Quote: " Diana, and I love all your stuff Rolfy. And I know just how you feel. I just gave away nearly 400 models in my starship kit, and the comments never got off the first page. The last community pack I started, only 4 members pithed in.
Hope you choose to carry on, but would'nt blame you a bit if you chose not to, as I am at that very crossroad myself."
Quote: "Anyone creative will tell you it's not about making money, though we all have to support ourselves
Here's a heads up for those that don't get it, artists need to feel that people enjoy and appreciate their work, its not ego, its a strong desire to create and share that makes them feel they are contributing to something bigger than themselves. Its what makes us feel like we belong to a community, if the community shows no interest in this then we can always go somewhere else.
I miss the old days when there was a sense of community around here and a whole bunch of folks all willing to share media,skills and ideas with each other. I know that there are fewer around here now than used to be but still a fair amount that ought to know better. If you are into creating games then you are an artist and as such should know better than to grab and run from a fellow artist."
I will add my perspective on these two points. I can understand (having been taught how to make media from people like Cosmic and Willow) how much time is taken to make something- from the model portion to the texture work, right up to importing and testing in the engine. Then there is Rolfy who spends time making fabulous prefab environments and I can only imagine the amount of time he had spent on them. I had my husband email him to ask about a desert prefab (we even offered to pay whatever price) and he did so for me- no charge. We also asked about a skybox alteration (again offering to pay) which he also refused. He has earned our respect for his actions. There are artists like Disturbing13 and Rosstradamus that also have done a lot for the community and myself particularly. They never ask for anything in return, but they have our gratitude as well.
Then there is my friend Willow who spent countless hours making a couple of media packs. She got many *praises* and comments of "I will certainly buy" only to be disappointed when the release actually came. As Rolfy pointed out, it is not about money but some of us do have to make a *small* living sometimes. I was very disappointed for the sudden "lack of interest" that was the opposite of what she was told.
I get the sense that people would rather have "free" media than "to be purchased" media. When we spend countless hours on any pack to be released, we hope that we will at least make a few happy with the work. Now some release free media and even then there is a lack of respect and gratitude. No wonder some of us have packs sitting on our computers waiting to be released and just do not feel like releasing them. I would rather just scrap them and go on to something else, like cross-stitching. At least my husband and kids appreciate my time.
If my opinion and comments appear "sour", then they are. I am disappointed with the actions of a "community" that cannot even take a few seconds to thank someone for their time and effort spent. Many of us have hit the crossroads in situations like this and get frustrated or discouraged. Then we come back and release media only to go through it all over again. I choose to get off the merry-go-round ride and let people make their own media.
- BlueFox
