3 months ago Renderosity decided to start selling Digital Art Prints within the MarketPlace.
We had high expectations with this new product offering.

We have decided to stop accepting new Digital Art Prints in the MarketPlace so that we can evaluate other ways to market this type of product.

We will not be removing the ability to buy Digital Art Prints that are currently in the MarketPlace.
Customers will still be able to purchase the prints that are available.

Please take a moment to view this article that has some great customer feedback in regards to the print quality that is being offered.

Thank you,
Clint
Renderosity MarketPlace Manager

Hmmm... Noted.

If they are selling and getting great feedback, what is the issue? I do not frequent the Marketplace nor have I purchased anything from it, but it seems that the article shed a goood light on the prints, which seems to tout how well the Digital Art Prints are selling.

"If they are selling and getting great feedback, what is the issue?" Umm, Clint never said they were selling particularly well... it was a case of -everyone wanted it, and when it came, no one took it- type thing. plus everyone and their uncle has probably been uploading every single render they have as a print which has gotta be a huge stack of work for these people to approve every one, one by one.

I misunderstood the article then. My apologies.

There are quite a few images that I would like to see as prints, but sadly there are a lot more that might not even be fit to print. Who's to say? Isn't there a way that members could contact individual artists to tell them that "hey this image would be great as a print and I'd buy it"? Or even artists saying that "I'm thinking of offering this as an art print, is anyone interested?". It's a whole lot of extra work, but if we could somehow keep tally of the interest in specific art prints we just might get a good balance of demand-n-supply. What do I know? Just thinking out loud. - M

I think that's a great idea. I actually tried that with a pic I posted in the gallery. I asked but no one answered. 3DArtist (www.raph.com/3dartists) used to have a vote if you'd like to see this image as an art print button. Maybe we could do that? Or maybe we can ask artists to submit only those images in their gallery that have the most views/comments? That way the quantitiy-vs.-qualtiy thing won't be as big an issue. WE may also want to start advertising the art prints at conventions, in magazines like 3DWorld, etc.

I recently started collecting "Art Of" books... with the exception "Return of the Jedi" (which is out of print) I have drooled all over the conceptual drawings in the Star Wars universe. The Final Fantasy book was equally amazing because it lets you see the conceptual development of the art. The latest one I am drooling over is "The Matrix", which has the entire shooting script and pretty much all the storyboards used in the film. Perhaps fine digital art prints as posters is not the only way to go? Wall space for an art print is a pretty static location, while most of us are moving all the time. Some of us are transients even who have to move eventually. The magazine is an excellent example of the portability of Renderosity art. Why not do a coffee table sized art book? What are the mechanics involved here? How do individual artist's get their share from every sale of the book? Royalties? How do we select artists that go into these pages? Who selects what? I have no idea how to sort this out. Let's talk about it. In the same way that medieval artisans would form guilds for the greater good of the whole craft, could we not look into a modest compilation of digital art prints entitled, "The Art of Renderosity - Volume 1: The Pin-ups"? Or even "Volume 2: Nekkid Chicks with Guns-n-Swords", or "Volume 3: Concept Cars", "Volume 4: Vampyr... or "Volume 4,239: Nekkid Vampiric Pin-up Chicks in Concept Cars with Guns-n-Swords"... the list boggles the mind. Maybe I should get some sleep and keep my trap shut. :o) - M

Moebius may be on to something. I'm a collector of concept art and fine art books also. There's an annual book called "Spectrum" which features a collection of submited fantasy art (both in print and not in print). These pieces are chosen by a panel and the book sells for around 30-40 US dollars. Working for a bookstore, I have access to these things and believe me when I say there are hundreds of art books and anthology art books out there. It's marketable, prestigous, and possibly even profitable. Soemthing to consider for sure. I say an annual collection of artwork in book form may also be a good way to go. Sadly, we stopped the submissions a month before I (and a few friends) were planning to submit stuff we'd been collaborating on, so I'd really like to see the prints back. However, a book would be a cool alternative also. Lastly, we may also want to consider making the prints available to Comicbook shops and Videogame stores. These are the major places to hit if you want higher sales.

I had a couple of requests from people looking at my personal website recently, asking if I did prints. The trouble is that none of my images have been created at print quality resolutions (what, 6K x 4K min?) so I had to decline. Plus, unless I was doing a run of 100+ it would have cost these guys about 50 per poster, just to break even!

