How to Qualify a Freelance 3D Artist to Hire at a Company

Hiring online can be an extremely daunting process if you don’t know what to look for in a freelancer, but there are many benefits to hiring independent contractors. Here are three simple steps that you can take to ensure you’re choosing the best person for the job.

3 Steps to Qualifying a Freelance 3D Artist to Hire

1. Do an Initial Investigation into Their Work

Oftentimes, 3D modeling freelancers will have extensive resumes or portfolios of their work that can be viewed online. It’s worth the time to take a few minutes and do a quick search online to see what you can find out about a freelancer whose initial proposal meets your criteria.

If a 3D design service has a list of clients they have previously worked for included with their portfolio, you can send an inquiry to these companies and ask if they were satisfied with the work this freelancer completed for them. Some independent contractors will even have a review section attached to their portfolio to provide you with this information in an easily accessible format.

Their portfolio will also provide you with a brief glance into the type of projects they’ve done before, the scope of the work, and what types of companies they’ve been hired by in the past. If a freelancer has a ton of one-time gigs from a variety of clients, they might not have the best reputation for their work. On the other hand, if they’ve only worked with one or two clients over long time periods, they may not have the diverse experience required to complete an intricate project.

You may also discover social media profiles that demonstrate the freelancer’s work on another platform and can show the public perception of them if others are interacting with their profile and posts. If a freelancer has particular clout, this can also be used to the advantage of your company as a potentially free marketing tool.

2. Set Up a Phone or Video Interview

Most freelance product designers will not be local and could be working from anywhere around the world, so the easiest way to have a more in-depth conversation with a freelancer you’re considering hiring is to set up an interview over the phone or video chat.

Alternatively, if you don’t have time to go through interviews for all the freelancers you’re considering, you can send a list of questions to the candidates and have them answer in a video they can take themselves or in written responses over email, whichever you prefer.

Whether in an interview or in independent responses, you’ll get a fuller picture of this freelancer’s style of communication and how prompt they are when replying to requests.

Here are some examples of questions you can use during an interview with a freelancer.

• What previous experience do you have as a freelance 3D rendering service and what inspired you to get into this field?

This question is two-fold and will give you a good sense of a freelancer’s motivations toward 3D artistry and what type of formal education or training and professional experience they are bringing to the table. Artists working on their own time may be more involved and passionate about the projects they take on, whereas those who rely on 3D rendering as their sole source of income may have more experience and could get the project done faster.

• What is your availability like?

Freelancers come from all walks of life. Some freelance as a full-time profession and others work for themselves in addition to another more traditional job. Knowing how much time a freelancer can commit to spending on your project will give you a guideline of how long it will take for them to complete it.

It can be very helpful to have an estimated timeline of how many hours per week they will spend working on a project. A full-time freelance 3D interior rendering service may be able to commit to more hours if they aren’t already busy with other contracts. Someone who freelances on the side might be busier with their full-time job or they may have more availability if they pursue fewer freelance gigs at once.

• Tell us about a time when you were unable to meet a project’s deadline and what did you do in this situation?

This question gives you the opportunity to see how a freelancer responds when they have failed to deliver a project in the agreed-upon timeframe and how they deal with stress or being overbooked. It can also be an opener into discussing how a freelancer communicates when issues arise and what kind of reimbursement they will provide you if they can’t fulfill the contract for the project.

It’s a good idea to have a company policy for how to deal with a freelancer that fails to meet their end of the bargain and if this will be offset by a lower rate of compensation or a loss of the contract altogether.

• Have you worked on any similar projects?

Although you may have already asked the candidate about their previous experience, questioning specifically if the CAD service or freelancer has completed projects similar to the one you’re looking to hire them on for allows them the opportunity to become very detailed in their answers. Whether or not they have done anything like what you’re looking for, freelancers are likely to respond with explicit examples of other projects they’ve worked on that offer the same challenges as your own.

• Do you have any questions about the project or our company?

Whether the answer is yes or no, this question will demonstrate how much research the freelancer has done into the project and your company. This can provide an opportunity for clarity for the freelancer if they found anything confusing or ambiguous in the project description. Some freelancers may also take this chance to pitch additional ideas they think will suit your company’s needs.

3. Do a Practice Run

If you’re still unsure about a freelancer’s ability to complete the project you have in mind, there are a few ways to test out their skills before signing them on for a big job.

• Have them complete a job on spec

You can either have the freelance 3D furniture modeling service complete a project for free, with the understanding that they will be paid at the regular rate if you find the work acceptable. Or you can agree on a one-time, lower rate of pay for this smaller project and then re-evaluate the commission if you choose to move forward with this freelancer on future projects.

Offering projects on spec will only be accepted for the first time you are hiring a specific freelancer, and not every freelancer will be willing to do this. You also shouldn’t expect any freelancer to provide their work for free, even on a trial basis. Doing a job on spec is something more inexperienced freelancers will take on since they could still be trying to build their portfolio and prove their abilities if they have less professional experience to speak for their work.

• Start them on a less pressing or smaller project

If you’re pretty confident about the freelance 3D architectural modeler’s ability to complete your desired project, but not 100% certain, giving them a project that is smaller in scope or less time-sensitive to start off with is a great way to begin building a freelance relationship with a 3D artist. This will help you test their ability to follow instructions and meet deadlines, as well as how they interpret your vision of a finished product and if their style of work fits within your company’s image and message.

• Ask for more information

You can have a 3D artist provide an outline of how the project will look once it’s complete or a detailed plan of action for how they’ll go about doing the work. This can offer a preview of the finished product you’ll be receiving from that freelancer and offer insight into how long they think the project will take to complete.

Find Your Freelance 3D Artist through Cad Crowd

If you’re still not sure where to start looking for your next independent contractor, Cad Crowd makes hiring a freelance 3D artist simple and seamless, by connecting businesses with qualified, pre-vetted freelancers. Our 3D artists are some of the best from around the world. Save time and stress and get your free quote today!