Quote - This business is just a microcosm of the art industry at large I'm kinda minded to think of it like our high streets - all the good little shops are forced out by high rents/costs, been replaced by identikit clone chains and charity shops. With places like TV or camera shops, all that practical knowledge ends up being lost. Pay a visit to some chain computer shop and the "experts" skills are based on what crudware needs pushing that week and if they can't find on google you're screwed. After 9pm just reminds me of Bradburys story "The Pedestrian" :)

 

True, but I have worked in both a Digital Camera and PC shop and in both locations I have served people who are clearly using your knowledge knowing full well they are going to then go on the Internet and buy it cheaper.   One customer did that in the camera shop and was back in the shop a couple of months later to have his camera sent for repair under warranty.  Only then did he find that the camera was a very convincing clone, cosmetically at least.

 

Ok this instance was the exception, but even where the products are genuine the high street gets all the hassle and no sale.  The end result is clear...no expertise in the high street so, to a degree at least, the customers get the shops they deserve.

I also practice what I preach, in my other hobby - model live steam - I often make a 150 mile round trip to shop the shop that helped me when I was starting out now over ten years ago.  Yes I could have saved some money on the Internet but I would have lost the help and, ten years on, two very good friends.

 

 

 

 

I use Poser 13 on Windows 11 - For Scene set up I use a Geekcom A5 -  Ryzen 9 5900HX, with 64 gig ram and 3 TB  storage, mini PC with final rendering done on normal sized desktop using an AMD Ryzen Threadipper 1950X CPU, Corsair Hydro H100i CPU cooler, 3XS EVGA GTX 1080i SC with 11g Ram, 4 X 16gig Corsair DDR4 Ram and a Corsair RM 100 PSU .   The desktop is in a remote location with rendering done via Queue Manager which gives me a clearer desktop and quieter computer room.