Finding a 3D rendering freelancer that fits in perfectly with your current business culture and workflow is a difficult task. You want to employ someone who does their job and delivers on deadlines, but also does work up to the highest standards set forth by your own design sensibilities. All of this, and you want them on a budget that doesn’t detract from investing into the project itself.

And while there are plenty of online resources that helps you connect with these kinds of prospective employees, whittling down your criteria for the perfect candidate can be a moving target that isn’t always easy to hit.

This short guide is to be used as a reference, not as gospel, when circling around the perfect 3D rendering freelancer. Everyone's criteria will be different, but at a minimum this rendering artist should have the following 5 attributes if you hope for them to work out in a productive way.

Here are 5 attributes of the perfect 3D rendering freelancer.

Talent

Yes, for all the intangible qualities you might hope for in a freelance 3D rendering artist, they simply must have the talent and experience to deliver high-quality renderings and visualizations. For architects and designers, the work that goes into pounding an idea or concept into the ground until it’s the best it can be is worth its weight in gold. Which means it’s a shame when that work is handed over to someone who simply can’t do the original idea justice through the visualization work they produce.

Talent isn’t everything - as we’ll soon learn - but it should be at the heart of every worthy visualization artist. At a minimum, your future employees will need this to be a productive member of your team.

Speed

In most design practices, deadlines are the backbone for instilling rigor and discipline throughout the office. Not only that, but missing them means unhappy clients, project delays, and a massive hit to the reputation of the project manager and the company. In many instances, hitting these deadlines rests on the speed and efficiency of the visualization artist.

When looking for a freelancer, test their ability to consistently hit deadlines by talking to people they’ve worked for in the past. A rendering artist who can perform under pressure are sometimes hard to find, so weed out the good from the bad at the beginning of your hiring process.

Flexibility

Not only should a freelance rendering artist be able to sway and move with the wind of a project’s ever-changing parameters, they should be able to do it with a smile on their face. No one likes to re-do work or have to perform unexpected and tedious tasks, but these circumstances are the nature of the business, so it is important to find someone who literally laughs in the face of danger.

A flexible, willing rendering artist will not only do good work, they will help alleviate heartburn caused by sudden changes in the design environment by not being a massive pain in the butt.

Rigor

In the design world rigor equates to doing whatever it takes to output the best possible product. It is injected directly into the design process, and vibrates through each and every employee that might work at the firm.

It’s something you want out of your freelance rendering artist, too. You want them to have the same attention to detail, dedication, and discipline when it comes to the work they send you. Finding someone that has the same cultural and ethical sensibilities can be tough, but is essential if you want to end up with someone who cares as much about the final product as you do. Rigor equals good work. Almost always.

Value

All of these things add up to how much value you can get out of a freelance rendering artist for the price you are paying them. The perfect employee is someone who cares enough about the work they’re doing that they will excel past expectations for the job, and do so with a willingness to align their fee with the best interest of the finished work.

The most valuable freelancers are ones who are extremely talented, but don’t hold their ability to do good work over your head while you’re scrambling to come up with someone who can do it cheaper. They value their job with your company, and they value to quality of work it allows them to do. Call it personal pride, call it investment, at the end of the day it amounts to having someone you can call on to have your back no matter what the circumstances. It’s all about value.