Earn a LIVING selling GAME ASSETS

Create and sell game assets in game-engine stores and on your own website. I am giving tips in this video that helped me earn a living while developing my indiegame for 4 years. I hope this video can help those of you who are considering to make and sell game assets.
Links to the stores mentioned in this video at the bottom of the description!
Wishlist Ultranova on Steam:
store.steampowered.com/app/23...
Support me on Patreon:
/ imphenzia
LEARN LOW POLY Character Modeling - Blender 3.5 Full Course: • LEARN LOW POLY Charact...
Watch this video to learn every step of the way to create your very own characters!
I am also looking at Geometry Nodes and a tree generator by Mattia:
mattiagalliart.gumroad.com/l/...
• Lazy Tree Generator Up...
My website:
www.imphenzia.com
Universal Sound FX: www.imphenzia.com/universal-s...
Imphenzia Discord server invite:
/ discord
My Instagram:
/ imphenzia
Twitter:
/ imphenzia
My Itch.Io page with all my Ludum Dare games:
imphenzia.itch.io/
Imphenzia Merch:
teespring.com/stores/imphenzia
My Twitch Channel:
/ imphenzia
Download the palette textures used in this video:
www.dropbox.com/s/c0ovy2342h9...
In-depth learn how Low Poly Modeling in Blender:
• Learn Low Poly Modelin...
Blender settings video (shiny borders):
• My Blender 2.82 Setup ...
If you want to use the palette style UV coloring method, I go through that in the above-linked videos.
Additional info:
I've been modeling in Blender since about 2015, but more recently in the past few years. I've been making games and assets in Unity since 2011, and I'm currently working on a multiplayer RTS game called Line War.
I use a Sony FX3 camera with a Sony FE 2.8/24-70mm GM lens. My primary microphone is now the Shure SM7B, and I use a Rode NTG3 shotgun mic if I need it to be out of view. I downgraded to a Focusrite Solo from my wonderful RME Fireface UFX II that I had to sell when I moved from Sweden.
Thanks a lot for watching and sharing my videos :)
Unity Asset Store:
assetstore.unity.com/
Unreal Marketplace:
www.unrealengine.com/marketplace
Fab.com:
www.fab.com
CGTrader:
www.cgtrader.com
Envato:
www.envato.com/
Turbosquid:
www.turbosquid.com/

[@catborgstudio5618]

As someone who started modeling after watching your videos and is now publishing on the Asset Store, I must say that this is one of your best videos so far. Thank you for inspiring and guiding me on this creative journey!

[@nhanimaah786]

This advice is only useful for people who live in 3rd world countries. If you live in the US or europe, you are better off just getting an extra shift at McDonald's or driving uber. Most assets store devs barely make 100 dollars a month. Even the top earners make less than 500 a month.

[@farookransz9541]

@@nhanimaah786 i living in asia i think 200 usd its almost like 800 to me. if i can make 300 i can get almost 1200 in my country

[@Mad_Catter_]

@@nhanimaah786 All the assets on the marketplace are available for free through other means. It's a terrible market to get into. Half of these artists end up giving away their stuff for free for a period to even generate traffic on their content.

[@vizeath]

​@@nhanimaah786 I can understand that very much... I was having the same doubts... because even if the assets are sold high, it won't be enough for living in EU... But well, it might work for people living in 3rd world countries.

[@joelstolarski2244]

@@nhanimaah786 Sadly this is true. And AI is the big dawg that’s soon going to really destroy many many jobs. It’s already starting and will only get worse

[@toxicsludge77]

Anyone thinking about selling 3D assets, I HIGHLY recommend reconsidering. The market is oversaturated as it is, and there are complete studios of professional artists you are going up against. Things that sell are tools, advanced shaders, animations etc. You'd even have better luck selling courses over selling 3D assets.

[@alignedgames]

Thank you! I've been selling for more than 7 years and I only make about 500 USD a month from this. Dont fall for this.

[@hogandromgool2062]

@@alignedgames as a disabled man the small income from this would happily fuel me.

