First of all, I'd like to apologize to you all for going on another rant. In the other forums I visit on the internet, as well as in real life, I'm seen as a disturber of the proverbial, and Moderators have been known to get the itchy clicking finger when I post. That much said, this is a question that is directed to Agent Smith as much as to the rest of you. The first thing that I would like to ramble about -yet again, is the general lack of quality and thought some of the works I see on Renderosity have. Everyone starts somewhere, and leaving the whole huge discussion of 'friendly' critique aside, it would seem that having a talent at art (this kind in specific) is something that you're born with rather than grow into. Some have grown into it, but most people have learned it the hard way and have usually drawn their inspiration and talent off real-life work -and their subsequent ability to do that. At any rate, the point is not that as much as what we do with this piece of software that we call Bryce... The second issue is in regards to piracy. How many of us have purchased Bryce, how many of us have downloaded it off p2p networks? And this again brings the idea of talent into play, at least as far as I am concerned, because I am willing to bet that the majority of those who create and post poor works and show absolutely zero talent -and I can be a judge of that based on my experience with the program, showing no development over time, haven't bought the program. What is the stance Renderosity takes on this issue? How would the R'osity community view such people? I visit this site at least 2 times each day. My usual visits are the Bryce forum and the Bryce, Cinema4D and Lightwave galleries. Whatever else draws my attention on the way -like the really really poor matrix-wannabe tutorial on the main page right now, I look at. There is a VISIBLE difference between grades of knowledge of separate pieces of software. There is the newbie (and this is the category I'm asking the question towards), the mediocre renderer, the improving one, and finally the great ones and the Masters. And finally, moving in for the kill... Renderosity is an awesome avenue for allowing people to learn and to interact in the realm of 3D art. The community and the forums are nerfed beyond belief with people willing to help and in general individuals who wouldn't tell you to pack up and leave in lack of talent for the world... That is wonderful. But what about these newbies, and indeed, some of us who know how to use the software yet give thumbs up to almost every single little piece of proverbial newbiness that crosses our path? It's great, Timmy, you used nothing but a couple of primitives, one boolean negative and default textures... way to go! Your signature looks cool and takes half of the +ing image, so you MUST be a good artist. What can I say, I'm jaded. Is it a good reason? Are YOU the only measure of your own worth? I think yes and no. If you come here and pull a Timmy like some 30% of the works that get posted on this forum are, and you think you're the best thing since the original bryce, then you need therapy. If you come here and ask for help but all you get is 'great piece of work,' or 'love the atmosphere', then the only art you're practicing is that of bullshit. Just my two extremely jaded cents, $10 Canadian, or three pigs and one cow Romanian. Thanks for reading, please flame me now because I must have said something wrong... draculaz Mihnea Dumitru