TurboSquid debuts quality standard for stock models
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH4I6PXawW4
“Name your stuff, guys. Just be professional.” Worlds Away Productions founder Kim Lee holds forth on the evils of default object naming: part of the research for TurboSquid’s new CheckMate standard for stock models.
TurboSquid has launched a new certification scheme designed to ensure that models sold through the site meet mimimum standards of quality and accuracy.
Based on feedback from over a thousand customers, the 4,000-word CheckMate Pro specification attempts to codify exactly what clients want from stock assets: from real-world scale to turntable displays.
A Lite version of the standard guarantees that a file will open without errors, and matches the images provided.
The CheckMate Pro tickmark logo (left) is displayed prominently in site listings and site results, making it easy for users to identify CheckMate-compliant models.
TurboSquid claims that certification benefits both buyer and seller, citing research suggesting that the majority of studios would be willing to pay 10% more for a model guaranteed to meet minimum quality requirements.
Standards or subscriptions?
However, TurboSquid’s decision to restrict CheckMate to members of its SquidGuild loyalty scheme – artists who have signed up to sell solely through the company – lays it open to the accusation that subscriptions revenues as well as standards are at stake here.
More fundamentally, do people actually pay attention to standards logos? And are there really universal rules for good modelling? We put these points to TurboSquid’s VP of marketing, Michele Bousquet, when we interviewed her earlier this week. You can find the interview via the link below.