[@alignedgames]

@@hogandromgool2062 You have to consider the work. I do agree with the video though, audio packs might be the way to go. You record something, a pack a day, and then sell those packs. From my experience, I make about 40-80 USD per audio pack per year, so for someone like you this might be the way to go, but its a lot of work.

[@alejmc]

@@alignedgamesthat’s great! It of course depends on your expenses and how much time you have put into it and if it is just a side gig, but myself I’m finally building the courage to get into the asset store (in an also very saturated domain: toon shader tools), and would be totally happy to get to $100+ a month. That can be seen as phone bills, netflixes and whatnot being taken care of… $500 sounds great from that point of view (i.e. not a full living number yet)

[@disruptive_innovator]

@@alignedgames 500 usd a month is helpful money tho... not sure I learned lesson. Maybe not as your day job I guess?

[@alejmc]

A couple of years ago when I first bumped into your channel (those 10mins modeling challenges are a treat!), it took me a long time (months of you will) to realize that you were the one behind the sound fx packs that I had been using already for so long from the Unity Assets Store. Thanks tremendously for all the things you do, plus all the knowledge share, ranging from infinitely affordable to the great price tag of free.

[@omerakyol]

I'm using universal sound fx in almost all of my game projects. Perfect sound fx solution. And it still gets updates! Congrats and thank you for that!

[@ArthurDoze]

Amazing video. Really good idea using your own creations for representing what you are saying :)

[@justindupre7274]

I bought one of your original space sky box collections which inspired me to offer custom sky boxes as a service for a while. I've been spending a lot of time modeling within Unreal Engine using primitives and a plug-in. I am an actual retired building contractor and that has helped me to create some really unique modular kits that I want to sell on the stores. This video is encouraging, thanks!

[@durvesh007]

That was good information. Thank you. Time to build some asset packs

[@forbiddenbox]

I respect this effort bro, I know that every single scene took a bit to animate and get right

[@Y0kensDomain]

I love Line War - thanks for making it! :D And thank you for shedding some light on asset marketing

[@disruptive_innovator]

Dude I love your stuff. Glad it's working out!

[@theoskphoenix]

Really good video! Thanks for sharing all this with us! I really appreciate your honesty!

[@LocrianDorian]

Amazing video Imphenzia, you've come so damn far, been watching your content for years and years at this point. I am an AAA game developer and there are times when I'm really thinking about going freelance, similar to yourself, I am a bit of a jack of all trades and I enjoy doing a little bit of everything, although technically I am a programmer. You're a true inspiration, keep up the good work.

[@raymobula]

Hello there. Great video. And thank you for sharing your knowledge to help us avoiding costly mistakes. Appreciated ❤

[@JSAbbott]

This couldn't have come out at a better time. I've made asset packs in the past and I'm just starting to update/upgrade them as well as starting a new pack.

[@RogDolos]

I bought some of your Space assets for Unity waaaaay back in the day. They were great, good quality!

[@sajidshahnawaz8127]

Thank you, Imphenzia! You are an inspiration to us all!

[@aleksandersanya1817]

Thank you very much for the idea! I forgot about this assets thing but I actually can try something now.

[@DavidBarile]

Thank you! This is very useful and authentic. I really appreciate you sharing your experience with the intent to help other developers.

[@ToolsAreToys]

Thank you for making this. Lots to think about.

[@crush1975]

This is seriously one of the best videos about game assets and selling them. Absolutely underrated, would give 10 thumbs up if I could.

[@AnthonyHortin]

Some really great tips in this vid. Thank you 🙏

[@mattcav6992]

Great job mate, thanks for sharing real numbers. Cheers.

[@aaronmarcus5904]

Although I am a full-time actor and know nothing about gaming, I absolutely loved your video. You present such helpful information and deliver it in an honest and easy-to-understand way. I see why you are so successful. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge with others.

[@aaronmarcus5904]

@@levihoffman8342 why would you think these comments are made by bots. I know some of these people and have corresponded with them in the past. Not sure what is making you think they aren't coming from real people.

[@jurgenvantomme]

Very interesting video. Thank you for sharing your experience and numbers.

