I have always longed to work from my home so I could spend more time with my family. The problem is that starting a home-based business can be very expensive and certainly no gaurantee to success. Furthermore, it is incredibly hard to find something that you know you will enjoy. Rarer still that you can find ways to monetize your hobbies... And then came Renderosity. I recently read the AOM interview, in which, within the first paragraph Orion mentioned that he stayed at home with this wife and five kids! I have been inspired to do more research and take his advice that it all starts with the "first sale". That's not why I've posted this post though, I dont even have the first character ready for prime time yet. My question is this: Who else is doing this as their primary source of income? I don't need to know exactly what you make, but do you make enough for you and yours to survive on? Are you and yours comfortable? Is Orion the exception, well of course he's exceptional, but are their others out there who are succeeding in this marketplace? Not just the top sellers. It isn't going to change my desire to pursue this, as I think I might have found that elusive pot'o'gold in that I can do something from home that I absolutely love, and would be doing anyway, whether I make money from it or not. I have a new forum suggestion for the staffers. How about a business type forum for the merchants and prospective merchants to gather, exchange ideas, support and the like? :-) Anyway, thanks for reading, and

I think anyone who makes an actual living at Poser content is exceptional. I do know a few folks who seem to do it, but they are few and far between, and they really are exceptional. You have to be really, really good, really, really prolific, or both. There is a merchant forum, by the way. It's just not available to non-merchants. Get that first product in the store and you'll gain immediate access. :-) bonni

I pay for the things I cannot generally afford with my income from this hobby/enterprise. I did buy my car with my renderosity income :) but she was in Australian dollars. It does make a difference wether your dollar is ok though :) I used to make twice what my us dollars said but our dollar is steadily rising now so I make less now :)

You might not want to create characters for sale. There are quite a few very skilled character creators already, it will be extremely tough to compete against the many accomplished merchants. You could focus instead on stuff that is lacking in the stores. Posable vehicles, posable interiors, contemporary environments, there's not much Poser content in these areas in the MP. Will you earn enough to make a living? Maybe, maybe not. As elizabyte says, you'd have to be extremely good (stonemason/mapps level) or extremely prolific - and preferably both. Dynamic clothing is also an emerging market. Not many dynamic cloth merchants - yet. You could make a killing in dynamic clothes. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck!

I make a bit of money yes. But I work at home due to being disabled, not by choice.

"but are their others out there who are succeeding in this marketplace? Not just the top sellers." To be in the top 30 you need to have between 5000$ to 6000$ dollars sale in 90 days (It changes... Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower). This is no private information cause I move around 34-39 and that's what it takes to be around that spot. So say that you make 6000$ sales to get into the top 30 in 90 days (now you are a top seller), you can see that you really can't make a living with that. 50% of that is Renderosity's share, so it will leave you 3000$ in your pocket in 90 days, and that makes 1000$ a month. Once you are in the top 30, you will be getting 60% from your sales (for the products you released after you got in the top 30), but that wont make much of a difference either. From the example I gave, you can easily see that even beeing in the top 20-40 out of almost 2000 merchants won't allow you to make your living. Atleast not here in Australia or any modern (Globalized) country. I can't comment on what the top 1-20 may be doing, haven't there before. But I can tell you that it is very HARD :). Not only making great products alone will be enough. It will take some time to get known + a group of people cheering for you :). I hope this information helps you. Cheers, Umut.

For us living in Europe or US is not possible in my opinion. I have seen people outside the US and Europe becoming riches... Yes, riches. I personally don't earn enough neither to purchase what I need for my renderings and promos.

since making Poser models I've moved into one of my countrys higher income brackets..so yes.it is possible :)
my best selling model has earned me more than I made in a year working in my previous job
(speaking about selling via Daz though,my sales here or anywhere else were never as good)

it helps if your country has a good exchange rate if your dealing in US dollars too

keep at it..if you have a passion for it & are willing to put in the time there's no telling how far you can go :)

Cheers
Stefan

Message edited on: 12/10/2005 23:52

Renderosity is part of our profitability mix but not 100%. It is never a good idea to put all of your eggs into one basket. Best regards, chikako Meshbox Design http://www.meshbox.com