career in rendering with rhino

[West1000]

I apologise if this thread is out of place. I really had no idea where to place it. I was hoping someone could give me some advice about a career in rendering. I have 2.5 years of interior design schooling under my belt. I have always been interested by 3d rendering and am self taught. I find it addicting and just love it. Is it possible to make a career out of it and specialise in 3d rendering? One thing I notice with rendering an modeling is it a very timely task. How much can a detailed render of an interior or exterior sell for? I’m trying to figure out what the hourly pay would work out to. I’d like to go into business for myself but am unsure if it is profitable enough. One thing I realise is the client base for this type of work is limited to only architects, interior designers and developers. The only time I see 3d renders being used is on big signs outside building sites to advertise the condo that is going to be built. This makes me concerned as I am worried that there isn’t enough work for something that is so specialised. I could be wrong, maybe the market is in need of some good 3d rendering workers. I have no idea. Has anyone had any experience with trying to do something like this on their own? I currently live in Ottawa Ontario which is in Canada. Thanks for reading.

Aaron

[louis.cho]

Re: career in rendering with rhino

There is plenty of 3d artist specialized in architecture. I was for 2 years. I must say that Rhino is at best a good skill add-on but you will need the industry standard: 3DS Max/Vray.

Salary may vary depend on your skill, experiences and competition. Depend on your location, there is specialized complany.

There is plenty of talk about it on these forums
www.cgarchitect.com
www.cgtalk.com

Good luck

[ValeroStudio]

Re: career in rendering with rhino

Its a hard industry to venture into alone but I would say if you have a passion, then follow it. I could never see myself going at it by myself these days though. I agree that you def need to learn 3DS Max and VRay because that’s like knowing AutoCAD in an arch firm (and now Revit). You should try to intern at a rendering office or in an arch firm that has a rendering department. Learn 3DS on their dime and also learn the tricks to keeping a project on budget. There are all sorts of techniques and hacks used to get the job done fast because time is money. you could do all of this the hard way and just go door to door and find work but you'll read on CGArchitect that this is a hard and very stressful way to make a living. Especially since there are guys in China who will do it for $100. I am in no way trying to tell you not to pursue this as a career, just tread carefully.

[andybot_cg]

Re: career in rendering with rhino

Yeah, like ValeroStudio said - almost no sense trying to compete with china and india firms on cost. The point about door to door is that unless you already have some contacts and a way in, it will be very hard to find work. It is a lousy time right now for architecture, but if you can find a niche market or location, you can do OK.
Best,

Andy

[ValeroStudio]

Re: career in rendering with rhino

Here's a listing of rendering firms in Canada, but I dont see any listed in Ottowa, which is a good and bad thing. Maybe there's and arch firm willing to take you on full or part time where you can do your thing part time and build your biz. Like I said before, I am not trying to deter you, just giving advice from my experiences.

http://www.canadianbusinessdirectory...ry.php?cat=140

[wgc2005]

Re: career in rendering with rhino

you might consider instead a career in animation, lots of rendering there and other interesting challenges too.

You will have to learn additional software, but it seems you like the process and the differences between packages shouldn't be a deterrent.