Anyone sold their 3D characters via deviantART ? Or somewhere else?
michellecelebrielle
Posts: 264
I was wondering, as someone who is currently getting a character ready for selling, whether anyone has had any success selling their characters via dA?
I'm horrified at the charges from the two main 3D sites who get the biggest footfall - 50% for a new vendor is a lot of money - and one has a restriction on three products until you reach $300.
So, any recommendations? I should probably also mention that I'm currently working on Genesis-only figures, so that means certain sites won't get the footfall I'd need.
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Comments
I've never dealt with DA in that respect. When you say Genesis only you may need to be a bit more specific.
Genesis with the default V4 mapping or G2F with default V5 mapping?
If you want the widest possible sales first time out, best suggestion is Genesis with default V4 mapping and materials in pz2's that can be used in DS and Poser or duf for DS and mc6 for Poser.
Rendo brokers for Genesis but the main market there is still Gen 4. Same for RDNA. DAZ remains the largest and most comprehensive brokerage for Genesis.
With the store percentages you also have to take into account what you get for that 50%.
In DAZ's case you get the largest customer base for all the poser/DS market.
They handle testing and customer service.
They market your product for you, and keep detailed stats of your market base offering informed suggestions as to how to maximise your sales.
So they really do work for their cut.
I used to have my own site to sell through...and even getting the 100% of my sales didnt bring as much return for my work, because of all the extra work involved (such as marketing, customer service and such)....and I would much rather simply be creative and let others take care of the grunt work.
Rawn
Thanks for the reply. It's for Genesis one with default M4 mapping. Thanks for the tip about the pz2 and mc6 files, hadn't thought of that :)
Yeah, I figured Daz would have the main market, Rendo is slightly smaller but I'm just starting out so don't really know what to do for the best.
In my experience Renderosity seems to have a dominantly Poser using customer base. There are very few actual Genesis items on sale, with currently supported figures being almost exclusively Generation 4. While it's not unheard of to see Genesis figures and items on sale at Renderosity, the disparity is enormous with even the newest releases being largely V4. On their 'Whats New' page I counted less than 10 Genesis compatible items and over 30 Victoria 4 ones.
As such, in terms of coverage Daz 3D is still the go-to site where Genesis is concerned.
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I still have rather an issue with self-worth and putting my products out there. This is an example of one character (based on a celebrity, yes) that I was hoping to release. I'm still working on an extra skin for him.
http://michellecelebrielle.deviantart.com/art/Loki-new-morphs-maybe-commercial-391169760
Thanks, looks like Daz is my best bet then; I'd better take a look at their policies and FAQ.
DAZ may be a tough place for a new developer starting out.
Their testing can be kind of disheartening at times...so if you are easily discouraged, it might be worth honing your skills (and a thick skin) through other sites like rosity. I think most of us started there..and only when we felt confident enough moved over to daz.
That's very helpful advice, thanks. I'll keep working on my characters for now, and then maybe test out 'rosity like you said. Then I'll see how things go from there :)
DAZ QA can be tough. I know because I worked in QA for a while. However it's toughness with love. Every product that I sent back to a PA I did so with the offer of help if they needed it. If you submit a product here it fails QA your tester can offer you advice on what to do to fix the whatever issue arises.
If you are doing characters for Genesis I can tell you the most common problems that cause it to fail.
1. Morphs not grouped properly under the correct region
2. Hidden morphs not hidden or grouped properly
3. Posing issues. Make sure that the eyes close properly with your morph applied, if not you may need MCM's to fix that. Mouth open is another one you should check. Make sure that the figure poses without distortion in the joints. If your morph causes distortions you will need to include JCM's to fix those distortions.
Here is the documentation on publishing: http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/publishing/start
I really hope that you choose to broker here at DAZ. I'm sure we'd love to have you as a PA. I wish you the best of luck no matter where you decide to broker.
Thank you for the encouragement and the tips - will have to look out for those.
If I'm using merchant resource morphs and Evolution morphs do I need to worry about the number 1?
Thank you for the encouragement and the tips - will have to look out for those.
If I'm using merchant resource morphs and Evolution morphs do I need to worry about the number 1?
Number one is mainly for artists that have created custom morphs. If you are using the Morph Resource Kit and the Evolution Morphs then those would be grouped properly already. I'm not sure about the limitations on the Morph Resource Kit for redistribution, but for the Evolution Morphs you wouldn't include the actual morphs just a shaping preset (if it is just the morph you are applying) or a character preset if it also applies the texture. The user will have the Evolution morphs installed already and they will be grouped appropriately. I hope that makes sense.
Okay.
