Those 'meshers for hire'

[iamyourneighbour]

Has anyone actually came across any custom mesher that does not scream total scam?

Most of the 'meshers' on forum has a first name plus a few random numbers, has no payment info. I offer them to invoice with real cash for double payment via PayPal they would still decline. Some of them don't even know what .obj files are and their portfolio is made up of low res screenshot on flickr. So when those types ask for payment upfront I don't even bother replying.

Is there a group or external forum that has more reliable meshers for hire? 

[Orwar]

   I've long since given up on a meshing career, it takes too much time and effort and I'm not good enough to do complex stuff. I offer to do projects that I feel confident I can manage, and I generally don't have an asking price; I'll work for tips usually.

   I enjoy geometry and mathematics, so if you need a building component I can easily make it (I do have RL experience as a carpenter, which helps with such!) - but if you want a mesh flower with natural shapes... Not so much my thing.

   Don't know about any groups, but if you want anything specific you can post in the Wanted section - and once you've gotten acquainted with a mesher who you feel is up to snuff, well, why look for another for your next thing? I've got my go-to scripter to help me with that, since I don't know anything about it. 

[Tactical UwU]

They are few and far between and those I have personally be able to hire in the past either breached our agreement or failed to deliver fully on the work they were supposed to do.

As far as groups are concerned, they don't really exist. Most accomplished meshers don't do custom work because it costs them more money in the long run to do that than to supply products to either a store they're working for or their own vendor.

[Orwar]

6 hours ago, Secondary Lionheart said:

Most accomplished meshers don't do custom work because it costs them more money in the long run

   There are other business models though. If you want a piece of mesh that is both full perm and exclusive to yourself, yes, expect to cough up something pretty close to an actual wage by hour of work - but if you just want something, and it's something others could use, then letting the mesher be the one to sell it full perm where you just pay a commission fee, or just at all not going for 'the most accomplished' but rather someone who shows promise and ambition with their work - you can get away without selling your bento spleen. 

   Then again, not long ago there was a post by someone who was looking to do mesh for SL, who had a very impressive resume including some pretty prestigious triple-A title games... So you -can- get that, too.  

[Tactical UwU]

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

   Then again, not long ago there was a post by someone who was looking to do mesh for SL, who had a very impressive resume including some pretty prestigious triple-A title games... So you -can- get that, too.  

When we were last looking to hire someone, we had similar candidates who were overqualified for the work we were asking for. One was a college professor who taught 3D architecture and design.

[lachannCraft]

I am available to do custom mesh depending on the pay and content. You can message me in world, notecard please. Send examples and the rates you pay. My store is Mesh Craft.

Thank you

[Crias Rowlands]

Situation is the same on the other side. Difficult for a proper mesher with experience to find reliable clients with enough funds. Above a level, a good mesher only works for real wage and it is out of the budget for the casual user. Most commonly only store owners can afford to hire an extra mesher for themselves.

[Erwin Solo]

There is a reasonably large supply of mesh models available on the internet for purchase via credit card or paypal.  Just google up phrases  like collada files for sale, blender files for sale, 3ds max files for sale, maya max files for sale, 3d model files for sale.  

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Erwin Solo said:

There is a reasonably large supply of mesh models available on the internet for purchase via credit card or paypal.  Just google up phrases  like collada files for sale, blender files for sale, 3ds max files for sale, maya max files for sale, 3d model files for sale.  

Note that MANY of those are not "game asset" (low poly) mesh. Some are even made for magazine aricle renders (oh my) so unless you know how to optimize the mesh OR get enough info from the site so you have an idea of a poly count ==== that isn't the best option. 

****************************

To the OP of a few months back @iamyourneighbour :D.  I would suggest looking up full perm mesh creators on the marketplace.  See what they make and if you like it look in their profiles to see if they do custom work. As said above, many creators do not (full perm or retailers) but some do. I would THINK you best bet would be the full perm guys. 

And re the Paypal thing. Lots of folks don't give out their Paypal info for privacy reason. While you CAN have an address for your avatar that goes to your real life Paypal account (I have one and it is legal as I talked through a customer rep who helped me set it up), most folks don't have that or want to go to the trouble of GETTING that LOL.  So that part of your post isn't a surprise for me. 

Unless someone that advertises in the forums has an inworld store where you can check the LODs and poly count, I would steer clear. 

[Ethan Paslong]

On 1/11/2019 at 11:47 AM, lachannCraft said:

I am available

I hope your skills are better than you understand not to advertise in a discussion.

