No matter what you do on social media, if you’re online, you’ll inevitably leave a footprint behind with your reactions, comments, and publications. Nowadays, our online persona is merging more with our real lives, and that’s also true for our careers. Even if you aren’t prepared to professionally position yourself on these platforms, be aware that recruiters and hiring managers constantly access social media.

The main reason behind this behavior is that they’re looking for proof of knowledge, abilities, and professional skills’ authenticity in you as a professional. All recruiters look for clues of that through the various steps of the selection process. And it’s not just recruiters – clients also look for that, aiming to confirm that the money they’ll invest in your work will be worth it. Currently, the easiest and most effective way of doing so is building a strong online presence.

It’s commonly said, in a fancy way, that to do that you have to build your professional brand online. However, the key to facing the job market is and always was to know how to show your value. And you can do it by sharing your work, your knowledge, and even your opinion about relevant topics to your profession.

Having your own website can be a significant investment, but social media platforms can help you show your creations, process, and experience at no cost (unless you want to spend in advertising or, for example, boosting your posts). Even if social media as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube weren’t designed with the primary intent of being used as job platforms, they can help you share knowledge and proof of your career, turning you into an online reference in your field.

No professionals have been more prepared for sharing examples of their work than 3D designers, who have always had their portfolios ready to showcase their value and expertise. Let’s talk more about it in the following sections.

LinkedIn was launched in 2003, and since then, it has become one of the most popular job platforms, thanks to its social media features and networking possibilities. This is encouraged by hosting professional profiles and company pages that can be followed.

One of the main social media features is the possibility to publish articles, which is a good way to build a professional and relevant online footprint, as said before, and to engage your network. The best part of it is that the articles can be looked for in search engines, like Google for example, and your profile can be easily found related to the professional content you create.

For 3D designers, it’s an excellent place to post your portfolio and showreel, because they can be fixed in your profile page for everybody to see. If you’ve shared your portfolio and showreel video on other platforms, it’s highly recommended that, instead of publishing their links to these platforms, you repost them on LinkedIn, so the people who want to see them won’t be redirected to another site. To further show your talent, you can create a beautiful LinkedIn cover using parts of your best works.

In addition to that, LinkedIn has many features to help in career management and development. For example, there’s LinkedIn Learning, which is a platform that sells courses; the Sales Navigator, which is paid and helps businesses find clients; and lastly, Job Search, which is free for job seekers. The Job Search feature provides job listings based on keyword search and by the location you set. You can also define preferences about declaring to recruiters in your profile that you’re open to work, the minimum payment you’re looking for, and set job alerts to receive by email. Moreover, LinkedIn offers on the Job Search page job seeking guidance for helping you in this journey.

• Number of job listings: 937 (in a search for “3D Modeling” and “remote jobs” in the US)
• Reach: Global (you can narrow down the search by location)

Indeed is a solid job platform in the market since 2004. It differs from LinkedIn in that it’s exclusively a job board platform.

It was created to be simple to use and remains that simple up to now: All you need to do is type the keywords about the position you’re looking for and set a location, even without registration or logging in. You can filter the results by remote or hybrid work, salary range, job type, company, experience level, and more. In addition, you can sort the list by relevance or date of publication.

A particularly useful feature of Indeed’s is the Company reviews, through which you can get a general idea of what it’s like to work at the company you’re considering applying to. Based on reviews and information given by current or former workers, you can find out work well-being rates, average salaries of various positions, job interview questions, and more. On the page of each company, Indeed also provides a list of current job positions available for you to apply to.

Parallel to that, you can find valuable information about your career on the Find salaries page, where Indeed presents the average base salary per location of the given job title. Additionally, it presents the skills required for the career and the possibility of creating job opportunities alerts for the job title.

• Number of job listings: 374 (in a search for “3D Modeling” and “remote jobs”)
• Reach: Global (you can narrow down the search by location)

Monster is the eldest among the job searching sites mentioned, having launched in 1994 as “The Monster Board” (Monsterboard.com). It was only in 1999 that Monster.com was created by a merger of “The Monster Board” and the “Online Career Center”. Similar to Indeed, Monster is a regular job board site. However, it doesn’t have a global place; its reach is primarily Europe, the UK, and North America.

The job search engine is quite similar to those found on LinkedIn and Indeed: You can search for job titles and locations on the Find Jobs page. The listings can be filtered by job type (from full-time to temporary), the date of the post, and the distance from your home (from 5 to 100 miles) – or you can filter remote-only jobs. You can also search for jobs from the Salary Tools, which gives you estimated salaries for certain job titles by location.

Monster’s strengths include the support it gives job seekers. One example is the possibility of setting goals of how many times per week you’ll apply for jobs or search for jobs. In fact, considering that proactivity is a determinant of the success rate in finding another job, setting goals can sustain the motivation of an unemployed person.

Additionally, Monster has innumerable articles to advise and help you along your career search, such as helping you to write effective resumes and cover letters, tips for interviews, and tips to negotiate your salary, among many others. Another feature that may help job seekers is their resume writing service, which offers resume and cover letter writing services as well as a “LinkedIn makeover” that improves your online professional brand.

