Image Designer Archive
Thread: Creativity Does not Equal Money
gnometoes wrote:
As an artist and a business owner in real life, I am flabbergasted at the comments of some Image designers whining that their profession does not make enough money. The point of creativity is to enhance the visual landscape and provide a common thread between people. It is nothing more or less than a tool to bring people of different backgrounds together to identify with something unique within themselves. You are not here to make money with your profession, but as some artists will make money, so will you. Do not expect that the world will suddenly realize the importance of art, because they haven't yet and they won't. Your oppotunity is in the connections you make. Like no other profession you have the opportunity to get to know someone you might not have ever met. That relationship can be used in many ways. One of which is to make hundreds of thousands of credits matching folks with needs to those who can supply. This could be for relationships, for goods, for services, just about anything. This happens every day. It is called business. Your talents as a Master ID are interesting, now use them to accomplish something tangible.
I expect this thread will earn me lots of flames for three reasons.
1. there are a lot of non adults playing this game
2. there are alot of non artist ID's
3. there are alot of folks who don't understand business.
If you do not understand my post, feel free to flame me.
im an artist and an ider, actualy a fine artist(painting sculpture) so im even more screwed cashwise, but this is a game not real life. and if we form a price guide we all follow here and noone buys from us we can still get by running newbie missions or dancing for tips.
in real life if me and every other artist said were not selling paintings for less than 500 bucks each then people would give us the finger and say oh well i wont have art then(for the most part)
but this is a game and part of the fun of a game like this is to be able to buy the good stuff(that you cant hunt cause your points are tied up in image design) and show off what you can do
a combat class can gloat about how he soloed 12 stormtroopers and killed acklay and other stuff
most of us only have lets say an awsome salon/studio/home to gloat over and brag about
look at the trade forums, if you want a full set of rebel marine armor, a genosian blaster, a wookie life day orb, a sith holocron, and a krayte pearl for display in your house you need some major cash
we need to make that cash somehow
-Biana
That is exatly how I feel about it. People say that we have no costs, so we should really not charge anything. The problem is that I *want* things and I should be able to get them. Never *once* have I changed someone's hairstyle and suddenly looted an AV21 power unit, or a SEA. I haven't even looted a CDEF pistol!
mh307 wrote:
look at the trade forums, if you want a full set of rebel marine armor, a genosian blaster, a wookie life day orb, a sith holocron, and a krayte pearl for display in your house you need some major cash
we need to make that cash somehow
-Biana
I need chestplate, boots, left bicep, gloves. I only buy the parts if they are still in good condition. And to give an examplehow to make profit with relations 
Message Edited by mkummer on 05-12-2004 04:45 PM
Gyopi wrote:
That is exatly how I feel about it. People say that we have no costs, so we should really not charge anything. The problem is that I *want* things and I should be able to get them. Never *once* have I changed someone's hairstyle and suddenly looted an AV21 power unit, or a SEA. I haven't even looted a CDEF pistol!
mh307 wrote:
look at the trade forums, if you want a full set of rebel marine armor, a genosian blaster, a wookie life day orb, a sith holocron, and a krayte pearl for display in your house you need some major cash
we need to make that cash somehow
-Biana
im gunna start an arrow post here and say exactly
over and above mission payouts you get loot handed to you for every couple things you kill
some items sell on the boards for hundreds of k to millions
think me doing your hair means me not killing nightsisters and not looting that +15 weapon experimentation tape
think about that
-Biana
mkummer wrote:
I would pay every image designer on Ahazi who connects me to someone who sells me the parts of bh armorI need for 500k each part acommision of 100k per part
If you think that is off-topic, sorry.I had to say it just for that chance that someone who does this kind of business reads this topic
Message Edited by mkummer on 05-12-2004 04:45 PM
Message Edited by Aynianu on 05-12-2004 07:59 AM
Taytaydruid wrote:
Some of us actually did master Image Designer just because we like changing how people looks. I agree that we shouldn't be charging 100k a minute or some such thing, but when you can spend 10 minutes doing bull rancor missions on Dathomir and make 100k, I do feel that Image Designers shouldn't be enhancing how other people look and taking time out of our lives for free.
I think you are right. I have visited an ID 3 times now and everytime enjoyed it. I was suprised that after 15 minutes of showing me things an ID only wanted 1k per change. I tiped 10k per change and think thats okay for the work. You should not forget that others wo sell things have to get ressources, experiment run a shop and have costs. You as ID sell just your work at the time you talk to a customer. You should set a price that you think your time is worth and dont do it if ppl dont want to pay that.