I've asked about the resourcce morphs before and as long as I have them in a character preset/all-in-one-morph where the individual morphs can't be identified/reused then I can combine them for a preset for commercial purposes. I hope that makes sense, my brain's slowing down now :p
How much beta testing has your product been through?
Even if you decide to limit the product to Genesis and not list it as workable with M4, it would be advisable to have beta testers for DS and beta testers for Poser 9 and up.
I'm still working on finishing the second skin texture at the moment; I'm researching my options for selling. My character isn't ready for beta-testing yet.
How do I go about finding trustworthy betas?
Start a thread asking for beta testers and point them to your forum if you have one. You can somewhat interview each person to see there qualifications. I have a team of 10 testers. 6 DS and 4 Poser
Thanks for the reply; when you say forum, do you mean on Daz, or do you have a site of your own?
Rendo has a beta test forum where you can put in your request for beta testers. You can ask for only experienced testers have them PM or site mail you their experience.
Experienced testers pretty much know what you need and want when testing a product but that isn't to say new testers can't learn. You just have to give them the guidelines.
How many and what experience level you get in testers can depend upon a number of factors. Mainly it comes down the the application and versions.
We have a site of our own. Well several sites. We have 2 stores and 1 forum. We primarily sell here on DAZ but we use our forum to do all our testing. Many PA's do this. You can get a host pretty cheap these days. We have a total of 6 and we pay around $250 a year total. You can just get 1 for about $50 a year. and forums are pretty easy to set up
have you thought about partnering with runtime dna?
Thanks, that's great info.
I have, but they only have a very small number of items for Genesis, and they seem to be Poser-oriented
Okay.
Until I can see that I can make a go of things as a vendor I think I'll have to wait regarding a site of my own. I'm on a very limited income and have spent quite a bit of money getting all my merchant resources.
Yeah it costs a lot of money to be in this profession. If you want a good place to get textures go to here. http://cgtextures.com
Great link! Thank you :)
I have, but they only have a very small number of items for Genesis, and they seem to be Poser-oriented
RDNA turned me down when I was starting out because "we prefer to work with vendors who have larger catalogs to offer us." Heh. I'm sure no one there remembers that now. I actually got my first start at PoserAddicts, but traffic there fell off so badly that I had to move on.
Renderosity is not a bad place to build a name and a customer base for yourself before moving to DAZ. I still maintain a store there with a sizable Genesis catalog and it is a nice additional income bump every pay period, too. Don't be bothered by their predominance of Poser content - DAZ/Genesis/G2 users absolutely do go to Rendo and absolutely will find you there. You will occasionally be pestered via their message system by people who don't know how to install content, but on the plus side, people who have found real issues will contact you as well, and you get valuable experience dealing with customer service issues.
Make sure you CLEARLY state if your product does not support Poser; people who look at cool renders will impulse buy without checking what program it's for if you don't, then yell at you. Sometimes they will do this anyway. It's worth it for the money you get from your main customer base.
RDNA turned me down when I was starting out because "we prefer to work with vendors who have larger catalogs to offer us." Heh. I'm sure no one there remembers that now. I actually got my first start at PoserAddicts, but traffic there fell off so badly that I had to move on.
Renderosity is not a bad place to build a name and a customer base for yourself before moving to DAZ. I still maintain a store there with a sizable Genesis catalog and it is a nice additional income bump every pay period, too. Don't be bothered by their predominance of Poser content - DAZ/Genesis/G2 users absolutely do go to Rendo and absolutely will find you there. You will occasionally be pestered via their message system by people who don't know how to install content, but on the plus side, people who have found real issues will contact you as well, and you get valuable experience dealing with customer service issues.
Make sure you CLEARLY state if your product does not support Poser; people who look at cool renders will impulse buy without checking what program it's for if you don't, then yell at you. Sometimes they will do this anyway. It's worth it for the money you get from your main customer base.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
What?! I bet they regret that now :p
I'd love to work up to being a Daz PA, but think the sebsible thing to do would be to try Rendo out first, and then see how things go. Like you said, it will help me build up experience too, and hopefully a customer base.
Good point. As far as Poser is concerned I only have Poser 8 so can't create the Genesis files needed without help.
It don't hurt to submit WIPS to DAZ first. You may have a natural talent that they want. I won't lie, it is hard to get into DAZ but if you do get in it is very much worth it. They do have the largest customer base in the industry.
Thanks. I think I may have a way to go to get to Daz's standards. This is the first one I've felt I ight actually be able to release (at least when I get the second skin for him done too)
http://fav.me/d6gw4io
Obvisouly I wouldn't name him after the character, and would probably not use that pic as a promo, but it gives an idea of what stage I'm at.
Even if you decide to just go to Rendo, DAZ does actively recruit, so if they like it they may contact you.
Okie dokie :)