[@smepable]

Thanks for this detailed and transparent Presentation of your fails and successes 🎉

[@themore-you-know]

Music vs Visuals ---> Consider this: - it makes 0.5s to see and know if you are interested in a 2D/3D asset, so you can zoom through a lot of them to find what you want, and immediately buy - it makes 50x more time to consume and make a purchase for a song, so you will push/make all these purchasing decisions at the end. Therefor, the speed to convey the content is also an important factor. This is particularly applicable to plug-ins too.

[@hiiambarney4489]

this is true. don't bother with sounds and songs. let the noob devs figure it out after the fact that their scrapped project would've been significantly better with proper music. (at which point, if they do notice, they hire someone to do custom music anyways, as these guys are severely underpaid comparatively)

[@hiiambarney4489]

ok nvmd. I hadn't seen the video yet, when i replied. he really talks about that exact thing.

[@Sylfa]

Music really is an afterthought for most people, to the point that if you go look at various gamejams you'll find that many won't have even basic sound effects. That's how sfxr was created after all, the developer who made it was annoyed at all these silent games from gamejams so they made a tool that allowed you to create simple effects swiftly. Music is a step beyond that. And yes, finding a good sfx or music pack isn't easy because it's hard to browse them. Making people focus on the bigger packs and simply reuse them in project after project, only looking for replacements at the end of the cycle. At least, when used by game devs that release games and aren't just basically doing it as a hobby. Btw, you can find a lot of free music and sfx packs, and there's also the big foley packs that have been built up over decades by now used in cinema and games alike. Those are expensive, but you're technically competing with both the grand deluxe and the free versions. It's going to be hard to find the sweet spot.

[@CalmBee]

Thanks for all of the info! I submitted my first asset pack to Unity 2 days ago, so perfect timing with my journey.

[@vihtujese5457]

What is it called? I wanna check it out 💪🏼

[@whilefree]

Awesome content nobody's gonna share. THANK YOU!

[@23dsin]

I started making apps/games on your assets and I did good money...still, after the years I have some income. Thank you very much for your work and support !!!

[@user-dr9wq3ym8u]

Your comment inspired me. ❤What is the title of the game that you have made? And can I also know what marketing have you done?

[@kagan8579]

Thanks for the video man!

[@jamestwine958]

Appreciated ! Thank you 🙏

[@L0v0lup]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

[@lajolaj4901]

This is one of your best video. I always tell my son to look at his skills and see how he can market them. Then when you combine doing what you like and making a living from them you have now enter the zone of --- it is as good as it gets

[@zeus-yz6gs]

so you just sit in house , complain at your son to do something based on what you see in youtube 😅

[@sonu-jangir]

Thanks a lot for sharing this helpful video... 🎉🎉🎉

[@daru25able]

Thank you for sharing your insights.

[@advanches]

Great tips! Thanks a lot!

[@ND-oe1ow]

This video was very interesting. I was always curious how much money could be made from selling on these assets stores. I think FAB will probably provide a lot of opportunities for artists in the future. If your looking for a tutorial idea I think It would be interesting to see how you create skyboxes in photoshop, most of the good quality skybox assets in unreal or ArtStation are very expensive

[@jaybee4288]

I’m not saying he’s lying because I think he’s being very honest about his experience. But there’s really not much money in it for most people. There are large development companies taking up a monopoly, and so many try-hard solo artists that it’s very likely most people aren’t making any money. Remember how low a lot of these prices sink. That being said it’s cool to sell if you were doing it anyway and as with any creative venture you can get lucky.

[@NC_Number_1]

thx mate for sharing your experience

[@FencerDevLog]

Very interesting summary, thanks for it. 😎 Actually, I'm also working on my own sound effect pack because I need it for our game, which is in development. It's not unlikely that part of it will also appear on some asset store.

[@Crisisdarkness]

I recommend checking the products offered in the store, and seeing if there is something missing, because there is a lot of competition, and your product has to be very good and attractive, or else it will be ignored. Creating video game prototypes that should work, for example creating the base template to make a fighting game, a role-playing game, a real-time strategy game, etc.