I can see this is a hot topic. I, too, am a collector of art books and love Spectrum. I just purchased Spectrum 9 and can't wait for it to get here. I think what concerned me when Renderosity first started out offering the art posters was the price. In my opinion, I thought it quite steep ($65). I am in the printing field, and I understand the costs associated with reproducing posters and quanitity is the major factor driving the price of reproducing them. I don't know what solution would best solve this problem, however, an anthology is a nice idea, but don't necessarily think comments in the gallery should be the driving force behind the selection. I've seen many nice, even great images, in the gallery, but no one bothers to comment on them. I'm guilty of not commenting on everything, mostly due to the time I have available to be online. Perhaps artists could make submissions to an anthology, much like artists submit work to the Spectrum or 3DWorld. Only the best make it to print.

I've always respected discussions - specially healthy, intelligent, informed and mature ones. :o) We seem to be in agreement that the idea of an anthology of digital art has some merit, now how do we act on it? It seems such a waste that we would continue just talking about this topic, without moving anywhere closer to realizing it. What's the next step? What are the steps involved? Obviously, we need to identify issues involved... foremost of which is the "copyright" issue, who can help with that? I for one, would like to see my collaborative efforts (not my own work) published in an anthology, perhaps even as its own art book. Not that my art is "WOW!", but collectively the art we've produced together (Franky, Moebius87, Obiwan, billy-home, laughingnome, gps) is a stunning series of science fiction illustrations. How do I get closer to realizing that dream? It might not get done through this community, but this thread might help provide an outline to help each of us get closer to getting our respective art published. Sorry for the rant... haven't had my second cup of coffee yet. Cheers! - M :o)

Moebius, Your point is well taken. When one begins a venture like this, one must be concerned with copyright issues. But copyright aside, we need to look at what type of book we would want. And by we, I'm not implying you or me, but we as a whole or the community at large. In order to get a concept of the kind of book/anthology we'd want, I'd like to throw some things out on the table. How many books would be considered a good quantity? By that, I mean how many books would give us the cost break we'd need to produce a book of quality but not empty the pocketbook? How many pages would be sufficient? I've looked through several books I have here and around 100 pages seems to be the right amount and the popular size is 9 x 12 give or take a quarter inch. We'd have to charge enough for the book to pay for it. Do we want to make just enough money to pay for the publication, or do we want to make a profit on it, so that money could be reinvested into the next book, making the next venture better than the one before. What if the book became a "hot item"? Are there enough people willing to work on the project to handle it. Something else to consider as well. Would artists be allowed to comment on their work, or would we want to encourage some kind of prose/poetry writing as I've seen done in several art books. I guess you can tell that my interest has been sparked and I'd be interested in pursuing your ideas. Not long ago, I contacted Renderosity about developing a calendar from various artists. I myself collect Boris calendars and thought the idea would be an interesting project. I'd be intested in explaining my thoughts about it, if you'd be interested in hearing them. It wouldn't be as undaunting a project as a book, but still serve the same purpose--exposing the work of the artists this community represents. I'm sure there are a few others out there that would be interested a project like this, be it a calendar or book. As a graphic designer I can tell you that creating the book won't be nearly as difficult as simply setting the ground rules and getting the guidelines together so that everyone is working toward the same goal.

Interesting idea. :) Is this an independant project or is this something you would like Renderosity to get involved with? Hard or soft cover book? Clint

Well, I had contacted Renderosity about the calendar idea several months ago, but was told at that time they weren't interested in the project. Since I felt I needed the support of Renderosity to pull the project off, I ended up tabling the idea for another day. The idea was to produce a quality calendar similar to what is sold in stores. I mentioned Boris because I have about 10 years worth of his calendars, but Royo also produces a similar kind of calendar, but his are harder to find. If you'd like to hear about my ideas I'd be happy to clarify them for you. Considering the digital prints cancellation at Renderosity, I think my idea of doing a calendar or Moebious' idea of an anthology may be a good solution. This kind of media would demonstrate to the community that their work has merit. I've seen some awesome images produced in the gallery. It's a shame that some don't get more exposure. Let me ask you. How are the subscriptions to the Renderosity Magazine doing? If subscriptions are doing well, that might prove to be a green flag at producing a once a year product like a calendar or anthology. Bear in mind though, that if either idea is to work, there must be support there for everyone, not just to the same handful of people. While that handful is extremely talented, there are those out there who's work is just as good and is bascially true (meaning little or no postwork) Poser, Bryce, or what have you. Is this worth exploring? I'd be happy to share my ideas. I'd be happy to help out, or even take a leading role. I'm quite passionate about exposing the work of the many dedicated artists who fill this site with their beauty.

webdancer, Thanks for the reply. I'll look into this and get back with you. Clint PS - At this time we are pleased with how the magazine is doing.

