It's rather astonishing to me that there is so much ill-will towards consumers. Don't their purchases support a large group of artists? Doesn't their money fund development? And where else would someone start into this complicated art-form? The manuals are very little use in teaching what makes good work; the models can teach far, far more about what good construction is, how to handle problems, what makes good results. Not everyone wants to be a sculptor. I look on consumer artists much as I do still-life painters, or theater directors/designers. There can be artistry in rendering a subject, in setting up a scene to communicate, can't there? If one sees a painting of a car, one doesn't assume the artist built the car, or that the painter grew the trees in the background himself. Painters even hire models; how is this substantially different than buying from DAZ? This has all felt a little too personal to me. I sit on the line between artist and consumer. After 30 years of graphic design and theater (which I've been forced to give up because of physical disabilities), I'm making headway into the 3D computer world, but I'm doing through being a consumer first. I wanted to find out what was being done, so I could learn what wasn't being done, and where I could find a place to contribute. I have to say, the idea that I'm not worthy because I don't yet build all the models I render is rather forbidding.