A vision for the role of formal groups and organizations

by David Wright (dwright@artmaze.com) - Artmaze (http://www.artmaze.com)

Architectural rendering artists and 3D design professionals could be better represented and guided by an organization that possesses both technical knowledge and research and business advice to give its members. With some exceptions, most of existing organizations only provide the member with a listing, some book recommendations and a bill for the membership fee. I honestly believe that there is a real need and market space for an organization that can do more, and cover more, than what was sufficient for the era prior to computer-generated visualizations, and able to disseminate information on new hardware and techniques, and of research on marketing and sales.

I noticed, from feedback on my previous articles, that very many of my readers seem to really need hands-on help, from basic business skills and contractual writing, though executive sales skills, to handling complex business scenarios and so on. Most of us don’t have all these skills, and some don't even know what to charge, or when to charge, nor how to write and execute contracts. I’ve already dealt with some of these points and will attack a few more later; if you haven’t read some of my articles, get please go back and do so. This time I want to talk about the new face of our industry.

I see huge potential of growth for architectural rendering artists, visualization specialists, and CAD operators, in several application fields and professions; but if we are not careful, we may face a future similar to the current reality of Flash designers, where in a highly competitive but cheap environment, being a temporary assistant pays more than a permanent Flash developer or designer. While a few true experts that are still in that business, the sheer numbers of flash users out there caused most of them to have gone elsewhere. This has also affected the software industry directly and, in my opinion, is one of the reasons why Macromedia moved their efforts to 'Enterprise solutions', and where most of today’s software venture-capital funds are available.

Macromedia, clearly a successful company, did not protect their industry, and by this I mean they failed to educate and guide their clients. Flash & Director developers cannibalized themselves by lowering fees again and again, to the point where the net income from Flash and Director sales resembled over-fishing in what was once a large, healthy metaphorical ocean of opportunity; now both the ocean and fish are smaller. In addition, the economy has been dreadful; today most companies are only investing and expending directly in what brings short-term bottom-line revenues. In other words, only low-risk, fast payback investments are going to be considered. If a CD-ROM, for example, is not seen to be likely to produce a quick sales return, money will not be available for the project. Wiser companies invest for their image and the long-haul of recognition and perceived value, even if the service or product sales may not immediately contribute to a short term return.

Globalization is also in part a reason why services are cheaper. Today a company can produce better returns by subcontracting work to other countries that have different economic environments and hence cheaper labor. This theme has been part of the world economy for a long time, but initially only for major manufacturers. Today, it is becoming essential for small business groups, where in order to stay competitive they must now subcontract work to wherever they can now pay $12 per hour overseas, for what they were previously prepared to pay $60 per hour locally, with the added advantage of still make decent profits and retaining close-range control over the work quality.

Clearly this is very positive for those regions that need the business, especially third world countries, who need to pay for important and expensive imports, until a new balance is achieved. The question that then follows, is what is the true value of our services? Can you pin-point how much a service is worth? Clearly we can measure incremental costs but can we measure the value? How much went into the underlying education and upbringing of the service supplier? If a developer pre-sells most of the units of a building that cost him $90 million to build in order to save on interest costs, (let say $3 million because he pre-sold 40% of the units) and he achieved this only because renderings and animations were available to show the buyers, would a cost for our services cost be reasonable value at $20k? When a graphic designer who designed a “killer” brochure, distributed massively and bringing millions in sales, charges only $2500 in fees; is he undercharging? Is he forgetting what it cost to make him a graphic designer?

Worth is determined by the buyer. If there are people out there able to buy a mediocre 80-year old home for about $1Million (such as here in the bay area), then that is the value. Coming back to our example, our services are worthy, but only as far as our clients are willing to pay, assuming there are alternatives. However as much as they benefit by our services, the value of our services must also represent our professionalism. If you think that we should earn more, it is up to you and our group consciousness to do something about it.

Coming back to software, (Alias is another example), there are numerous 3D artists out there with no business skills, and countless others without jobs and many have no real future vision. As a result, without jobs and lower resulting software sales. As I once said in a forum, this company concentrated their efforts into creating Maya fans rather than creating industry professionals. Clearly this facilitated sales in the beginning, part of a short term marketing plan, and one that worked for some time; but today, I am sure, their sales figures are way lower, and no matter how great the new features are, a superb product for the SFX market, I cannot anticipate an immediate increase in sales. Should companies like Alias or Macromedia responsible in part for teaching and guiding their clients in business skills? Clearly it’s not their business, but would it help? I, for one, think so. I see this as maintaining your own ocean. Are software companies responsible for the depression in the 3D market? In part yes, but since most of the value of 3D is perceived by the end-user, they are the ones that will determine actual costs.

So what has this to do with organizations? In my opinion, most formal organizations don’t really help, or at least 'help' is not clearly defined except where to send your payment and a get your map for the next-to-come trade show. Right now there is a mayor crisis happening in the 3D market; all the reports show and project negatives.

I don’t see these groups trying to protect the generic market by writing papers about markets and business subjects; most just focus their efforts on pre-selling booth space for the next show; and this is a situation that should not be ignored. In addition, none of these organizations are shaping the industries and people they represent, they are simply there, or at best giving you the basics, such as who is your competitor next door, and a few book recommendations; possibly some meeting schedules. Most have no vision or a BOLD message, nor seem to be aware of this potential problem that affects all of us together.

The creation of an organization that helps and gives value to its members, as both personal and corporate members, will fertilize and restock our ocean. We would communicate better on what we are doing as a group, instead of here in a small way. It can go much further.

The positive side is that we are seeing this, I am sure that numerous Maya fans (as an example) out there don't really know how depressed is their market (SFX / 3D) in size and software sales decreases, and so on, and if they don’t shape up, they will end up as did Flash designers, or simply as a hobbyist. I promise that many of those now studying 3D Animation or similar fields believe that this is a great generic 3D industry with lots of future, I am sure that their schools make huge promises on job possibilities, but where most end in small jobs that have no real tangible future, or in unrelated jobs. These schools are responsible in part for what has happened and what is happening and they should be also included in the group.

Our industry needs a guiding vision, one that has common sense and constant reality checks. As I already mentioned in the past. I see that our space, such as architectural rendering and design, will stay as it is for those single person companies, (if we are lucky), but for others, they will need to start thinking 'High Tech Marketing' rather than just pre-viz companies. High-tech people like us need to acquire smart marketing practices. I am sure this is clear for many of us, but this is just a glimpse of the material that should be discussed and promoted by organizations out there that claim to represent our space. This is the information that is truly useful and is just one of many examples that I am not currently writing about.

David Wright is a long-time 3D user and CG artist and has succeeded in the A/E/C (Architectural / Engineering / CAD) market with “Artmaze”, becoming a leading provider of integrated 3D animated visuals and multimedia services. Comments or suggestions about this article are welcome; David can be reached via email at dwright@artmaze.com