Well said, webdancer. Excellent points, one and all. I like the idea of a calendar better - very timely (bad pun, sorry). :oP But seriously, before we do go all out and start an anthology of digital art in book form, the slightly less daunting task of creating a 2003 calendar is a happy middle ground. It's halfway between a full blown art compendium and the more traditional digital art print. Plus it's functional. Clever one, webdancer. Rather than dissipating our energies into doing both a book and a calender, I would like to volunteer exploring the calendar idea first. We can still get around to doing the book eventually, but creating a "limited edition" calendar (similar to a series of signed lithographs) will generate invaluable lessons for future undertakings. Not as big nor as messy as putting together a book (or even a magazine). The limitations of the calendar make it a nice controlled experiment. We can either do 12 images (monthly) or the more inclusive and challenging 52-week version. Here's another point to bend your noodle... who chooses which artists go into the calendar? What theme? My only suggestion on both counts would be to try and create an inclusive concept behind the calendar, rather than an exclusive one. I think it should celebrate community and coming together, rather than simply providing a venue for individual talents. Of course, we still have to do this by high lighting the individual works of community artists. Sounds difficult? Not really. It could be as simple as "prop passing" from one image to the next. You might do a render with a specific background that has a Poser figure as a... uh... pregnant elven warrior (for example only). The next image in the calendar could use the same background, with a different figure holding a sword. The next one features the same sword raised high in the middle of a battle - armored figure mounted on a white charger... The next one has that same armor, lying on a cold slab of stone inside a mausoleum surrounded by a garden... And the garden spills out to a landscape... etecetera, etcetera, etcetera. Again... this could be the mother of all bad ideas, feel free to shoot it down. The images need not be created specifically for the calendar, it would be just a matter of lucky hunting around in the galleries for an underlying thread of connectivity. We don't even have to tell people about the connections between the images. For the calendar, I would rather not have text, prose or poetry... the days and dates will provide sufficient graphic clutter. Besides, aren't these images supposed to be worth at least a thousand words. Let us please let them speak for themselves. In addition, these calendar images might even offer an opportunity for subtle advertising. Some merchants and content creators who specifically said "non-commercial" use for their products might have to be oriented towards the benificial advertising this kind of exposure will bring them. Again, this is in "addition"... let us not dillute our intent of featuring art by inserting heavy handed advertising. Let's be simple and subtle with the credits, be they products or freebies. Bedtime here... Let's keep this discussion open. It's on the verge of becoming something practical. :o) Cheers! - M

Well said and my thoughts are echoed in your words. I like the idea of having a central theme, one image moving to the next but it may prove to be an undaunting challenge as no one would know what to use as the central item of connectivity unless we had several items to pick and choose from. I think your idea has many possibilities. I also like your idea of 52 images. This would provide more opportunity for showcasing work. What do you think about an artist not only submitting their image but also designing a matching calendar layout to go with it? This would "theme" the weekly page with color, texture, and art and may not be as much of a challenge as threading a whole calendar. Subtle advertising may also be beneficial, however, I think the advertising should not be on the individual calendars. It could be reserved for the back cover or inside covers and could also include a thank you to sponsors who may have donated items if we pursued a themed calendar as you suggested. Have a good night's sleep.

This is sad news. I was ready to re-render some of my images for the purpose of making prints. The only question I have is are the prints sold in the MarketPlace exclusively? There are plenty of art stores that sell prints over the internet. Would a joint venture with some of these stores be possible? Perhaps a link on their sites to the prints here at the MarketPlace? There are people always looking for something new and different to hang on their walls. If the sale of artist's work are sold exlusively in a community of artists then sales may not be so good. But, if you make the prints availiable to a wider range of people, it's possible that sales may increase. Just a thought.

I like the calendar idea the most, $65 for an art print is a tad high, although I've paid more for one I just can't live without. But a calendar, what a great idea, I have Star Trek, Star Wars, Fantasy, SciFi, you name it calenders. Once the year is gone you're free do frame or whatever the artwork, or save it as a collectible for the future, AND, calendars usually are affordable...as an aside, I was going to submit work for art prints, not having the resources to do it myself, and place a link to the marketplace on my site so those who did visit, not only would they be able to buy and art print but it would give them the opportunity to browse Renderosity as well,... just a thought... Zhann

My thoughts as well. Calendars are affordable and some good ones go for $20 a pop. I know some of mine (Royo and Boris) are almost that much. I think if it's well done, it just may pay for itself with a bit left over.

At this point in time, I have been advised that Renderosity isn't prepared to do calendars. I guess that's the end of that discussion. Unless... nah, it would be way too difficult to coordinate. - M

Well, the discussion was good while it lasted.