[@emesenagy9950]

Bra jobbat. Grattis

[@javgroman]

And a good lesson on taxes to boot. Thank you for the great vid!

[@ryanorionwotanson4568]

Awesome stuff!

[@jaybee4288]

I made quite a bit of money selling rpg maker sprites. But then other people started doing it, the audience of the game waned and now I get very few sales. But I also moved on as well! I’m still selling my old ones, but I do something else now. I also did postcards on Etsy and that was exactly the same, made a bomb then barely anything. This is why I won’t tell you what I’m doing now 😬. And you shouldn’t either! Look for a gap in the market, milk it until other people realise and then get out - best advice for you! Good luck!

[@Imphenzia]

Yes, it's trying to find the gaps!! Not easy and risk of "wasting" your time, but the rewards are nice. I have not tried anything outside of assets yet.

[@flamart9703]

A few years ago I was about to sell visual assets in stores, but... since I wanted to make my own games I've decided to keep my art style for my games, to keep them unique and avoid visual competition. Even then the marked was oversaturated with paid or free assets, and after the big art boom in 2020 and the AI boom in 2022 it should be much more saturated. But if I was only artist, not gamedev, then trying to selling art everywhere is a must.

[@jaybee4288]

I’m a part time artist. AI art is still controversial for game makers to use due to steam policy and things like this. If it ever becomes free use the asset game is pretty much over 😂. Even now like you say, too many people doing it and crashing the prices. It was a goldmine years back. Same with things like Etsy. You need to jump on this right at the start, once many people realise the opportunities there’s no opportunities 😆.

[@flamart9703]

@@jaybee4288 Yes, I had fewer clients this year and even some of them sent me AI generated concepts. It seems that many of them use AI work and skip the services of artists.

[@PutineluAlin]

@@jaybee4288 100% agree games can be sold if they are original there is a lot of variables but selling lets say a 3D barrel even if you use all the websites to sell it, chances are there are already people that sell a unoptimized model for free.

[@rootbindev]

You are an expert in blender

[@ledthegamedev]

Nice video! I can confirm as a seller on epic marketplace. Good information. I started by selling very basic vfx that a lot of people can use.

[@Imphenzia]

That's great! VFX is a good example indeed!

[@itsfela]

Very interesting, thank you!

[@CgPlane123]

Keep it up good work

[@NeiZaMo]

It's very smart to start selling shovels to people trying to digg for gold when you are the first one to do that. But if there already are a bunch of people all trying to underbid each other to try and sell you a shovel, maybe you should just go and digg for some gold instead?

[@Kholaslittlespot1]

Just invent a better shovel. Sell for less. Or put a positive spin on that shovel!

[@EnricoBC]

How did you promote your assets? Did you just release them on the asset store?

[@simonnordon8421]

Thank you for the video. Are you able to divulge your sales to reviews ratio? For example your asset has 1050 reviews, so if we knew the sales we could work out a ratio which would make estimating other asset sales easier.

[@dotexe4981]

I'm quite succesful in selling game assets, and I think these are some good tips: 1. make assets that don't require updates (3D models, textures etc.) 2. needed by many 3. you are better at in making them than most of the other creators 4. something that is customizable so people will not notice that a game developer simply bought it from a store.

[@wrongman5495]

hey, there is a tutorial for cadd animation like move and attack on your asset?

[@felipevalencia400]

Maestro muchas gracias por este maravilloso Video.Dios lo Bendiga.

[@midniteoilsoftware]

I own your Universal Sound FX pack. Somehow I didn't realize that was from you :)

[@oxyplik3542]

And this is a begining of CGI era ! Keep on mate !

[@felfurion8624]

The presentation of your video is next level! The 3D scenes you created for this must have taken you ages to make/animate. Very nice

[@tendaizhou4139]

I'm super interested, long term I've done a few independent projects and I'm looking forward to growing in this space. I'm a full time programmer professionally so I only get to work on this on my spare time

[@jaybee4288]

There’s really not much growth in the game asset market at least as far as art is concerned. You can make rent if you really put a lot into it but there’s no growth unless you’re exceptional. It’s more like a semi reliable side hustle that is becoming more and more unreliable as others fill the space, AI is getting bigger and people already bought the assets they need.