But i think the example with 100k per minute is an extreme. Sure There are ppl out there who can get that, but you dont get that all the time and you also have costs to do that and need to be a high level charakter. I can even get 8 mio in 10 minutes if I kill one krayt and get a highend pearl and sell it, but thats like lottery. With the rancor example, first you need to be able to kill them, second their ressources must be worth the 20cpu and that is not often the case.
gnometoes wrote:
As an artist and a business owner in real life, I am flabbergasted at the comments of some Image designers whining that their profession does not make enough money. The point of creativity is to enhance the visual landscape and provide a common thread between people. It is nothing more or less than a tool to bring people of different backgrounds together to identify with something unique within themselves. You are not here to make money with your profession, but as some artists will make money, so will you. Do not expect that the world will suddenly realize the importance of art, because they haven't yet and they won't. Your oppotunity is in the connections you make. Like no other profession you have the opportunity to get to know someone you might not have ever met. That relationship can be used in many ways. One of which is to make hundreds of thousands of credits matching folks with needs to those who can supply. This could be for relationships, for goods, for services, just about anything. This happens every day. It is called business. Your talents as a Master ID are interesting, now use them to accomplish something tangible.
I expect this thread will earn me lots of flames for three reasons.
1. there are a lot of non adults playing this game
2. there are alot of non artist ID's
3. there are alot of folks who don't understand business.
If you do not understand my post, feel free to flame me.
How dare you presume to tell us how we should and should not be running our profession. I understood your post, and I am an adult but I am still going to "flame" you. We DO accomplish something "tangible". It's called making people happy with our service. As a business owner, you of all people should know that the time provided to customers is often just as valuable as the product rendered, if not more so. Why shouldn't we be compensated for that? Don't tell me what I am here to do with MY profession. Let me decide that.
This thread is not earning you flames because of "non adults, non artists and non business owners". It's earning you flames because you are a pompous ass.
Message Edited by TooVeeOrahno on 05-12-2004 07:56 AM
Message Edited by TooVeeOrahno on 05-12-2004 08:16 AM
gnometoes wrote:
As an artist and a business owner in real life, I am flabbergasted at the comments of some Image designers whining that their profession does not make enough money. The point of creativity is to enhance the visual landscape and provide a common thread between people. It is nothing more or less than a tool to bring people of different backgrounds together to identify with something unique within themselves. You are not here to make money with your profession, but as some artists will make money, so will you. Do not expect that the world will suddenly realize the importance of art, because they haven't yet and they won't. Your oppotunity is in the connections you make. Like no other profession you have the opportunity to get to know someone you might not have ever met. That relationship can be used in many ways. One of which is to make hundreds of thousands of credits matching folks with needs to those who can supply. This could be for relationships, for goods, for services, just about anything. This happens every day. It is called business. Your talents as a Master ID are interesting, now use them to accomplish something tangible.
I expect this thread will earn me lots of flames for three reasons.
1. there are a lot of non adults playing this game
2. there are alot of non artist ID's
3. there are alot of folks who don't understand business.
If you do not understand my post, feel free to flame me.
Wow... Methinks someone has forgotten the world of "Commercial Art"... Designing such things as broceurs, pamphlets, books, dust-jackets, speakers, vacuums... Guess what? It's still art. Guess what? People pay an arm and a leg for some of that stuff. A good and proper Identity System runs 50k and up, often spans several three-ring binders for a large company and is totally indespensible to said large companies. Magazine publishers do layout on a daily basis, which is "art for money's sake". Photographers are taking artful pictures left and right for magazines, newspapers, PRODUCT ADVERTISEMENT. And then let's talk about designing websites...
Art can, and often is, commercialized. It's usually the "artiste" - he who believes that art is ONLY art when it's done for art's sake and no other reason - who whines the loudest about how if you're charging money for 'art', that you're a traitor to all that is holy, yadda, yadda, yadda. (I've known a couple, and they do hold opinions like that.)
IDs are providing a service and should be paid for that service. Prices will vary. Go down to Great Clips if you want, or go to an expensive salon. Either way, you're paying for your haircut unless you butcher your own head at home. Pay for ID work or BE an ID and do it yourself. Don't begrudge others trying to make money.
Now, if you want to argue SPECIFIC pricing, fine. But don't go all "artiste" on those of us who will charge something. Time is, as the old addage goes, money.
-V