Here's the issue.

It's that when you all use the same mesh, the same textures, the same default settings, and dare I say it- the same concepts, the work becomes utterly indistinguishable.

Imagine if you will if you gave a bunch of high school students a low-end digital camera, and a box full of toys ( a handful of GI Joes, Barbies, Transformers, and some random monster figures) freshly purchased that week. Create a stage with three lights and look at the results...

A good deal of the results would be VERY similar.

Even if these students went to Toys R Us and bought some vehicles, props and costumes, the results would still be pretty predictable.

Now imagine if you give the students raw materials and tell them to create their own characters. Instead of giving them a stage and a lighting setup, give them the lights and materials to build a stage/setup.

Give them wood, tin foil, styrene, broken stereo parts, scraps of cloth, acrylic paints, crazy glue, a dremel tool, a hacksaw and a power drill.

Suddenly the work will be far more unique. Dominic's work will look diffrent than Brad's, even though they both decide to make robots. Sandra creates a rainbow colored cat, whereas Jane makes a figure she calls "Radio Lady" with speakers for ears. Devon makes a pimped out car with a rocket on the back.

How do I know this?  I teach found-object sculpture and comic illustration to middle and high school students.

By contrast, the more specific elements you offer to someone, the tighter the cage that their thinking falls into. And that's exactly the trap that people fall into. They start working with their credit cards instead of their hands.

Just another two cents.