Create Art On Your Own or Outsource It to a Professional Studio?

3D art has become integral to multiple industries, from gaming to cinematography or even manufacturing. Nowadays, the professional skills of a 3D artist are required in almost every present-day company, regardless of its business sector. Therefore, if you have an ambitious project in your mind, it is time to think about the hiring approach.

Do you intend to complete all the art-related work for the project using your in-house resources, extend the team, or outsource it to a 2D or 3D outsourcing studio, depending on your needs? This article will give you insight into the aspects of choosing a reliable art studio and other details related to the best workflow to create art for your project. 

How to Approach the Artistic Side of a Project? 

Whether you are into game design, cinematography, or even optimizing manufacturing processes with digital twins, the artistic perspective of all projects is essential because visualizing information is the trend of modernity. No company can sell anything without providing a visual representation of their offer, be it a service or product. 

Keeping a team of experienced 2D and 3D artists in-house is unquestionably a reliable strategy to focus on as you jump from project to project following a particular pattern. For example, if your corporate operation touches upon gaming, you constantly require an uninterrupted inflow of new assets, including characters, weapons, buildings, props, etc. Nonetheless, is everything so straightforward? Let us reveal.

Pros and cons of in-house hiring

What are the benefits of building a responsible team of artists?

1. Control. You can quickly manage your in-house team, controlling all their activities.
2. Engagement. Whether your artists work remotely or from the office, they feel more involved in the corporate culture and activities due to the feeling of belonging.
3. Performance. Since you manage your workforce on your own, you can channel its productivity and not let all the artists elaborate on a wide range of projects simultaneously, which can certainly increase their overall performance.

Still, this approach also comes with a pack of drawbacks.

1. Staff turnover. This type of cooperation entails continuous alterations inside teams because people come and go, so sometimes your project may be put in peril.
2. Human-related risks. Just like other human beings, each with their own needs, some of your employees may burn out or take a row of sick leaves to have some rest.
3. Higher cost. As a rule, keeping an in-house team of experienced artists to engage in each project requires considerable investment because employees expect career growth.

Pros and cons of hiring an agency

Although, at first sight, it may seem an unnecessary undertaking, hiring an art studio of experts may prove noteworthy. Without a doubt, it requires you to cooperate with others, but successful businesses always partner up with one another to achieve higher goals. 

That is why tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Ubisoft, Sony, and the rest regularly use outsourcing services. One of the primary reasons why they pursue this strategy is that it is cost-efficient. Interestingly, according to Statista, the international market size of outsourced IT services in 2019 hit $92.5bn.

So, what are the most evident advantages of referring to a professional art agency? 

1. Studio-side management. In most cases, all the managerial side of your cooperation is ensured by a service provider, thereby freeing you from the need to keep your fingers on the pulse of an in-house team you have built.
2. Rigid staff selection rules. Given that art studios already have all the specialists you need at hand, you can cherry-pick those who fit your project best without having to spend extra time sieving through dozens of candidates and conducting tiresome interviews.
3. Resource availability and accessibility. Along with specialists, art agencies already have all the software and hardware to produce high-quality 2D or 3D content so that you do not have to purchase everything on your own.
4. Lower expenses. You must not pay hired specialists a salary equal to that of your in-house staff, so you save a vast amount of costs on the workforce.
5. Stability in work. Since the agency is ready to provide you with any specialists you need, there will never be a situation when your project does not meet the deadline because some responsible employees got ill or left the team. 

Nevertheless, is working with an outsourcing art studio a flawless approach? Without a doubt, it is one of the best types of cooperation in the business industry, but it also has some drawbacks.

1. Impossibility to assign non-project-related tasks. Hired agency artists accomplish tasks that fall within their competence and relate to the project directly, so you cannot ask them to do anything beyond the agreed scope.
2. Lack of involvement. In unique cases, hired specialists may experience a lack of motivation or engagement in your project because they do not belong to your corporate culture and sometimes may not share the values you abide by.
3. Possible misunderstandings. Since you often communicate with outsourcing studio artists via an intermediary, usually a project manager, the odds of misunderstandings increase, which will likely entail the deterioration of work quality.

So, What Cooperation Model Should You Choose?

Depending on your project scope and the industry you operate in, you may opt for a different model. If, say, you are willing to develop some AA video game and need a team of 3D artists, the best choice for you may be to address an outsourcing agency. In order to learn more about what they offer, get familiar with one of them. 

Gain insight into the company’s professional activity, study its portfolio and get in touch with responsible persons to discuss your project details. Whether it is 3D-Ace — art outsourcing studio or any other agency offering art services, be attentive to the conditions of cooperation and select a model that perfectly matches your business goal.

Ultimately, there is no universal solution to all the encountered issues, so everything depends on your preferences, deadlines, business strategy, industry, budget, and so forth. You will get all the answers once you carry out a discovery phase and research the market. Equipped with essential knowledge, you will be able to move on.