if iam not being rude, but i would like to know is do any of you sell any of your stuff.i know some of you sell stuff in the marketplace but what do the rest of you do, is it just a hobby or do you make a living at it.i just like to know at which point did you start selling things, what i mean is there is a point where you think this is good enough to post and let other people see and comment so at what do you think yes i will sell this?????????????

Attached Link: http://www.sams3d.com

Well, we make a living off of it, small living, helps with the groceries and stuff, we love to create them and have been doing it for years, Mike and I had over a 100 models sitting in our computers and then we decided over a year ago to see if they would sell. They do take a lot of time out of our lives, but we enjoy it so much. We knew we liked them and used them and figured somebody else might like these too. To be totally honest,it is hard to make a total living off of it, because it is mostly for hobbiest...and we don't like to charge people too much, everyone is on a budget and just wants a little fun, sometimes you get lucky and are able to be contracted if someone thinks it is good enough. We just got done with a small contract with the Weather Channel, they bought our models that we sell at our site for the same price that everyone else pays for, and they are going to be featured during Hurricane season on TV, so we are proud of that, we get to see our stuff blown apart. That is the third contract we have had, and like I said we have been doing this for years. Sometimes we get to do wedding invitations and such, but that is more of the illustration end of it. Sounds as though you are interested in getting into the field, we would be glad to help you out if you need assistance, the pie is way big enough to share. That is one of the other reasons we love doing this, we love to see others interpertation of using our work and it surely is a compliment to us if people do use it. Sharen

your frigate is fantastic, it must have taken quite a lot of time to model( and what did you use to model it)dont get me wrong iam trying to say my stuff is good enough to sell but i would like to go down that road at some point. i spend a lot of time searching the web for ideas models and textures. when i download a model will build a pic around the model unless i have some thing in mind.as time gose on i find myself building more models my self. i find myself searching more and more for ideas. i think i could make stuff on demand (requests)e.g. say some one wanted a space ship for some thing,i would be able to come up with some thing. the texturing side of things i might have a problem with but where there is will there is a way.

Funny, with all the models that are out there, I found myself searching for just the right model, and never seemed to find it, that is when we started to do modeling, I needed certain models. I guess that is how everyone starts, you scratch your head and then off you go..... I am sure your stuff is good enough, and all you have to do is take that step. You should also have a good stiff neck for critisism, it is a good thing and it will aid you when it happens, some people can be cruel and unnecessarily critical, but you just wade through those and move on, get a good perspective and just try again. The frigate was a lot of work, but we liked it when it was done, not all liked it, but you are not going to please everyone. I didn't know it at the time but there is a beautiful ship here at the market place that someone is selling and we felt a little bad that we posted a ship similar to his. We don't like to step on others work or even be in competition and it can be hard to get an idea someone hasn't already done, but it is possible. This gentlemans ship is by far better than ours, much larger and just a real beauty, and I saw it for the first time last week. Of course there were alot of differences but it is still competition and we like I said don't like to compete with others for money. Not worth it. I admire to many other people's work. We use AutoCAD to do our modeling, more of an engineering thing with us. Well if you do decide to take the blunge and you are proud and like your models, push it out there,you never know you might just offer a model that someone has been searching for and you created it. Sharen

i went to your site and downloaded your row boat,i textured it with some textures in bryce which i have.i realy enjoy doing this sort of thing. is there any sites or people that post what they need. i would like to dip my toe in first before i dive in.....

sorry forgot the pic

That is really cool, Sharon! I'll be looking for your stuff being blown around on the Weather Channel during Hurricane season....:) I also wondered what the return on investment was for selling stuff you've created. I've put some freestuff out there, with the thought of seeing something I created used in someones art. Sounds like it's a full time job, but one that has more rewards than just money. I may try putting some stuff up for sale, just for the heck of it. After writing software for a vendor for the last 17 years, I've developed a rather thick skin...;) At least no one calls you a 3:00 in the morning complaining that your stuff brought their system down, and it's costing them 1 million an hour, and you're the lowest scum on the earth, and you never should have done it that way. (Software support and aggression therapy all at the same time!)