[Crias Rowlands]

9 hours ago, Erwin Solo said:

There is a reasonably large supply of mesh models available on the internet for purchase

Buying various mesh from different sources won't make the work coherent. Different modelling styles, textures, shading. One of the most important thing of content creation is to stay consistent, which stock models will just blow. Plus as said above, they are mostly not optimized for SL.

[eku Zhong]

On 4/15/2019 at 5:53 PM, Crias Rowlands said:

Buying various mesh from different sources won't make the work coherent. Different modelling styles, textures, shading. One of the most important thing of content creation is to stay consistent, which stock models will just blow. Plus as said above, they are mostly not optimized for SL.

And further than that, most 3d modelling websites do not allow their items to be brought into and sold in Second Life. In fact, many of them stipulate No Second Life.

[Yan Hoxley]

SL meshes are kinda specific...
- keeping it lowprim + kinda unfair LI counting for well optimized mesh for all LODS
- u need to manually do and upload 4 lowpoly meshes and 1 boundary mesh for literally each object, I bet many creators not bother and just upload 1 mesh without proper LODs
- texture limitations and need of use of overlapping UVs when u need more textures on each object, which makes it pain in the ass in any 3D painting software

Workflow is more annoying than props for real 3D engines with proper materials like Unity or Unreal. Sometimes it takes me week or more to do good item or pack for sell and that effort is paid by enough sales through the time (or not, if it does not match buyers taste).

I would not do custom mesh for hire, unless I would see a potential that more ppl would actually find it useful and eager to buy it, plus I would have extra time, which I ussualy don't have because SL+RL work and life. So I would say many of them are scammers or ppl without job (how come good mesher is not busy with his work) and to pick some honest ones will be not easy, although they sure exist.

I introduced SL to some of my friends in same field and once they realized, that workflow is completely different, and SL prices, they were like nah, it's not for me.

[Alexacroft]

 

[Saucey Sinister]

   We're totally around, but a lot of us are also creating for SL ourselves. I actually stagger my projects where I allow particular clients to give me a handful of projects they would like completed and then I create for my own brands. For small projects under $60 USD, I will allow people to pay me in Lindens that I just turn around and use in game. Anything larger than that I will always use an outside service like paypal. Larger projects I do bid at an hourly rate, but smaller items I just do a flat rate of what I think it's worth depending on what the going rate average would be on other sites that sell mesh and the difficulty/time the product would take to create. If someone came to me for work in a product they plan on selling, I can assure you that my hourly fee is based on my freelance fees that I charge in the real world. Most don't want to pay that so I don't overly advertise my work to keep away people simply looking for someone to create their product for them or want you to rig/texture every item because they haven't learned those skills themselves and essentially work for them full time at low wages.

   Some advice: If anyone is going to order any custom mesh in SL, make sure you voice with them and that they do come with references. Expect that a professional will give you an estimate, a pay plan, and a realistic schedule of some sort for completion. For example, I start the work with half of the money down (thirds on larger builds), allow them to check it mid project, and once the final product is ready to be delivered they pay the final payment. Everything is also in writing via note cards and email agreements that clearly state the terms by which I've created the product to protect both parties. I would also be curious about what programs they use because this will tell you a lot about the investment level of their craft. For example, I use Blender for mesh and animation plus a combination of Photoshop and Substance Painter for texturing.

   I can't help but be curious as to what you're asking for that people seem so standoffish to create for you. Inquiring minds want to know! I hope some of my blabbering helps you to make a decision in the future when choosing an artist with a real world work ethic you can trust.

 

 

[Codex Alpha]

I have made stuff for people in the past, and due to their budget, depends on how I will prioritize it.
Sometimes, you may get a deal from a creator if their time is roughly covered, if the asset can be sold on the MP, and  mainly you are paying for them to prioritize THAT asset over another they may be working on.
Eg. Client of some sort requests I make a wooden shack.. If it's not exclusive to them, and they throw a few bucks to paypal my way for doing so, I could prioritize the object over other ongoing projects, have a project (which is nice for focus sometimes), and still be able to sell the asset longterm myself on the MP

Best to get to know people around you though, and establish some trust. I can't prove to anyone how trustworthy I am until they spend time to get to know me. Usually its me getting burned by other people - it happens both ways as a customer and as a creator.

