third-party websites to increase your audience reach.
Understanding how SEO works can shape your career as a 3D designer in a whole new way. SEO is a great way to simplify the obstacles to increase visibility. But, remember, what matters is the quality. You are a 3D designer first and a marketing strategist second. You may have an A-grade SEO strategy, but without the quality of your work, all will fail. So, pay attention to your work while you focus on increasing visibility. If it's not something your audience will find interesting, the strategy can backfire.
#4 Leave the right mark.
It's vital that once a user checks out your 3D design website, they get what they are looking for: quality work.
Standing out as a 3D designer means having ideas that are out of the box. Or, if they are conventional ideas, you must portray them in unique ways.
Extend your potential as a 3D designer. Use powerful drawing tools and 3D software, and let your creativity run free. Don't be scared of taking some risks here and there. Extract colours that will make your portfolio stand out. In a world of ducks, you have to be the swan.
The biggest question here is:
Can you be the swan in a world full of 3D designers if you keep working under a company?
The answer may be no.
While some companies may give you the recognition you deserve, most companies generally don't name their 3D designers. Companies will only show your art on their 3D modelling website. The artist remains hidden.
Hence, it is not always possible to leave a strong mark when you work for a company.
Being a freelance 3D designer is an entirely different game from corporate 3d designer jobs. This is how you build yourself as a 3D design brand. This is where the most scope for growth comes. Our next section shows how you can brand yourself as an outstanding freelance 3D designer. Let's go.
3D personal branding as a freelancer
What is personal branding?
As a 3D designer, it is the development of a reputation and maintaining it per public perception. This goes beyond just getting a monthly 3d designer salary.
Personal branding is about how a person builds themselves as a brand. It's a lifelong process. Just look at singers like Selena Gomez and Rihanna. They are perfect examples of personal branding.
You may wonder how personal branding can boost your freelance 3D design branding. Well, here's how:
-It gives you authority as a 3D designer in the industry.
-It makes you appear to be a more credible and trustworthy 3D designer.
-It sets you apart from your competitor 3d designers and marks your uniqueness.
-It increases your followers and gives you a chance to influence others.
-It's more impactful than working in a company.
So you see how personal branding is worth making an effort. It makes you stand out from the 3D designer crowd. It can highlight your skills and talents and gather more clients. But how do you even start? How do you begin personal branding yourself as a 3D designer?
Glad you asked this! We have the answer presented in a list below in the form of specific questions you need to ask yourself. Let's take a read!
#1. What's your favourite brand?
Check out your favourite brands. Check out their logo. If possible, check out the brand's 3D designers, artists, and development team. Take a look closely at how they portray themselves. Is there a hidden message beneath it? How did they craft their vision for the public? Note the things that attract you to this brand. What are their logo, tagline, colour scheme, and elements?
Also, find out about the chief features of popular 3D design companies. Observe the mood, vibe, genre, and style they are pitching. Take note of things you may want to improve as a 3D designer. These observations are great insights to help you understand what you want for your portfolio.
#2. What makes you U-N-I-Q-U-E?
Personal branding is at its strongest when it stands out from the crowd. To do so, you must decide what you want to be known for as a 3D designer. How do you want to portray yourself? What uniqueness do you want to bring to the table? What is it that sets you apart from your competitors? And, why should people give you attention?
Look for inspiration within the industry. Track popular 3D designers and learn how they moulded themselves into personal brands. You can follow them on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. However, please don't get overwhelmed with their personal branding schemes. Remember, in the end, it's your personality that needs to shine.
#3. What are your core values?
If you don't take a stand for your work, chances are your work won't stand for you. To build yourself as a personal brand, you need to set some core values. Your core values show the audience the respect you have for your work. What do you want your 3D design brand to stand for? It can be classic elegance, modern abstract, or any other charismatic style. If you want, you can check out the work of famous 3D designers to get some inspiration.
You need to put a statement with your 3D design brand that says:
'This is what I stand for. This is what my artwork is for'.
#4. What's your target audience?
Target audience. It's the most significant factor in building a personal brand (or any brand, for that matter). If you want to claim the top position as a 3D designer or artist, your audience is what you need the most.
Start by listing who your target audience is. Who are the people who would love to follow your work? What would they need from your designs? What would attract and make them stay loyal to your brand? Where are they from? What age are they?
The questions above can help you draw your target audience. Once clarified, you can start working on how to appeal to them.
#5. What are the right platforms?
One thing is for sure, building a personal brand as a 3D design artist is more than just technical work.
You need to reach out to your target audience. For that, you will need platforms where you can connect with them. Where do you want to connect with the audience? Where is your audience geographically located? These questions can help you decide which platform you need. The good thing is social media has made it super easy to connect with the audience. Here are some platforms you can try:
-YouTube
-Portfolio
-ArtStation
-Behance
You can try social media, podcasts, and communities online to reach your target audience. Begin with one or two platforms so that you don't feel overwhelmed. With time, extend your reach and connect with various channels or media outlets.
#6. What content do you want to strategise?
Awesome content = A good personal brand
Your content is the currency you will thrive on. More importantly, your content will decide the quality of your brand. Give your 3D designing website exciting content. Based on that, the audience will determine if you are worth investing in.
This is why you must know how to strategise your content. Make sure your content is well-planned. It should not be a hotch-potch of anything and everything.
What's next?
Brand building may need some guidance. How about learning how to build your 3D design brand online? Trust us, the process will barely cost you anything. On KoolStories, you can meet the best 3D designers who can teach you how to embark on this journey.
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