Is it worth looking overseas to China or India for cheaper 3d rendering? 

We’ll run you through the pros and cons of using a low cost 3d rendering provider. Obviously we are slightly biased but we get asked the question so often that we thought it would be worth writing a little something about it based on our experience and from what we have heard from our clients. I’ll try and be as neutral as possible!

Lets start with the PROS:

1. Cost. The most obvious positive that will come from searching for a low cost 3d rendering provider in China or India is that it will probably cost less than an Australian based studio. You could expect to pay around half the price. I have received emails from Chinese or Indian 3d render companies advertising prices of around $400USD for interior or exterior renders.
2. I honestly can’t think of any other positives here…. 

No we’ll get onto the CONS:

1. Quality. As with a lot of things in life, when it comes to 3d rendering, you generally get what you pay for. It is pretty easy to google a 3d studio in china or india, send them an email with your plans and get a quote. You will probably be surprised with how cheap they can be. If you do manage to get through the whole process without murdering someone you’ll have done well. Your friends in China or India will have emailed you a final image and an invoice. Its at this point that you’ll look at the image and the invoice and realise that you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! Your hopes of getting that amazing high quality render for a fraction of the price are shattered and you are left wondering whether you can actually use the renders at all. 
2. Communication. Ever tried communicating a difficult design instruction via email to somebody who can barely speak English and isn’t familiar with any architectural or manufacturing terminology? Needless to say…its tough. How much is your time worth? Because you’re going to want to factor in a few hours (at least) of your own time emailing back and forth trying to get the result you’re after. God help you if you have any complex design changes that need to be implemented. Be prepared to have pulled out at least a few handfulls of your hair in the process.
3. Styling. If you’ve ever been to China or india you will know that they have a very different sense of style to the rest of the world. One of the most difficult aspects of a high qaulity 3d rendering is getting the styling right. Both interior and exterior. Unfortunately our friends over in India and China just don’t have the same taste in furniture and interior decor as we do here in Asutralia. The other really notable area of difference is the vegetation… the choice of plants and trees is just way off and looks nothing like anything we have in Australia. So unless you’re marketing to Chinese investors you won’t be ‘inspiring’ too many buyers with interiors that look as though they are in the heart of Beijing or Delhi.  

A bad quality 3d render is actually worse than nothing at all.

Think about it from your potential buyers point of view. Would you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on something that hasn’t been built yet based on a cheap, low quality, poorly styled, poorly composed 3d rendering? I wouldn’t. The problem is that our friends in China and India have completely different style and taste to us. They also have completely different looking plants, furniture, cars etc etc. So you end up with a strange looking render that has been styled completely wrong for your target market. When your potential client looks at your marketing campaign filled with weird, poor quality imagery compared to your competitors high quality, stylish imagery you won’t stand a chance. And not only that but it will negatively affect your brand forever.