**I agree with Conniekat8 and FightingWolf above.  I personally haven't had any problem that I'm aware of.  I do not rate anybody, because I've never found it particularly helpful to me.  I do appreciate comments, both positive and negative--as long as they are presented in an encouraging, rather than discouraging way.  I'm not the best artist, nor am I the worst.  I can and sometimes model everything, but more often I use a lot of purchased models and freebies, but I always try to make it clear that they were not originals by me and to give due credit to their creators.   I often retexture a lot of things and I think I can safely say that the picture is very much my own vision and creation--and that takes a reasonable amount of artistic ability too; and I don't think those who prefer to model all their own stuff ought to sneer at those of us who use the talents of others to assist us in our vision.  I've come to think of such items as being like the colors on a pallet--a tool to be used to create something unique to myself.  I'm not about to apologize for that or allow myself to be put down.  I do get frustrated, though, --and embarrassed--when I very clearly go to extensive trouble to tell my viewers that some elements of my render were created by others and they don't bother to read those credits and assume that it is all my work.   It is sad to say, but some of the very best artists tend to be the worst snobs; and such attitudes do not endear me to their works, however great they may be.  On the other hand, some of the most original museum quality work is done for very nice folks--frogdot, in particular, comes to mind--who are very inclusive and encouraging to we lesser folk.  

**I have a group of around 50 to 200 people who visit my gallery regularly, depending on the genre.   They are a community of encouragers and appreciators of what I am trying to do artistically.  They mean the world to me and have been good to me because what good does it do for me to create a work of art and have no one to look at it?   I don't think anybody ought to be sneering at such groups--and it sounded up above as if some of you came pretty close to doing that.   Now you may have been describing closed little groups quite different from what I've just described but it made me wince.

**

**