Hello....

I was hoping for some constructive advice on selling an item please. I am very experienced with max/Maya/Zbrush, but am a total newb with Poser/Daz. Long time lurker, but now looking to get involved...

I am planning on adding  props, gear, and new clothes, a new side kick add on character, a new theme to a character such as V4,V6,Alice or the girl ...

Which model would  generate more sales  at this point within the Renderosity and daz commnunities? Would genesis 2 be a better option, V4 or V6, Alice, or the Girl? Or would a totally new stand alone creation sell better if done with high quality?

Thank you very much for any advice and helpful tips.

Personally I am always interested in new stand-alone creations like Michelle, Cynthia, Dawn, Antonia, Bella, Kez and Koz. I like variety. I think most users are somewhat reluctant to commit to new figures though, because for every new figure you adopt, you need a few skins. So while I would encourage you to create a new figure for selfish reasons, that may be poor advice from a commercial point of view.

I don't know about the GeneSys 2 option, some users here are using it in Poser, but many users here are Poser purists, like myself. It seems to me that V4 still rules in Poserdom, but that may not last. Personally I have more than enough content for her.

Have you considered creating for Dawn? Or perhaps focusing on male figures? There is a clear shortage of content for males. Another option is to make stuff that can be used with multiple figures - like hair, environments and props. Since Poser Pro 2014, clothes are not so figure-dependent any more, but most users still use older versions of Poser.

For the short to medium term, I still think creating for V4 and M4 is the safest, if you intend to sell lots of content.

You are about to be flooded with a huge tidal wave of conflicting opinions. Mine are simply the first.

"Which model will generate the most sales?" Simple. Look at what model has the most content here currently. Hands down it is V4. Bear in mind that Genesis and all permutations do not work natively in Poser, and the importer does not work well for some users (myself included.) Your sales to Daz Studio users may be good (if the item is good) but you will miss a fair chunk of the Poser market. Gen 4 content can be used natively by either platform.

"would a totally new stand alone creation sell better..."

Ahem.

Let me know how that works out for you.

There have been a number of new characters released the past few years, Hivewire's Dawn being the latest. None of the characters has met with anything approaching universal acceptance like Vicki 4. Dawn does have the advantage of having an actual company behind her, and many of us really like her, but the grassroots are still clinging to Vicki.

The issue with getting ANY new figure accepted is vendor support. That is to say, clothing items, hairs, skin texture sets, pre-made characters, shoes, etc, etc must be available and inplace the day the character is released. One of the things that has really hampered Dawn is that even in the face of initially huge vendor support, was that the morphs (dial sets allowing the user to create custom characters with the figure) lay undone for months. By the time they arrived, the initial excitement over the figure had died down.

Will a new figure get downloaded?

Yes, if it is truly well done.

Will it generate huge numbers? Probably not. Especially in the face of the number of figures that are given away completely free. You'd have to have something pretty special to crack that nut.

$.02

Why not create something truly unique instead of a figure or figure based accessories.  The marketplace is saturated with clothing, makeup, morphs, etc.

consider everyday items.  These are really needed in the marketplace.

pappy

I've have Blender,LW,C4D,zBrush,Pro 14 ,D/S.

I can make my own characters.but it's ill advised to compete with Vicky.

The $$$ is in suporting Vicky.

Since your on a Poser forum they will say V4

On a D/S forum they will say V6

My advise ,learn DAZ Poser.

Alice,the girl is just a irrelevant morph.

What a question?

Been Posering from Poser 1, and now at PoserPro 2014. Fluent in Hexagon and Blender and others. I made "absolutely nothing" to sell.
3D is a hobby.

That being over and done with, here some advice :

Want to make money? => Find a job. Simple.

Still want to do 3D? OK?

Well, first of all, make tons of free items. => Get your name out there and build a reputation. No reputation? => No sales.
Get your name out there and build that reputation.

Then, and only then, you can start about making some pocket change.

The days of "money" and "FAST" are over in 3D.

First show what you have in the hands, and then think about making a dollar.

Starting to build a new figure?

Ok, see you in 3 to 5 years from now.

First follow some "real world anatomy" classes.

Then build a "hard core" test team on the way, or do not even think about it.

And most important. . . . LISTEN to the testers. Open your ears, and Listen, listen, listen, listen. Did I say listen? ? ?

Get a good texture maker, or 2, 3, 4, 5, under your arms.

Complete loss of time to release a figure when you do not have 5 textures available to back it up with.

