Summary: This article outlines in general terms the steps to take to get a 3D item prepared for uploading to 3D on Elements. For help with our upload process —including how to format your upload title, tags and description— view our item upload guide.
Please note that 3D Model submissions have not yet opened for Envato Elements.
2. Category-specific requirements
4. Create your help file documentation
6. Upload your file to Elements!
1. Check your assets
Mature Content:
- Under no circumstances can you depict humans who can be construed to be minors under the age of 18.
- Your cover image (what customers will see when searching our site) cannot show nudity. This can be blurred, or show a portion of the image that does not contain nudity.
- Items depicting nudity must have a non-erotic commercial utility that does not violate our Acceptable Use Policy.
- 3D models that include nudity must be depicted respectfully in terms of title, description, clothing and posing. They cannot be overly suggestive, offensive, or sexualised.
Copyright & Real World Assets:
- At the moment, Envato Elements cannot accept 3D model content that is based on a trademarked or copyrighted real world asset. Models intending to digitally represent items like Apple iPhones, or actual cars cannot be accepted into the library.
- We can accept designs that are based roughly on real world assets, provided the asset does not include company logos, and is not a direct 1:1 copy of the copyrighted asset.
Licenses:
- Make sure you have the correct licenses for any assets you have included in your item. This includes assets that are in your Item Preview only; you will still need a commercial license for preview assets.
- If you have assets that are linked to the main file, be certain you've included them in your .zip file. For these assets you will need to ensure you have a commercial redistribution license (the rights to re-sell that asset).
- Check if any of the assets you have used require attribution
- Please read What assets can I use in my items? For more information on choosing assets to include in your items.
Malicious Content
- Check that your item does not contain any malware or viruses.
- We take security very seriously, and may need to take action such as removing items or accounts and contacting affected customers if viruses or malicious software is found in your item.
2. Category-specific requirements
3D Models
- At this time, the 3D Model library on Elements requires all assets to be submitted individually. We do encourage authors to create packs or libraries of similar-themed or related assets, but rather than publishing a single pack containing many models, each asset should be published as an individual asset. Authors can use our collections feature to compile packs of similar or related content together into logical groupings.
3D Templates
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Templates can include an incredibly wide range of scenarios and outcomes. At its core, a 3D Template should contain more substance than simply containing one or more models, and there should be some aspects of the scene that need to be customized by customers.
- Simply importing one or more models into a scene, staging them, and then saving the project file down would be insufficient to qualify as a Template. This instead would be more of a pack of models - which is not permitted in 3D Templates or 3D Models.
- For both Spline 3D & Blender Templates, there should be at least some aspects of the scene that need to be customized by customers to make the scene their own, or to make it better fit into their own project. For example, a 3D Template meant to be used to create a rich and dynamic hero image for website graphics, may contain a logo placeholder object that would need to be replaced by customers with their own logo.
- Spline 3D Templates should also focus on offering some aspects of interactivity for the end-user.
3. Save your main file(s)
- Organize and name the elements of your design in a clear and orderly fashion. Use layer groups and a coherent naming system to ensure that buyers are able to easily utilize your design.
- Accurately describe your file format and level of organization in the file description. Be certain to note what software might be required to edit the file.
If you’re submitting, either standalone models and/or including models within your templates:
3D Models
The following file formats are acceptable:
- OBJ
- FBX
- GLTF
- GLB
Textures, Materials and Shaders
- Accepted shader and material file formats: .mat, .ma, .rib and .oth. Use only the common, non-destructive file formats used in 3D applications. Do not flatten, merge, or rasterize layers unless necessary.
3D Templates
The following file formats are acceptable:
- Spline 3D (.spline)
- Blender (.blend)
With either format, it’s very important to keep your project folder clean and well organized to ensure that external referenced assets can be relinked when customers open the template in their environment.
4. Create your help file documentation - when applicable
At this time, Envato does not require help file documentation for 3D Models or Templates, but it is strongly recommended for 3D Template submissions. We offer Templates across many of our content types (Video, Web & Code, Graphics, etc.) and we have found that the experience is greatly improved for customers when they can reference a guide to help them make the necessary changes and customization. It significantly reduces support requests, and improves the chances that customers follow particular authors who have a track record of providing strong documentation.
If you would like to publish a 3D Template that includes documentation, the help file should include concise instructions written in English, formatted as a .pdf, .doc, .txt, or HTML document. Keep in mind that buyers may have little to no familiarity with design software, so incorporating clear explanations and visuals can make a drastic difference to guide customers through the customization process.
You may also create video instructions in addition to, or instead of, text instructions.
5. Final steps
Check that your preview image, thumbnail, title, description, and tags follow our formatting standards. Put your finished design and all supporting information into a single zipped folder.
6. Upload your file to Elements!
Refer to this article for instructions on the file upload process, or go straight to the upload page if you already know how to upload.