By the way, does that mean the Weather Channel will be showing us what it "might" look like in the hurricane, rather than putting on their raincoats and rubber boots and taking pictures?...........;)

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewStory=256

mark34: "is there any sites or people that post what they need." Yep, attached link. It's a pretty obscure one to find - way down at the bottom of the Front Page. The most recent posts are at the bottom of the list. Sharen - Way cool re the Weather Channel - congratulations! Will you let us know when your stuff is on the air? Do you know if they'll be using it on their web site too? 

I am not sure if the Weather Channel will use it on their web site, I know that the chief mediorologist Steve Lyons and his assistant contacted us. And yes, they will show it on TV what it looks like when a hurricane strikes, but mostly they told us, that when they tell people that the hurrican is a catagory 1, some people classify that as nothing because they compare it to tornadoes category. They told us a hurricane at category one will do much damage depending on the intensity of the storm, and our models are being used to show that kind of destruction so people take it more seriously. And jmahoney,you go for it, I can't wait to see your stuff up for sale, you never know what it will bring you...and mark34 you do us a great honor, we love the render, and you too should just get out there and give it a shot.... Always a supporter of you all as you do as much for us....Sharen:-)

Oh dear, so what you're saying then is that they're planning on destroying some of your beautiful models!

LOL, yep, that is what they are going do, and we are going to let them...LOL Sharen

I used to build real models for folks to destroy (i.e. low budget film). I think I'd much rather have a virtual model destroyed, because tomarrow, that model is still in the 'puter. I'd love to still have the model of a general store I built that got blown up by "a careless cigar in a keg of powder"....

The explosion was the only good part of the film :-)

I just picked up the demo version of Rhino... might be time to throw my hat into the ring (as soon as I can make something other than a rubber ducky, that is...)

LOL, Nukeboy, you never know how many people need a rubber ducking....Good for you too. Sharen

I always keep my ducky handy!

See, LOL, bahhahaha.....LOL, that is so cute...Sharen

Not artistic, but an image I threw together quickly this a.m. for my employer's website. We've just started manufacturing sheds and don't have any photos yet. On the site, I spelled out that this is an artist's rendering, with photographs to come. And, of course, model by, yep, Sam's 3D!

LOl, how cute it looks, so you are selling sheds, we could do your sheds in 3D if you send us a picture, wouldn't that be cool....Sharen PS: does look cute

'Twould be very cool, Sharen. (And our sheds would stand up quite well to hurricanes, too, I'll betcha - LOL!) I'll e-mail you about it. Well, it looks cute 'cause you made a cute model. And the actual sheds are really cute, too. Why, they'd be a great place to store stacks of itsrainin's adorable rubber ducky! I had a bit of a time of it opening the doors, since I don't work in Poser. And I did a fair amount of postwork in PSP to rearrange the hinges and paint the inside a different color. Also, I didn't even try to make the roof and paneling look real; we're using something that's curvy, like ProPanel. Even so, it's much, much better than not having any illustrations on the website. Thanks again, Sharen, for getting it to me so quickly.

I don't make a living at it, but I do sell the occassional image as a "one off" print for framing to clients, or every great once in a while for cover art or other use. Most of that's been in fanzine type publications over the past 5 years or so. Heh heh... not even grocery money. It doesn't pay me enough steadily to count on it except as bonus income every great once in a while.

Attached Link: http://uk.geocities.com/bryster3d

Sometimes we get commissions for work like magazine covers. Check out 'Startled Horses' on my website. Regards Chris

I've just received my first payment as a graphic artist. I'm illustrating supplements for a tabletop wargames company. Bryce might not be the most powerfull or fastest peice of software around, but the results are surprisingly good and it is now paying for me to explore further options.