Sorry to be hard.
But lots have come with big dreams and high hopes.
But when you try to run, only to forget to walk, the bubble does not last long.

Oh, and first you have to make a choice:

Build for Poser or build for DS. Building for Poser, or DS cuts the profit in half.

Building for both? You only have one valuable figure "V4".

Dawn still has to prove she will survive and some of us are having our doubts.
Genesis is simple. Genesis is for DS users.

Second;
Building for Poser and or DS is not like building for other applications.

Poly count and poly distribution, rigging, texturing, clothing, fitting, conforming, all have their own tips and tricks and what works for one, usually does not work for the other. The learning curve is quite steep. That is why you have to build a reputation first.

Example:
"T" shirts. 
Some 7.000 to 8.000 "T" shirts, and shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, are out there.
What does your "T" shirt offer that the others do not?

Bikinis; (or less)
How many more do we need?

And what are end users willing to pay to get your "that extra"?
'That extra" that your work offers.

Hair or shoes are a market. You can never have enough hair or shoes.

NanetteTredoux....

  Wow, thank you very much for taking all the time to really bring me up to speed, I appreciate your taking the time to give me some very insightful tips and suggestions. I will heed your advice and consider the best route from there...

New stand-alone creations  and doing something "outside of the box" with Vicky will be the way I go I believe. So two birds with one stone as the saying goes. Stay tuned, I have something quite wild coming... And thank you very much for the help, really appreciate it.

basicwiz....

    That's alot more than 2 cents worth of advice, and I will consider all you advised, very nice of you to help set me up onto the right path. I think your advice is really solid, and I thank you for the help and tips, really helpful and will keep them in mind. Thank you very much.

Pappy 411...

     Yes I agree. I am now considering creating something truly unique as you suggested. In the many years of doing CG art, my motto has always been to create something outside of the box with a hook or two. As far from generic as I can get. I am not a everyday items type of artist, but  am most certanly interested in truly unique creations that enhance characters and set pieces, props, etc, etc..., and will try to bring something new and fresh for the character that might be interesting to the community. Thanks.

RorrKonn...

      Yes I agree, it is not  a smart move to go against the star of the show, better work with her than against. And will do so. Perhaps add something that gives her even more for all to play with...I have some Poser/Daz experience, and 14 years of max/maya etc,etc...but this will be fun and I cannot wait to get started. I'll be showing something soon . Thank you too for the advice.

vilters : It does not take 3 to 5 years to model a character.

I'll give ya 3 to 5 weeks to model ya first female mesh .same for male.

After ya have a base male,female meshes ya can modifie them on the fly.

which store/broker makes you the most profit?

once you make the stuff, how do you choose where to sell it?

Quote - which store/broker makes you the most profit?

once you make the stuff, how do you choose where to sell it?

I don't know of any publick facts or statistics on sells at stores.
Been looking for years ,if ya ever find any let me know.

The only way to fine out is to sell ya stuff at all the stores and see for ya self.

Some stores you can only sell there.Anyone just can't sell there.

Most venders woun't say much cause your there enemy ,
Businesses is war philosophy.

They don't want you taking there peace of pi.

I think there is an opportunity for content with multi character support.  PP2014 has the fitting room, which does OK for end user content conversion, but may well make it more feasible for a vendor.. especially a new vendor to build up a name with strong content offerings that can be used on v4 PLUS some of the alternatives like dawn and Genesis2.  Its definitely a good path for the customer who is trying to ween themselves off V4 but doesn't have the kind of resources to invest in an entirely new content set to jump in with one of the newer figures 

Alice is just a morph of V4 so its as easy as adding the morphed shape to support her along with v4.  I'm not sure precisely how The Girl differs from v4 as I've never had much use for the toon girl look and therefor never used her!

I'd love to see another independant figure, just because I love to see what each person or team can bring to the table in that regard, though I cannot even remotely recomend it as a good way to earn good money (unless you consider pennies per hour a kick ass wage!)

do you file corporation papers or 'doing business as' to sell stuff through rmp or daz?

i'm making plans to retire to another state in a couple years, don't want to file in 2 states if i don't haz to 

Quote - do you file corporation papers or 'doing business as' to sell stuff through rmp or daz?

 

i'm making plans to retire to another state in a couple years, don't want to file in 2 states if i don't haz to 

 

I can't tell you for RMP or DAZ, but I can tell you the answer is no for RDNA--which is a really great place to do business, I might add. The people are terrific. :) (Not saying they're not at RMP or DAZ--only speaking on what I have experience with ;) ).