Edited February 13, 2020 by entity0x

[OptimoMaximo]

I'd say that anyone who has or had any RL professional or even amateur experience in 3d assets creation would not call themselves "mesher", rather "modeler" or "3d artist". The moment someone addresses themselves as mesher, I instantly know that they are self taught and began in SL with no RL background in the field. So most likely these people don't really have the experience to carry on a custom project proficiently to ensure a delivery date, a delivery at all, optimization in geometry and texture use. Which I understand the latter because of size limit, materials rendering AND the customer trend which demands high res on everything cammed up lose, even the smallest detail (which BTW needs to be modeled with separate geometry, or it's not good enough) to ensure consistent sales and not occasional transactions from those who are reasonable enough to appreciate the overall model and how it works in a scene or on an avatar. 

Why a RL 3d modeler wouldn't take works in SL when they happen to be users, like in my case (in my opinion, feel free to jump all over me, I don't care):

1. I do enough modeling already at work with no creative freedom: I'm given a piece of concept art that I have to replicate 1 on 1, with the freedom of speech about what I think might not be working for animation and provide ideas for possible solutions. Case that happens very seldom, as concept artist usually have a grasp by now about problematic accessory placements. Once in SL, if i feel I want to model something, it's for my enjoyment. What I sell under a brand is what I use for myself and make adaptations where and if needed (like multiple bodies support) 

2. Tedious work flow. To deliver something up to expectations, the work flow is just way longer and prone to mistakes that need rework. All inquiries I've received, despite my profile states that I don't do custom works, focused on having detailed (high res) baked textures. 

3. Unreasonable requests. I can't count how many times I've received requests for a a custom body or head that included 1. compatibility with standard SL avatar uv mapping 2. higher res textures than the commercially available ones 3. "life-like" as main and unprescindible points for delivery, plus a slicing system that would be finer than double of the available slices on most other commercial bodies, with a hud, and compatible with X body brand clothing as semi-unprescindible points with the additional request of a scripter for the hud if I couldn't do it. Aside from SL uv mapping compatibility which is fine, this conflicts with point 2 as the limit is standard and to go over that resolution limit, compatibility needs to be broken with a custom UV that takes more texturable faces. But the third point is really what makes me angry. Life-like to me means as seen in high end AAA games cinematics and is not conceivable to achieve in SL (as I stated in the unpopular opinion thread, your high res, realistic avatar looks cartoonish regardless of how much effort is put into achieving otherwise) 

Edit to add: forgot to mention the slicing, which is absurdin its concept already, let alone the adaptive slicing shape that should run along main clothing lines, requiring a lot of work to get it right in the first place, also the requests were about finer control (thinner slices to alpha out millimeters of skin) making the overall polygon count unreasonable, dirty topology, and a crazy amount of separate objects. Speak of optimization then.. 

Edited February 14, 2020 by OptimoMaximo

[Fanta UwU]

I do commissions as a SL creative content whatever person, not a 'mesher'.. since I do other than mesh (IE. Cosmetics). Mesher sounds kind of an amateur term anyways, lol. So I wouldn't use that term. Though I also don't have RL college nor job experience of 'meshing'. I am self taught but I do go around asking tips and tricks and etc to improve. I used to do 2D art but lost that passion during college and was lost for a while till I started playing around with blender with creation for people in mind. Which... is the reason why I do commissions because I do enjoy it actually, gives me practice, and if given a challenge, I will work as best to my ability to get it up to reasonable expectations. I gotten quite passionate enough that I'd be willing to return to school to get proper knowledge that don't involve SL!

But on my commissions ad, I include my flickr with my vendor ads (which look a little crappy because I don't exactly have photoshop [quite expensive]) and gyazos of my work that I haven't been able to upload due to costs. Because if I don't, like you said, I'm going to look like I'm a scammer!  

For the 'upfront payment', I kinda do that with a upfront 'fee' because uploading can be kind of expensive depending what they want. They can pay the rest later once I've actually given them the custom work. From what I know, even artist commissions of art websites that do that, will ask for a upfront fee or 'downpayment' (like a percentage of total given beforehand). So its a practice it seems even amongst 2D artists.

I probs should work out my pricing a bit due to it being quite low, as with my time being used. But I do it because I enjoy it mostly and not so much for the linden (even though linden is nice xD). That and I'm a semi-beginner, so charging higher up like it being a real job, such as involving my paypal into it, is somewhat unreasonable until I get better at it as I'm learning everyday how to mesh for SL. Like I just figured out how to properly bake an AO map the other day! Lol! 

Tbh it's just textures and clean UV mapping on mesh I really need to work on. 'Meshing', rigging, and face cosmetics stuff is not really as big of a deal for me since I've been more successful at it than those darn textures (except AO mapping; those are perfectly fine).