Gone are the days when drawing a picture required a pen and paper. In the digital age, computer-generated creations are essential for whole sectors of society, including the film industry, education, advertising, games, and entertainment. CG Model Network is a leading Chinese platform for creators and users in the CG design industry, offering over a million models to customers and integrating strong copyright rules into its operations.

Image: CG Model Network

Yan Dong was born in Hunan Province. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a teacher, but as she grew up, she chose animation as her college major. After a few years working for a design institute, she grew bored and followed her passion for digital content creation.

The co-founder and CEO of GC Model Network is also the Deputy Director of the Digital Art Research Center at the School of International Studies of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Digital Art Committee at the China Film Art Direction Academy.

From a digital community of 3D designers to a 3D model marketplace

In 2006, the CG (computer-generated) community was very fragmented, Yan said, and, along with two other 3D modeling enthusiasts, she created an online community to provide a free space for communication and the sharing of 3D models. She was responsible for business and marketing, while Wu Haojie oversaw operations, and Zhong Huiping led the technological side of the online community.

Image: bajibaji Tang Dynasty Court Lady

The platform gradually developed into a high-quality 3D model community library. In 2015, Yan co-founded CG Model Network with her two partners.

Back in 2015, she said, “3D content creation had high entry barriers and long production cycles, whether for independent developers, small studios, or designers at large companies.” There was a need to find solutions to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

CG Model Network addressed the pressing need for high-quality, reusable 3D assets, enabling creators to focus on core creativity rather than basic modeling, Yan said.

Since 2015, the company, established in Malanshan Video Cultural Park, has evolved from a community-driven platform to a CG Model Network marketplace for trading 3D digital content to a data- and technology-driven ecosystem for creative services.

A 3D model library with 1M models from 50K designers

The company serves both creators and users. It attracts some 50,000 3D creators from all over the world, “providing them with a platform to showcase, sell, and protect their works.” “We provide a full range of services, including uploading, pricing, selling, copyright registration, support, and marketing.” The company takes a commission based on the final transaction value.

Image: VVXIE Dragon

Creators submit an application along with their portfolio for review. Once approved, they become certified creators and can upload their works on the platform.

For buyers, the marketplace is a one-stop solution for model procurement, license management, and technical support, Yan said. They can access a library of over a million models with a precise category search engine. Once registered, buyers can start browsing the model library and, for each purchase, receive a commercial-use license certificate.

Buyers range from game developers, animation and film studios, architects, advertising agencies, independent artists, and educational users from universities worldwide, she said.

CG Model Network has over 2.2 million registered users, 20% of whom are from outside the country, mainly from North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, a segment that is rapidly expanding.

3D models commercial license and copyright

The company facilitates the registration of works. “After our designers publish their work on the platform, they can submit it to our copyright office so it can be reviewed immediately.” “Once the copyright office issues the approval notice and shares it with us, the designers can directly download their copyright certificate onto the platform, allowing us to provide a commercial license for its use,” Yan explained.

 Image: CrazyN Topupu Space

When creators upload a model, they are required to select one of the company’s standardized license options, such as a personal license, an enterprise license, or an extended enterprise license. As Yan explained, “the system then binds these terms directly to the model file and automatically generates the corresponding license certificate upon purchase, ensuring that all rights and responsibilities are clearly defined.”

Thanks to the company’s pre-screening policy, Yan said they receive very few copyright claims (below 0,05 %). CG Model Network follows the notice-and-takedown policy and has a standardized process for handling rights-holders’ complaints, she stated.

3D model commission price plan powered by a data-driven algorithm

The price range of the designs is influenced by several factors, including complexity, rarity, and the designers’ reputation. “Our platform has gathered many top-tier creators, some of whom are very well-known and have a large following, especially in niche areas like ancient architecture or collectible figurines.” “They are truly invaluable assets to our platform.”

Prices range from individual items costing hundreds of Chinese Yuan (tens of US dollars) to high-precision characters or scene packs, priced at tens of thousands of Chinese Yuan (thousands of US dollars). Prices are mainly set by the creators themselves, Yan said. However, the platform offers suggested prices based on a data-driven algorithm that considers several factors, such as the prices of similar works and the creator’s reputation level.

AI at the heart of CG model network

Artificial intelligence and big data technologies are at the core of the company’s activities, used, for example, for smart tagging, search functions, and personalized recommendations based on users’ behavior. CG Model Network provides AI-powered creation tools, such as text-to-3D, image-to-3D, and Gaussian splatting, a volume rendering technique.

Image recognition technology helps to prevent the upload of infringing materials onto the platform.

An all-in-one 3D modelling solution for budding creators

In 2024, CG Model Network received a strategic investment from Visual China Group, a Beijing-based photo and media agency, and the largest stock image and media footage provider in China. “We are partnering to combine our respective strengths in high-quality content, the trading platform, creator community, and their assets so we can explore new opportunities in the visual content industry for the AI era,” Yan said.

 Image: unotsien Digital Human

The company has a three-part development strategy for the next five years. The first is to build a comprehensive creator economy ecosystem that combines models, tools, and talent. The second is to deeply integrate AI-generated content technology and launch innovative tools to reduce barriers to creation. The third is globalization, focusing specifically on Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America, “to become a key channel for the global distribution of digital content.”

Yan participated in a WIPO SME-strengthening project for selected SMEs and startups in the digital entertainment industry, enhancing their understanding of copyright protection, IP management, and commercialization strategies. The project promoted the strategic use of AI and emerging technologies in content creation. CG Model Network will be invited to customized mentoring sessions.

Source：WIPO.int.