• Number of job listings: More than 10 (in a search for “3D Modeling” and “remote jobs”)
• Reach: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US (you can narrow down the search by location)

Upwork may be one of the most reliable freelancer sites from both the freelancer’s and the client’s points of view. The brand may also present some of the higher bids of the freelancer market.

Many of these characteristics might be related to the effort Upwork makes to maintain the relationships in the platform transparent and trustful. One of these is the ID Verification Badge, which is put in freelancers’ profiles that have been verified. To do this, the Upwork Trust & Safety team requests a valid government-issued ID and a visual verification.

Another point that assures a reliable platform is the quality of the freelancer profile that Upwork requires. Freelancers have to add information such as job experiences, a real profile photo, a biography, and skills. If you use a fake name or profile image, Upwork can suspend your account. Additionally, certifications and diplomas can be uploaded, as well as an introductory video about yourself, and, to the benefit of 3D modelers, a portfolio of projects. The portfolio can be added as a display of images or videos, a case study, with the problem and the solution you gave, and a classic overview.

Freelancers can find jobs on the platform by searching for projects shared by companies and other possible clients on the Find Work page. One of the characteristics of Upwork is that neither the freelancers nor the clients pay a rate until the deal is established. You can work hourly or for a fixed price; regardless of the option, the service fee is 10%. And if you have more than one skill to share in the platform, it’s possible to create up to two versions of your profile focusing on them along with other standard specializations.

An advantage for freelancers is that even if you don’t use the platform for finding a client, you can benefit from the Direct Contract service, which is a way of creating contracts of payment and keeping your transactions safer by paying a cost of 3.4% by contract.

• Number of listings: 3,061 (under “3D Modeling” skill)
• Price range: From less than $100 to more than $5,000
• Reach: Global

Fiverr was launched in 2019, starting with a concept of offering small services for no more than $5, hence its name. It’s a different concept from its competitors, being a freelancer marketplace instead of a project marketplace for freelancers. The freelancers (sellers) offer jobs through gigs and wait for the buyers (clients) to hire their services.

The gigs on Fiverr are split into nine main categories, including Graphics & Design, AI Services, and with the latest (at time of writing) site update, Consulting services. In Graphic & Design, there’s a new specific category for 3D Design, subdivided into 3D Architecture, 3D Industrial Design, 3D Fashion & Garment, 3D Printing Characters, 3D Landscape, 3D Game Art, and 3D Jewelry Design.

Fiverr assures trust and safety in the platform with its feedback and reputation system, organizing the sellers into levels from New Seller to Top Rated Seller, giving new clients an indication of how long they’ve been on the platform and the quality of work delivered as rated by previous clients. There are only vetting processes when freelancers apply for Fiverr Pro, which gives the user a Pro badge in their profile to indicate to clients that they were verified. It also includes access to premium clients, client recommendations, and more benefits.

Fiverr also offers additional services to help sellers sell better. With Fiverr Guides, freelancers can access a repository of articles with topics from various selling categories for free. More content can be found on Fiverr Learn, a platform that sells on-demand professionalizing courses at accessible prices. Fiverr also helps with professional branding with an AI Logo Maker.

• Number of listings: More than 66,700 (under the “3D Design” category, of which nearly 47% are from “3D Architecture” and 22% from “3D Industrial Design”)
• Price range: The price is stipulated by the seller, and it only sets project prices (not hourly). The service fee charged by Fiverr is 5.5%.
• Reach: Global

ArtStation is a portfolio platform founded in 2014 devoted to highlighting good quality works from artists and designers. It’s different from the other platforms presented, which can be seen from their home page: an endless list of designs arranged in a grid layout. You can make your profile as a Seller, to sell digital works or printed products, or as an Artist, to build a portfolio and share your work with the community.

ArtStation offers four main features: Portfolio hosting, Website Builder, Sell Goods, and Learning, with only the first and last ones being completely free. The free account enables the artist to showcase a portfolio, use a website, sell digital products through the ArtStation Marketplace, and sell prints of their artworks. Besides the free account, ArtStation provides three premium plans, which include additional features like creating a blog and reduced fees for selling products.

In ArtStation, you can find freelance opportunities on their Jobs page, where it’s possible to set your availability to work under full-time employment, on a contract, or as a freelancer. With portfolio hosting, the website, and the blog (if you’re a premium user), you can easily create your professional brand online, showing the value of your models for the community and being known by eventual clients or employers. Once in a while, ArtStation sets challenges that consist of contests that every artist in the community can participate in, bringing recognition and awards to the winners.

Besides that, ArtStation gives various opportunities for generating an income. The Seller profile enables you to sell prints of your works and digital works. If your plan is premium, the fee paid to ArtStation is only 5%, plus a fixed transaction fee of $0.30. A free account is charged a bit more, 12%, plus the fixed transaction fee. Another opportunity for earning an income is to become an affiliate partner and promote the marketplace products, earning at least 3% of sales.