[@tendaizhou4139]

@@jaybee4288 thank you for this valuable advice

[@neosinan1]

Hey, I saw your Universal sound fx pack was unlisted in Unreal store, Are you planning to list that again in Unreal store again?

[@DT-hb3zu]

The fact that you could sell your information, and choose to bless is with it instead, is amazing. We appreciate you. Glad to have been here over the years

[@SubzeroBlack68]

He is though. There are ads on this video. Hes doing exactly what he should do, making profit off sharing his experience.

[@DT-hb3zu]

@@SubzeroBlack68 what I mean is, he's making a couple hundred bucks by monetizing his video, when he could sell the info for a couple hundred, to a couple hundred people, and make hundreds of times more, but instead, he's giving it to us for free.

[@asagrien]

The genius of this video is it’s also a commercial for the products.

[@Expt626]

I just checked my asset library. I bought a copy of your universal sound fx.😂

[@MartKart8]

I once saw someone sell an asset that was given for free for $2, it was a glowing flower. I saw the original tutorial that teaches how to make that flower, I leant to make that flower, but for the asset to work in Unreal Engine, the materials need to be baked, and edited and some needs to be redone like Emissive materials in Unreal Engine.

[@Lync1111]

So what's next for you?

[@MartKart8]

@@Lync1111 to keep modelling things, at the moment a cat

[@arctiformgames]

Very good video

[@joshnevel1504]

Thank you

[@mikedolan03]

I still use universal sound effects to this day. Pretty sure i bought it when you released it 😅

[@renobrecords]

This was a super great video, very authentic. That's wild with the taxes man. Here in the US we bitch about taxes but I had no idea...

[@LawrenceAaronLuther]

04:11 my man I love how you do math. I wish I did math like that in school

[@Imphenzia]

Yes - see it as an instructional video how to use a calculator :)

[@BierhammerDerBarde]

What do you think of unity going more in the direction of AI generated assets? Do you think there still will be demand for handcrafted asset?

[@jaybee4288]

It will all depend on how the game stores and gamers react to AI content. While Steam does not allow AI content in games, there will be a market for non AI art assets. As game engines are incorporating AI we will see the stores soften, but then it comes down to will the players buy it or support real artists?

[@Damian_h]

Bro can u explain in which platforms u upload ur assets and how u get the money let say pay pal or other ways around. Because in Sweden taxes may be high but in some third world countries they dont even let us buy dollars they want u to keep using their inflationary money and they want to keep the dollars for them.

[@MusiqueMonsieur]

Those taxes in Sweden are absolutely INSANE!

[@user-ku5oo2cl3z]

Good advice. I'm wondering - how much do you make from this youtube channel in an average month now? If I may ask. :)

[@mendiganina6001]

I have a question related to bundles/packages. If my game asset package include things for several game genres, wouldn't that discourage any buyer that only wants my stuff for a single genre? What about posting the same stuff both separately and as a part of a package?

[@jaybee4288]

There’s nothing wrong with doing both although I’m unfamiliar with unity so you may want to check there isn’t any listing fees. What I personally used to do with my assets was sell them based on themes then do a bundle at Christmas or whenever. If choosing between one or the other you’d be more likely to sell smaller genre/theme packs than an assorted bundle. Those kinda bundles need to be really cheap where as something more focused you can ask for a little bit more.

[@risehighgames4341]

Hi, 1 question suppose you began selling assets in 2023. If you had launched Universal Sound FX (your asset on the Unity Asset Store) in that year, do you anticipate achieving similar outcomes, or would you expect a 50% reduction in results? basically Is selling assets in 2023 worth it?

[@Imphenzia]

Hi, it's difficult for me to say since I have not promoted or released any assets recently, but I plan to add my Crispoly characters and other assets soon. Universal Sound FX could still work because people need sounds and with a simple library not having to worry about licensing - and someone copied my approach and made a music library with many styles which also performed well. I think, finding the right asset is definitely worth pursuing to sell as an asset, but only if you have the energy and motivation to give it a good try and being aware that it could fail. Maybe start small to learn the process and then try to get the idea of something that could become popular. Someone said in the comments that VFX (like particle systems) are doing well at the moment.

