OK, so I'm pretty new to this whole modeling biz. In a fit of creativity, I decided to create a set of tools handy for any Halloween witch. Thing is, now that they're modeled, I'm not sure whether to texture-map them and put them in the Marketplace, or just dump 'em in Freestuff. So I'm generally asking, hey, would you pay $5 for this set? The display here is using P5 materials. The bumps in the candle are all real - I went a bit overboard on the drippy-wax effects. :)

I was about to comment on the candle wax ... excellent job on that.

No, sorry, but I honestly wouldn't pay for this set.

That candle is excellent. You could do a nice set of candles with holders ;)

The candle is excellent as others before me said...good work. Sharen

I think if you often did alot of images with that kind of stuff it would be worth buying it. it depends if there are already alternatives in the freestuff section. well thats my opinion anyway.

They look good to me, and $5 seems like a reasonable price. I wouldnt buy them myself, but then I have never bought any props, but I would guess this is a saleable item.

Add some more to the package. Crystal ball, pointy hat, etc.

aprilrosanina, I surely hope you take this in the friendly manner I intend it. Many of the items in your picture are already available as freebies in various places. I can not clearly see your knife for comparison. I have Ghastley's mortar and pestle, a couple of nice cauldrons, a chamberstick or three. I don't have DAZ's witchbroom, but IIRC, there is another one in my files. (Unlike Little Dragon, I go by memory rather than database.) For me to spend money on something I already have, it must be exceptional or a very different treatment. Your candle with drippy wax is exceptional, but almost certainly can't stand alone as a marketplace item. The broom base is interesting, but I'd prefer a twiggier top rather than the finished wood dowel to go with the overall homemade look. A similar item is wooden spoons. Many cultures carved the handles into interesting shapes. I believe that the Welsh still give wedding spoons? Museums have letter openers and walking sticks with reproductions of some of the old carvings, but I don't think I've seen any spoons or such with fancy handles here. If I was stirring up a love potions, I'd at least want a heart or something on the spoon (mostly so that I didn't accidently use it in my own soup later!). There are magical items and supplies which I've never seen available. Those would be worth buying if they should come up. Alchemical stuff would be particularly neat. The attached image is almost a decade old, and jpegging it has smooshed the details. :sigh: I did a couple hundred equipment icons for AD&D Core Rules Vol.1 using a bitmap program called DeluxePaint. I still enjoy doing pixel perfect art. Among the stuff was a crucible, for which I had no picture reference, just a good description. A crucible such as this and a mold would be useful for showing soldiers making bullets or mad scholars trying to turn make a philosopher's stone as well as the typical witch or warlock making magical amulets. (This widens your target market.) Little jars and boxes with displacement or bump maps for the scrawled label are good... no shelves are complete without pots of ingrediants or finished salves and magical dusts. Your wax technique could be used on seals, too. (Remember Gandalf sealing and stamping the envelope?) I don't think I've seen jars with seals, but since witches often deal with poisons, it would seem wise! Something which might be trickier... bunches of herbs tied upside down to dry. They are used to sweeten the air in a sick room, but also for cooking. We are starting to get a good selection of plants in certain categories, but I don't recall anything dried, not even a string of onions. Besides crystal balls, witches apparently also used "scrying mirrors". My catalogs (I'm on some pretty weird lists!) show two types: a horizontal polished black mirror and a shallow bowl to be filled with water, both usually kept covered and dust free when not used. Crystal balls are great if you live in a fancy tower, but the average hedge witch would need something less fragile and more affordable. The brazier in my picture actually has griffins on the corners, but something similar with or without a frame to hold it hand high would be useful. If somebody wanted to model a fancy one with beasties or other bas belief ornamentation, it would be a standalone item, for sure! It's hard for people to think of what they don't have until they need it for a picture, but I think you'll have better luck selling things if they aren't already available as freebies. Hopefully this will give you some ideas and others will jump in with suggestions or needs. Carolly

Thanks greatly for all your input, and for the friendly spirit in which it was offered! Based on the commentary so far, I think I'll pull the candle out of the set, substitute a low-resolution candle, add a few other simple items and dump the package in freestuff. Then I'll work up a more detailed set of objects based around an improved version of the candle above, and see if that makes it up to saleable quality. :) I would certainly appreciate people continuing to give input, as it will give me more ideas for things to do in the future! Meantime I'll assign most of this set as "good practice" and the candle as "worth pursuing". Thanks again - this is precisely the sort of feedback and perspective I'm hoping for.

There's no problem with selling items like those that are already available as freebies, but I agree with Carolly that to set yourself apart, doing reasearch to find references (and Carolly's post seems a pretty fine place to start) and adding modeled detail and providing 'knock-em-dead' textures will give users a reason to purchase rather than to scour Freestuff. I have over 5 gigabytes of 3d models that I've downloaded from free sites for use in Bryce images - that doesn't include free Poser oriented items - probably a few more gigs and I can texture what I want to see, but I can't model and if you blow me away with great models, I'll buy them. Hope this helps - and the candle wax IS excellent :) -Nancy.

As everyone else says, the candle is gorgeous. The athamae doesn't look quite right. The broom is cute, but rather toony (Keep the bottom, but perhaps make the broomstick more, as Hauk said, the handle needs to be more home made). The mortar and pestle are very nice, also, but perhaps something to make them stand out a bit from the free version? The cauldron... Perhaps lose the handle on the top and make it the more stereotypical free standing one, or make the handle like my mother's, with a hinge on it, so that it doesn't tip as easily when you're carrying it. The dinged look on it is great, though. I'd like to see dried herbs as well, and also perhaps jars of a sort? A witch has to keep his or her herbs in some kind of order, after all, and no one's done a high quality jar set, of the kind I mean. Canning jars. Although wooden jars would work well, also. Something else to consider. Humanoid shaped candles. They're used when one is doing, for example, a love spell, to symbolize the object of desire, or used for cursing, to symbolize the object of the curse. Wooden bowls, and also, long stemmed, wrought iron candle holders... laughs Okay, now that I've got my shopping list out of the way...

As everyone else says, the candle is gorgeous. The athamae doesn't look quite right. The broom is cute, but rather toony (Keep the bottom, but perhaps make the broomstick more, as Hauk said, the handle needs to be more home made). The mortar and pestle are very nice, also, but perhaps something to make them stand out a bit from the free version? The cauldron... Perhaps lose the handle on the top and make it the more stereotypical free standing one, or make the handle like my mother's, with a hinge on it, so that it doesn't tip as easily when you're carrying it. The dinged look on it is great, though. I'd like to see dried herbs as well, and also perhaps jars of a sort? A witch has to keep his or her herbs in some kind of order, after all, and no one's done a high quality jar set, of the kind I mean. Canning jars. Although wooden jars would work well, also. Something else to consider. Humanoid shaped candles. They're used when one is doing, for example, a love spell, to symbolize the object of desire, or used for cursing, to symbolize the object of the curse. Wooden bowls, and also, long stemmed, wrought iron candle holders... laughs Okay, now that I've got my shopping list out of the way... Don't get me wrong. I couldn't build any of this stuff. That's not where my talents lie. Your work is excellent, and I look forward to seeing future items from you, and to buying some!