• Number of listings: More than 109,000 (in ArtStation Marketplace, under “Digital Products” and “3D Models”)
• Price range: The price of your work as a freelancer can be dealt directly with your client. In the Marketplace, the prices of 3D models range from free models to more than $250.
• Reach: Global

Freelancer is, as its name indicates, a platform that connects freelancers to employers. It was launched in 2009 and was turned into one of the most known project marketplaces. That said, it’s not difficult to find scams on both sides, as a freelancer or client, because the site doesn’t have the same quality control that other sites do. That said, the Preferred Freelancer Program aims to manage this.

To be a preferred freelancer, you need to accomplish a very rigid selection process, having to prove your authenticity as a person and as a professional. In the program, the projects have a higher price and the freelancer works with premium enterprise clients.

Another particularity of Freelancer is that it’s not the client that stipulates the project price, but it depends on the bid made by various freelancers. And it’s worth mentioning that a drawback for many freelancers is that all bidders can be easily seen by others, as well as their bids.

The service fee for fixed-price projects is 10% or $5, whichever is greater. For hourly-based projects, it’s a 10% fee. In some cases, an upfront fee payment is required.

• Number of listings: 436 (in various languages, in a search for “3D modeling projects” and “remote work”)
• Price range: Bids can range from $25 to $54.
• Reach: Global; it’s also possible to be found as a local client.

CGTrader is a 3D model marketplace founded in 2011. The amount of 3D assets is huge and is split into 17 categories, including  aircraft, military, food, and plants. On the platform, it’s possible to sell 3D models in the marketplace or find a freelancer job. Besides that, CGTrader offers services on other platforms such as CGdream, with services to create images and 3D models with AI; Modelry, a service to help businesses transform 2D images into 3D models; and Wildcat, which is another freelancer platform.

CGTrader is a community-based platform in which the sellers are ranked by levels based on their reputation and experience. The royalty rate paid for each sale is dependent on the seller level from Beginner, earning 70%, to Legend, earning 80%. The level can increase through the seller’s reputation. Plus, every week the platform highlights the Top Designers in the community based on the levels. It’s also possible to upload a portfolio for the gallery and, if approved by the CGTrader team, it’s shown in the Community Artwork Showcase.

You can publish your 3D models (as CGI or 3D prints)  and even embed videos in the publication if your model is animated. You can share your model for free or put a price of at least $3 on it, knowing you’ll be paid according to the royalty rate related to your level. You’ll have to choose a type of license among Editorial, Royalty Free, and Custom to protect your copyright. On your publication page, you can allow buyers to send you custom 3D jobs requests, and it’s possible to directly communicate with them. Another good point of CGTrader is that you can share a link directly to your LinkedIn profile.

• Fee: It’s up to you to set the price of your work. The royalty rate paid by CGTrader is 30% to 80%, depending on your sales performance and interactions in the community.
• Reach: Global

The oldest platform for selling 3D models presented here, having been founded in 2000, is TurboSquid. It was created to be a marketplace for professionals. The site was acquired by Shutterstock Group in 2021, and the models published on the site are shared on other Shutterstock platforms and partners.

To publish and start selling your work on the platform, you have to first fill out a form with artist information, then you’re redirected to Squid.io, the platform that hosts features for publishing. Here, you can upload the model, set the title and the price you want to sell your model, along with descriptions about the model and at least five images of it in the required size. If your model is composed of more than one object, you can upload it as a collection.

You can have your models certified by CheckMate, a TurboSquid feature that inspects the model and certifies to buyers that your model is good quality and free of errors. To have access to it, you have to be part of SquidGuild, an affiliate program in which you commit to selling your models exclusively on the TurboSquid platform.

The royalty rates of TurboSquid vary according to their reward system and according to basic account and SquidGuild profiles. For basic profiles, the royalty rate is 40% independent of the SquidLevel. With SquidGuild, the royalty rate varies from 50% to 60% with the SquidLevel. Another way of increasing your earnings is by applying to publish 3D models in PixelSquid, a Shutterstock platform that makes 3D objects available in Adobe Photoshop.

• Fee: It’s up to you to set the price of your work. The royalty rate paid by TurboSquid is dependent on your affiliation and your SquidLevel.
• Reach: Global

SketchFab is a 3D model marketplace platform founded in 2011. It has a unique 3D viewer inspector that allows every user to see the 3D model in an online 3D environment. The platform works with four plans: Free, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise.

It’s a very easy platform to upload your model to, different from, for example, TurboSquid, which has a more involved process. However, you don’t publish your first upload in the SketchFab Store. Instead, you need to make it through a vetting process to become a SketchFab seller. To do this, you need to publish at least five 3D models, create a kind of portfolio, then fill out a form.

According to your plan, you have credits to upload and publish on the site. Additional credits can be earned by participating in contests and by adding models in the Store. Besides the system of plans, the service fee for every model sold is 12%; however, it can drop to 0% during special events.

• Fee: It’s up to you to set the price of your work. You’ll only be charged 12%, plus a PayPal fee, for every model sold.
• Reach: Global