[@risehighgames4341]

@@Imphenzia Thanks for answering my question.

[@gavinw77]

Welcome to Australia!

[@MADZBEATS]

Made some rather simple scifi shield spritesheet animations just for myself. Some months later I randomly put it on market as a pack.. No marketing, no juicy previews, just there you go heres the files have fun. I was shocked by how easily it sold.... It really is scary how much money you can make in this industry. Lets say $9.99.. thats not that bad for an individual... Then you happen to get 1000 (just 1000 from all the people who browse the interent every. single. hour.) enthusiasts interested and boom, theres your $10000 like nothing.

[@Imphenzia]

Yeah! I think there is more competition and less hype with assets today, but find a good gap to fill can definitely make you some cash!

[@ObiWineKenobi]

I’m curious to know if 2D or 3D art assets sell better?

[@RainDevs]

I'm honored to be among the first to comment on this video!👌

[@LeDaytonpax]

im from the US and im interested in moving to sweden to pursue game dev

[@UnitCodesChannel]

@7:30 : I even brought a lot of fireworks...bruh .

[@GeorgeKarala]

Well game assets which i dont know I expected 3d modeling

[@funguy398]

What about the prices? Is 2$ a lot for a one great 3d model? What about basic materials pack? You can just look up what other people are selling, but you need to add something new or better or cheaper to the table.

[@TomCAT_Character_Art]

Do you have any suggestions for what to do if people buy your assets and them post them for free on their own sites?

[@dremovremen1764]

Wait, what? All these weird samples I recorded for my music can be sold for money? Thanks. I think I've found my occupation for the nearest future.

[@Herdetzy]

The tax in Sweden is MAD

[@322ss]

7:28 breaking glass while wearing shorts :D

[@FrogKin9]

Have you ever tried selling 3D assets you've modeled and animated in Blender? Is it worth the effort?

[@jaybee4288]

Are they really good and of things people are likely to need for their game? And are they relatively scarce otherwise? Otherwise no. Think of the same question as to whether it’s worth you selling a picture you’ve drawn. It’s the same thing.

[@markojotovic8991]

I love lowpoly soo much but Question for all us is: How many time we have to develop assets before AI complete that job for us

[@svennorris]

How about the fact that one person can obtain the game asset from Unity asset store for example, then freely share it to friends, clients etc...? There's no security or copyright in that respect

[@cjtvtube]

Your little "Political" commentary slipped in there was extremely interesting. A "Normal Guy" just trying to make a living and how the gov. plays such a role. Now Sweden has lost a hard-working creative guy. A totally separate channel on that whole aspect of your life would be quite popular I imagine.

[@Imphenzia]

Yes, Swedish politics caused our move and prevented any more tax income from me, my wife and our 3 kids future working lives. I have a lot I could say on the topic but avoid doing so because of risks of people reading wrong things from it and drawing their own incorrect conclusions from it.

[@GroveErasmus]

Making money and selling offers online is not easy. The most difficult part finding is finding and attracting buyers. You will be competing with thousands of other people offering and doing the exact same thing. you will have to stand out.

[@idle.observer]

What can I say, I'm inspired. But unfortunately I'm more programmer kind of person, which means maintainability is a must.

[@UnitCodesChannel]

Hey Imphenza, nice work on the channel

[@heimirjosefsson510]

Iceland would F me in the A with the taxes and VAT.

[@Obalanserad]

Hey, as a fellow Swede. How hard is it to move to Straya? It's on my map now.

[@Rize-TheArtOfPlay]

Hello :)

[@typingcat]

Keeping 18K out of 49K seems just wrong. It's not a level that can be called "tax" but "robbery".

[@craigbailey4051]

Welcome to australia. 😊

[@wasjosh]

“they gonna take our jobs!” If you’re not as talented as someone sending 3 sentences to a computer you deserve to be replaced.

[@Alex-tn7pv]

5:26 I live in Brazil. Now HERE is what you can call a total ripoff in taxes!